Gabbi Pascua, an Emmy Award-Winning Makeup Artist
She talks her career in entertainment, on-set makeup tips, and what's inside her beauty bag.
Welcome to Pearl, a bi-weekly newsletter dedicated to Filipinas and their beauty journeys. Read more about its mission here.
Working as a magazine beauty director had its perks–and I’m not talking about the free facials or thousands of beauty product samples I received (although those were nice, too). The best part was actually meeting and learning from beauty experts. I was always on the hunt for new sources to interview: Dermatologists, cosmetic chemists, hair stylists, makeup artists, you name it! Any chance I had, I’d prioritize featuring someone Filipino because there aren’t many of us in the industry to begin with. This is how I first connected with makeup artist Gabbi Pascua, whom I interviewed for a magazine article on skincare-infused makeup.
Gabbi is a Filipino American two-time (!!) Emmy Award-Winning makeup artist. She hails from the Bay Area and paved her career in Hollywood, getting recognized for her skilled work on camera working exclusively with natural makeup on CBS show The Talk (no easy feat with HD television cameras–more on that later!). Her work has also been seen on countless red carpets (Golden Globes, SAG Awards), fashion campaigns (Burberry, Chanel, Tom Ford), and magazines (Elle, InStyle, Vogue).
As if that weren’t impressive enough, Gabbi is also a Master Esthetician, developed her own makeup line, Suit Beauty, and more recently has been traveling the world documenting beauty stories through film and photography with her new company, ASOB Media. When I called Gabbi, she was finishing up shooting in France, headed to Italy, then Japan. I was moved by our honest conversation, touching on everything from body image struggles, to getting comfortable in her identity as a third generation Filipino American, to establishing herself in the competitive entertainment industry. Our conversation ran well over an hour but here, I share an edited down version for Pearl readers who, if not totally inspired by her journey, could come away with some pro makeup artist-approved tips and her favorite products.
Kristina Rodulfo: You’ve had quite an incredible career – can you talk about how you started as a makeup artist and navigated the entertainment industry as a Filipina? Did it help you? Hinder you?
Gabbi Pascua: It wasn't even a thought, honestly. I never thought Will they accept me? It was more like, I’m going after this, and let’s see how it goes. I've always been a part of a very multicultural, diverse community growing up in the Bay Area. All of my friends growing up were of different ethnicities, even within the Asian community. There were Vietnamese, Taiwanese, Chinese, and Japanese people, so identity wasn’t a conversation piece. When I got to LA was when I felt like I was put in a box. People would tell me you’re Asian, and at the time I took that offensively, because it felt like someone was calling me “FOB”-y in my head. I was like, What are you talking about? I’m Asian American [editor’s note: FOB stands for “fresh off the boat” and is a derogatory term for immigrants].
KR: It’s like you didn’t even have to think about being Filipino until you went to LA and people started categorizing you.
GP: The whole labeling thing really wasn't apparent until I got to LA. People made comments like, “It’ll be easy for you because they want to hire Asian assistants.” I didn’t understand what that meant. A couple people said, “Oh, these artists only hire Asian assistants, so you have a lead.” I was so confused. It was not until later in my career that I found other Filipino makeup artists. Seeing them on set was such a rarity that I clung to everybody that was Filipino. I never felt like there was a strong Filipino community on set – I felt like I was always the only one.
KR: I definitely have felt that way too, especially working in magazines. I'd love to hear a little bit more about getting into television. What about television and doing makeup for the screen drew you in?
GP: It was working one-on-one with talent that drew me in. I had the privilege of being a part of a generation of artists that weren’t inspired by YouTube or Instagram. We started our careers when makeup wasn't a hashtag. We were going after it for the craft and not the clout. I was mentored by some of the OGs and I just wanted to work. That's all I wanted to do! I wanted to be a makeup artist and to do it because I wasn't going to college and I had to prove my family wrong, because I didn't want to fail.
I took every job. Celebrity and TV is the landscape in LA, and when you get in, that's where you end up falling into. I got mentored and started working with different clients one-on-one, and then fell into working with actors and actresses, executives, and producers.
Film was a big inspiration. My dad loved movies and we'd always go watch independent films. I practically grew up in the movie theater. So, I think art, culture, and an obsession with my own perceptions of beauty culminated in me wanting to figure out how to paint faces on a screen.
KR: Television is such an art. The thing is, people don’t really know what goes on behind the scenes: About the lighting, about the angles. I really do feel like there's such an artistry there that it makes a lot of sense why you were drawn to it.
GP: I got put into live television too. There's no room for error. Once my actress would walk and hit the lights, the truth would be told. It was always a little adrenaline rush every single day that challenged me to find peace in consistency. Also, I was using green beauty products on live television before green beauty products were fully trending! I had to manipulate products to read on an HD camera, every single day. It was a lot of trial and error–I was cocktailing, mixing. One of my mentors always told me, “Do not depend on your product, depend on your artistry.” I would repeat that mantra as I would mix oils with pigment to thin it out, or to create a blush that would look like X, Y, and Z all from clean beauty. I was, at one point, working with straight pigment and oils. And that was when I was like, Oh my God, this is so much fun.
KR: It’s kind of like art class, mixing things!
GP: Totally. When your work comes alive underneath lighting and when there's good lighting, or if there's bad lighting, and you could figure out a way to make someone look flawless underneath any lighting, I think that that is my favorite. Any type of motion, too! Videos have been, by far, my favorite medium that I grew into. It’s so exhilarating. Your work actually comes to life. If it looks pretty at any angle–I feel like an artist.
KR: In deciding to work with clean beauty makeup products – was that a request by your client or you wanting to do that?
GP: I actually was intrigued by it before working with her. I worked one of the first green beauty events in LA circa 2012 or 2013. It was “the future of beauty” and I grew up in the Bay Area, so I was familiar with “hippie” green makeup I saw in Berkeley at the farmer’s market. But, I always looked at it and thought, this shit doesn't work. My mom would say, that's not gonna work on your skin tone. It would be too white or too powdery. But, my client asked me to use only green beauty products and I was up for the challenge. I remember her telling me back in 2014 or 2015, You should brand yourself as a green beauty expert. Everybody would ask me for product recommendations. I made friends with people at The Detox Market in LA. I was going to Credo Beauty. I was ordering pigments online, mixing it, and finding what worked for TV under the lights. I would see how it would hold or have longevity, and create my arsenal of green beauty products.
KR: What was most challenging about using natural makeup products on set?
GP: Green beauty products don’t have a lot of preservatives. One time, I came back one season in between hiatus. While cleaning all my makeup, there was literal mold on the lipstick! Now, I put a limit on them for a month after opening. I throw them out and buy a new one. It’s not a collection piece! If you want to incorporate natural makeup in your daily routine, it’s not something that’s cute that you’ll keep on your vanity. You have to use it thoroughly and throw it away!
KR: Expiration dates are real! I always have to remind people of that. Switching gears, I’d love to go back to your beauty influences growing up. What or who were your earliest beauty inspirations?
GP: My biggest beauty influences were my mom and my grandmother. I grew up with a lot of aunties too. They were all my first impressions of beauty–especially my mom with the way she had her makeup drawer, her mascara, and her eyelash curler. Those two things I will always remember, because that’s what I would see her use everyday.
KR: Did they pass down any beauty rituals you still do today?
GP: My grandmother was always all about taking care of your skin. Growing up, my grandfather would take volcanic rocks home from his trips to the Philippines. He would bang it and then temper it with a hammer and make exfoliating rocks! Once a week, my mom would scrub me with the rock–and I liked it! Then, after exfoliating, my grandma would oil me on every inch of my body. So, to this day, I love exfoliating. I travel with Korean exfoliating mitts and don’t feel fully clean until I’m using one of those things! That really stuck with me.
KR: I love that your grandma and your mom were on top of the beauty rituals early. And I also am huge on exfoliating. I actually use something called a Luv Scrub – it’s an exfoliating sheet.
You’ve talked a bit about growing up in the Bay Area, where I’m imagining there was a strong Filipino community. I feel, a lot of times when I talk to Filipino women, they talk about feeling–especially if they grew up in a very white neighborhood–very othered and insecure. Did you experience that? Or have you always felt really comfortable in your skin?
GP: I actually felt the opposite. I'm third generation. My grandparents were raised in America. They met in high school in the Bay Area, and they’re very Americanized. I'm very Americanized. I'm very much a California girl first, then Filipino second. I felt isolated in the Filipino community because I never fully felt like I fit in. I was praised by my elders for being so fair–they’d say, You’re so ganda. You’re so mestiza-looking. But then, I was overweight at one point too, so I would also hear You’re so taba, you should lose weight. Compared to more petite Filipino girls, I felt I was too tall. Too overweight. Too curvy. I’m not petite. I’m not small. I’m not dark enough.
I always felt out of place, like I'm never gonna be good enough for my own kind. It was very confusing. I also didn't speak the language. I couldn't even understand fluently like my cousins and my other Filipino American friends. But, I always wanted to be around the Filipino community because I wanted to belong.
KR: How did that affect your confidence growing up? How did you cope with feeling like you didn’t know where to fit in?
GP: I struggled with what felt like an identity crisis in beauty. There's a tug and pull between Filipino beauty standards and American beauty standards – I was in between both. Eventually, I developed an eating disorder. I was fully bulimic from the time I was 11 or 12 years old until I was 21 or 22. I had severe body dysmorphia. That turned into alcoholism. Then into drugs. And when I got sober, I realized the root of all of it was body dysmorphia. That was mind blowing to me–I was just like, Oh my God, this never left me.
For years on end, I hated myself. It wasn’t until my 30th birthday in the pandemic that I said, no more. This is a new decade, and a new year, and your promise to yourself from here on is to not hate yourself anymore. You’ve done it for two decades already. What drew me in [to my new project] was that I really wanted to create a platform that would help others within the beauty space, not just superficially with tips and tricks. Because beauty is more than that to me.
KR: I definitely resonate a lot as someone with body image issues myself – I feel like so many people have dealt with this and can relate to this, especially in the Filipino community. Even earlier in our conversation, when you were talking about the comments on your weight, it’s so pervasive in our culture. I am happy that you're talking about it. Like you said, I love talking about a lash curler, but I do think that beauty is deeper. I’m grateful to you for opening up.
GP: It's so interesting, how vast, how wide, how lucrative the beauty industry is. But, I want people to know that beauty is deeper. It's really something that, on a subconscious level, is so impactful on individuals as a society, as a culture, as a community. It gave me the freedom to find my own path. And for me, that really has been the “Why.”
KR: Self-image, self-worth deeply affects every corner of life, so I completely understand how it’s all connected and why I’m passionate about beauty. I don't think it's a frivolous thing and it's more than lipstick. It’s about confidence and, and giving people, honestly, the permission to love themselves as they are. That's a long journey for everyone.
GP: My goal is to just make a positive impact in the beauty industry and with people. Working in the makeup chair with multiple clients, I’ve seen people wanting to recover after a breakup, or a divorce, talking about all the insecurities women have to face. It really brought a lot of healing to me to know that I’m not the only one struggling with identity and self-worth. I also met other girls who were so confident I wanted what they had. They were beautiful and non-judgmental, and not looking at each other as competition. I always wanted to be like that. That’s what my goal is.
On-Set Makeup Secrets From Gabbi Pascua:
Skincare is the most important step for makeup. “Everyone knows about the ‘glazed donut’ look that’s trending in skincare. On set with my talent, the biggest thing would be washing and taking off the makeup so you make sure day to day that you keep your canvas clean so makeup looks fresh everyday.”
Make any lipstick long-wear by setting it with a translucent powder. “This is an OG trick. Get a Kleenex, strip it down to be one sheer ply. Get a brush with some translucent powder and tap it on the lips over the tissue barrier. That helps set it for a long time.”
Avoid eye makeup smudging by layering product. “With either eyeliner or eyeshadow, take a cream base and set everything with a powder. I love to use a cream eyeshadow base to hold the eyeshadow and set it with a powder eyeshadow. I use that technique with eyeliners too. Also, I love a waterproof gel liner if you struggle with smudging!”
Strike a balance between looking oily and looking dewy. “Keep the glow so that you look like-like and not completely powdered down. It’s a mix. Keep the powder to the forehead, sides of the nose, top of the nose, and chin area. Keep everything minimal when it comes to cheekbones and high points of the face! Especially if you want to look great on camera.”
Inside Gabbi Pascua’s Beauty Bag
iS Clinical Skincare & Replenix: “I’m obsessed with my skincare routine right now which is iS Clinical. I’m using their Cleansing Complex and it’s been helping me. I started breaking out a little but but I’ve been using that in combination with Replenix Vitamin C and Retinol. My skin is so good right now!”
Dr. Barbara Sturm Glow Drops & Face Cream: “I’ve been obsessed with her glow drops and her face cream. I really like the prep. I think skin prep right now is what’s making the Dior concealer work really good. My face is so supple that the concealer is doing everything it needs to do and I’m totally in love.”
Dior Backstage Concealer: “I’m fully in love with it. It’s so thick that I use it all over my face as foundation, with a lot of moisturizer.”
Laneige Lip Sleeping Mask: “Laneige has this overnight lip plumping mask–I can’t function without it right now! It’s clean and green beauty, too.”
Maybelline Mascara: “The silver and purple “falsies” one. I’ve been on this Maybelline kick lately!”
Lash Curler: “You gotta go with the Asian brands. I love the Shiseido eyelash curler because it gets in to the crevices and really gives you that freaking lift! I also like Shu Uemura. I carry both of them. I travel with two in case something happens to one.”
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With Love,
Kristina
🔥🔥
Kristina! This is so good. I dropped everything to read this. Not only does it give insight to the industry but the person behind what they do. Her first line, "It wasn't even a thought, honestly. I never thought Will they accept me? It was more like, I’m going after this, and let’s see how it goes." got me right away. I followed her immediately and kept reading. Thank you for your newsletter and shining light on our fellow filipinas 🫶❤️