Lead editor at Canvas8 APAC, specializing in trend analysis across industries and award-winning arts & culture reporting.

In today’s hyper-connected globe, the meaning of national identity is no longer rigid, and we’re seeing a dissolution of cultural borders as we travel through our devices. This shift in mentality is happening against a turbulent geopolitical backdrop as countries prioritise regional allies.

Border Reorder

Diverse representation is an expectation, but as individuals no longer allow themselves to be defined in singular terms, there's mounting pressure on brands to understand and sensitively reflect how the intersections between race, gender, class, and ability impact people's everyday lives.

Collective Equity

Each month, APAC lead editor Therese Reyes looks into the latest cultural shifts in the region and explains the audience behaviours behind them. 

Another month, another new TikTok trend. And this time, the challenge beauty content creators from all over the world are taking on comes from right here, where I’m seated, in the Philippines. The FYP is calling it 

 makeup, named after the Filipino Black Eyed Peas 

 that came out twenty-one years ago – and the look they’re recreating screams early 2000s baddie (that’s what 

means, basically) – thin eyebrows, a smokey eye, matte foundation and so. much. bronzer. Neither of the things I just described are new. We’ve seen old songs revived on TikTok before; I’d go as far as saying that the app’s unique ability to make #1 singles out of forgotten bops is one of its main features. This isn’t the first makeup trend either, nor is it the first beauty challenge based on Y2K aesthetics. What 

 fresh, however, is that this seems to have started from 

 dancing to the song (Read: not an exoticised view, rather, an authentic one) and comes from a country that has been making relatively quiet yet seismic shifts in the beauty industry. As of posting, 950,100 videos have used the #bebot challenge sound on TikTok. 

 may not yet be as buzzy in the West as South Korea’s or China’s, but within the region, many consider it a rising power player. 

Vogue Singapore

This is, in large part, thanks to local brands that have cropped up in recent years such as 

 (among many others). While they aren’t the first in the market, these brands have a keen understanding of global trends which they then develop into products and brand identities that resonate with Filipinos. Though they all have a premium feel, these brands are affordably priced and easily accessible online and offline. Most importantly, their skincare and makeup are formulated for the country’s tropical climate and Filipinos' diverse skin tones.

Like K-beauty, this success at home has led to success globally. According to the OEC, exports of beauty products from the Philippines increased by 49.9% year on year in September 2025. 

Specifically, there was a reported increase in exports to Singapore, Malaysia and Nigeria. Social media plays a big role here as Filipinos remain the world’s top online users – we are trend setters and early adopters. 

In the music industry, the country’s capital, Manila, is considered a “trigger city,” where record labels ‘test’ new artists and predict emerging streaming habits and patterns. 

Billboard Philippines

They’ve also identified that Filipino fans usually post more content of their faves on social media, helping boost virality. 

Campaign

 Now take this energy and merge it with a relatively new love for all things local, and you get the global rise of Filipino brands. This is further bolstered by what the 

 calls the ‘Filipina Influencer Takeover,’ with the country’s key opinion leaders coveted by many brands during fashion week because of their millions of followers. 

Business of Fashion

The most obvious behavioural shift here is the dismantling of Western beauty standards. While the trend can be done by anyone, the poster children for bebot makeup are quintessential 

, or Filipino women with deeper skin tones – a demographic that has always existed yet rarely depicted in local media where mixed celebrities with Eurocentric features are popular. “What used to be controlled by casting directors and advertisers is now being shaped by ordinary women with cellphones and confidence…. Filipinas are no longer waiting to be approved by someone else’s lens,” one 

 writes about the bebot trend. That this is the Filipino beauty trend to break out globally – beating out more 

 heavy on powder and cheek tint – is telling of shifting beauty standards that more openly celebrate the 

Then there’s the deeper appreciation for non-US pop cultural lore. The bebot aesthetic was quickly followed up by

 aesthetic and the classic girl-next-door 

 – both, of course, posted on TikTok with iconic Filipino pop songs. This is just another example of how fans of one sector are exposed to and influenced to explore other ones within the same culture. Thailand and South Korea – two countries in Asia that have successfully exported films, TV shows and music to the world – both have thriving beauty industries as well. Shoppers in western countries are increasingly interested in Asian beauty brands. Canadian chain Sukoshi, for example – known for carrying skincare, makeup, and hair products from China, South Korea and Japan – started a rapid expansion in the US early last year, planning to have 40 stores in the country by the end of 2026. “As Asian beauty continues to shape global standards, we're proud to be leading its expansion across North America,” Sukoshi CEO Linda Dang says. 

Cosmetics Business

The bebot trend is yet another reminder for brands to highlight the origins of their products. Last year, Huda Beauty launched an ube makeup collection featuring a setting powder, liquid blush and lip gloss inspired by the Filipino purple yam. However, critics and Filipino beauty creators noted the lack of Filipino representation in the 

Refinery29

 This was a huge miss, especially when contrasted with projects such as social media star 

, which highlights their Filipino roots. Doing so not only properly credits the cultures that the products were created in or inspired by, but also satisfies global shoppers’ desires for specificity. For example, hyperlocal shopping is huge in Japan, where tourists shop at local stores such as Uniqlo and consider it as a cultural landmark. 

Canvas8

 Filipino brand Sunnies is proactively creating similar associations through its 

 that immerse shoppers into its makeup, eyewear, flask and merch lines. They’ve even exported the experience to Thailand, with a Sunnies World store in Dusit Central Park in Bangkok. 

Manila Bulletin

Philippines

Asia

Beauty

TikTok's bebot makeup trend is a celebration of Filipino beauty, highlighting a growing beauty industry that could rival South Korea's and China's. Today’s Filipino brands have a keen understanding of global trends, while developing products fit for the region’s climate and diverse skin tones.

Analysis

Therese Reyes

Related Macro Behaviours

Border Reorder

Collective Equity