Behind every great king, there’s a queen. But who is behind every great queen?
This Pride Month, we are pointing the spotlight towards two budding stars of the local beauty scene. They are our fairy friends; they make noble queens out of humble ladies. But this time, the crown is on their heads.
Queens are not beautiful by themselves. They are made wonderfully by the hands of those who believe in them.
“I dream of sending a candidate to a national pageant,” says Francis Ate Basallo, as the makeup brush sweeps on his cheeks, revealing his finer side.
As he looked back, his first gig was to organize a local beauty contest in his village. Francis, a teenage boy, realized that he could do wonders. Nurturing his love for beauty pageants, he went on to assist ladies in their battle for the crown — from auditions to pictorials, to rehearsals, to coronation nights. Some snatched titles, some didn’t, but each battle is always worth it. “I enjoy every part of it,” he declares.
Francis Basallo is a name that is slowly becoming familiar in pageant circles. It wouldn’t be surprising if, sooner or later, we hear his name being acknowledged by a newly crowned Binibining Pilipinas queen.
Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder. But sometimes, it’s in the hands of a queen maker.
“Kilay is life” is perhaps one of Reymart Almencion’s philosophies because the first time we saw his on-fleek eyebrows, we instantly loved it.
His eyebrows were the gateway towards his love for makeup. Through the power of YouTube vlogs and makeup tutorials, this self-taught makeup artist practices the magic of brushes and colour palettes. Reymart spends his spare time slaying gigs in pictorials and events, and he’s on his way to making it big.
From eyebrows to cheeks to nose lines, Reymart only wants to achieve one thing: to make people feel more beautiful.
To cap off our #Pride2018 special, we asked our queen-makers, Francis Ate Basallo and Reymart Almencion, for their mantras on chasing their dreams.
Reymart: Be happy with any progress, no matter how small, and never feel discouraged. The key is always practice, practice, practice. Go lang nang go.
Francis: Always be patient. Do not be afraid to start small. If you want it, do it. Grab every opportunity. It’s essential not to shatter someone’s dreams.
When asked about their take on the LGBTQ+ fight, the queen-makers said in unison that we all need to give two things to each other—love and respect.
Photographer: Chriz Luminario
Creative Direction and Post-Prod: Ron Dichoso
Story: Ae Llantada
