From Being Judged for Loving Makeup to Becoming a Face of TikTok Beauty Fest 2026

For Gia, stepping into the beauty space felt exciting, but also unfamiliar.

Her online community had largely discovered her through educational, value-driven content. People followed her for research tips, college advice, career lessons, and communication content—not necessarily because they were following beauty creators.

When she arrived at Beauty Fest, she realized she was entering a room where many beauty enthusiasts might not recognize her at all.

And that made her nervous.

“Hanggang ngayon kinakabahan pa rin ako kasi yung content ko is value-driven,” Gia shared. “I get followed kasi nagtuturo ako. Wala naman masyadong nakakakilala ng personality ko, and that’s one of the differences between me and other creators like Pau.”

For someone who had already spoken in front of audiences before, it was a different kind of vulnerability.

What if nobody listened because they didn’t know who she was?

“So ako, natatakot ako baka walang makinig sa akin kasi hindi naman nila ako kilala,” she said.

But then she reminded herself why she was there.

“Minsan lang ako mabigyan ng ganitong opportunity, so might as well enjoy it and be present in the moment.”

From being underestimated to owning the Beauty Fest stage. That moment carried even more meaning because Gia’s relationship with beauty had not always been taken seriously.

Growing up, she remembers encountering the assumption that being interested in makeup and fashion somehow made a woman less intelligent. She once walked into an interview wearing glitter on her eyes. During the conversation, she mentioned graduating cum laude.

“Talaga? Hindi mukhang cum laude.”

For Gia, makeup and fashion were never opposites of intelligence. Her interest in both came from her love for art, creativity, and self-expression.

Years later, something she had once been judged for became part of an opportunity to stand on a major stage and talk about confidence.

At TikTok Beauty Fest, Gia delivered “The Confidence to Own Your Beautiful,” sharing her experiences with beauty standards, self-expression, and learning to become comfortable with being seen.

There is no perfect way to be a woman

Gia spoke about the seemingly endless standards women are expected to meet.

You should be fit. Have good skin. Take care of yourself. Look presentable. Be intelligent. Be articulate. Be confident. But don’t be too much of anything.

Even when you try to meet every expectation, someone can still find something to criticize.

Building confidence, for Gia, meant slowly accepting that she couldn’t construct her identity around satisfying every expectation other people had of her.

And one of the biggest tools that helped her get there was public speaking.

Learning to speak meant learning to be seen

Public speaking taught Gia more than how to deliver presentations. It taught her how to tolerate visibility. Speaking up means allowing people to form opinions about you. Someone might disagree. Someone might misunderstand you. You might stumble over your words. You might walk into a room where nobody knows who you are.

But visibility also creates opportunities.

Learning how to communicate and present herself better helped Gia navigate interviews, create content, advocate for her ideas, work with brands, and eventually stand on stages she once couldn’t have imagined herself occupying.

Communication didn’t teach her how to make everyone like her.

It taught her that she could still speak even when she wasn’t sure they would.

Public speaking is less scary when you believe what you’re saying

One of the biggest shifts in Gia’s relationship with speaking happened when she stopped treating every audience as a group she needed to impress.

Public speaking becomes terrifying when your attention is consumed by questions like:

• Do they know who I am?
• Do they think I’m good enough to be here?
• Are they listening?
• What do they want me to say?

At Beauty Fest, Gia had some of those fears.

But once she started speaking, something changed.

“I want to relive the memory na nung nagsalita ako onstage, nag-enjoy ako,” Gia recalled.

The audience didn’t need to know everything about her beforehand for her message to have value.

And public speaking becomes less frightening when you’re saying something you genuinely believe—not simply trying to figure out what other people want to hear from you.

When your goal changes from “I hope they like me” to “I know why I want to say this,” there is suddenly something more important to focus on than your fear.

Sometimes confidence is choosing to enjoy the room you’re already in

Gia could have spent her entire Beauty Fest experience wondering whether she belonged in a space outside her usual educational niche.

Instead, she made a conscious decision to be present.

That may be one of the less glamorous sides of confidence.

Sometimes confidence isn’t walking into every room believing everyone already knows and loves you.

Sometimes it’s entering a room where you’re unsure whether anyone knows you at all—and deciding you’re still going to enjoy being there.

For Gia, becoming a face of TikTok Beauty Fest was a full-circle moment.

The makeup and fashion that once made some people underestimate her became part of a platform where she could talk about confidence, identity, and self-expression.

And the educator who worried beauty enthusiasts might not know her discovered that she didn’t need to be known by everyone before she could have something worth saying.

Because the point of finding your voice isn’t to guarantee that everyone will listen.

It’s knowing that when an opportunity finally gives you the microphone, you won’t be too afraid to use it.

You can take up space, be seen, and enjoy the moment. Kahit kabado.