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MANILA, Philippines – Bretman Rock rose to Internet stardom in less than a year, and is quickly becoming a star in the Philippines too.
Bretman, an Ilocano originally from Cagayan Valley before he moved to Hawaii, started out posting his hilarious Snapchat videos onto his Instagram account for his friends to watch.
Soon, he started posting makeup videos on Instagram too, and on his YouTube channel, entertaining and educating people with his brand of comedy.
Like many of us nowadays, Bretman learned how to do makeup through YouTube tutorials, and admitted that he never took it seriously until June of 2015. But the 17-year-old’s transformations has had his followers loving his on fleek brows and fierce contouring.
When Rappler caught up with Bretman during his contract signing with ABS-CBN’s Chicken Pork Adobo network, he spoke to us about his makeup routines and his natural confidence.
Here’s what he said:
Be creative – even when you make mistakes
Bretman’s first encounter with makeup was an accident we’ve all experienced at one point or another – he overplucked his eyebrows when he was in 3rd grade.
“I know, everyone says, ‘Worst mistake,'” said Bretman as he recounted the experience. “That’s like, where my eyebrows were literally divorced.”
He didn’t have as many resources as he does today – Bretman receives products from brands like Benefit and Morphe – but he made do: “I was like, ‘Oh my God, what am I gonna do with this, I can’t go to school looking like a mess,’ so I was like, I went through my mom’s bag, and I used like mascara to fill in my eyebrows.”
“I looked a mess,” he admitted, but brushed it off.
Fill in your eyebrows
Bretman’s learned a thing or two since 3rd grade, as his eyebrows have always looked full in his recent photos and videos. Among the makeup products he can’t live without – Anastasia Beverly Hills’ brow pomade.
In the video above, he details, with his usual brand of humor, how exactly he gets his eyebrows looking the way they do.
Don’t cake on the foundation
Another makeup product he can’t live without is a light foundation. Bretman recommended Nars Luminous Weightless Foundation for everyday, but he does use other products too. In he video above, he’s using Mac’s Pro Longwear.
Make your makeup last
To keep his makeup lasting all day, Bretman uses a setting spray, Urban Decay‘s in particular.
“Girl, that will keep your makeup on, my goodness. Like, I could go swimming and have that on,” said Bretman.
If you have a hard time getting your hands on Urban Decay, other brands have setting sprays available too, like MAC and Nyx.
A strong contour
A quick scroll through his Instagram will tell you that everytime Bretman does his makeup, his contour and highlight game is always strong.
“I like contouring my face, ‘cos my face is like narrow and stuff, so I don’t like looking 2-D,” Bretman explained. “Like, I like to look like I have cheekbones, but I don’t.”
In his videos, Bretman does a trick called “baking” where a you layer powder on the highlighted portions of your face – your cheekbones, underneath your cheek contour, center of your forehead, down the bridge of your nose, and your chin.
Leave the powder to set for a few minutes before brushing it off to reveal a smooth, glowing finish. This method was already popular before it made its way to the mainstream through celebrities like Kim Kardashian and YouTube beauty gurus like Wayne Goss.
On feeling your best to do your best
Even if Bretman doesn’t wear a full face of makeup to school everyday, he does keep most of what he puts on his face all day. When he’s training with the track team after school, he’ll keep his eye makeup on.
“I go home, take off like my foundation and stuff and my eyebrows, and then I leave like my mascara and liquid [eyeliner],” he shared.
He explained further: “I feel like if I look cute, then I’ll run really good. That goes for everyone, if you’re looking cute, then you know that you’re gonna do good. I need to have like at least my mascara on or at least my eyebrows filled in if I wanna go to practice.”
Being confident
Bretman said that everyone thinks he’s being “maarte” (fussy) for wanting to have makeup on during practice, but he doesn’t let that bother him. “Like um, I don’t wanna be ugly, girl, I don’t wanna be ugly. You don’t know, what if there’s like, paparazzi at practice? I wanna look cute!” he joked.
On a more serious note, Bretman said it shouldn’t get to you what people think. “Get over it, like it’s inevitable, everyone gets called arte, even if you’re not arte, you get called arte, so it’s like, everyone. It doesn’t matter, don’t mind them.”
Not minding critics is something Bretman has to do all the time, as he gets worse comments than “maarte” on his social media posts.
During the press conference for his contract signing, Bretman also gave a short message for those people who are struggling with their confidence: “Do not ever let anyone tell you you aren’t worth something, because the only thing that should matter is how you feel that you are worth.”
“All these bashers, they don’t care about you,” he continued later. “They’ll hate you for like, that one minute, but they don’t really care, they’re just doing it because they’re bored and they don’t have anything better to do with their life. Don’t ever let anyone tell you the person that you are, because at the end of the day, you’re the only person that really knows who you are.”
Bretman is in Manila until March 17, when he’ll fly back to Hawaii and get back to school.
Are you a Bretman Rock fan? What do you think of his rise to popularity in the Philippines? Let us know in the comments! – Rappler.com
Editor’s note: A previous version of this story said that Bretman Rock was 16 and hailed from Ilocos. He is actually 17 and hails from Cagayan Valley. This has been corrected, we apologize for the error.
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