Barbie, Ruffa, and Kyline unmask the true cost of beauty
At 12 years old, Barbie Forteza tiptoed into showbiz, wide-eyed and idealistic, believing that if she worked hard enough—and was good enough—she could one day become a successful actress.
But she was in for a rude awakening. Yes, talent, discipline, and ambition matter. But in this cutthroat and image-conscious industry, good looks can take precedence early on—and they often come with a hefty price tag. That much she realized the first few times she sat in a makeup chair.
“I was handed an eyelash curler and was like, ‘What’s this for?’” she recalled. “‘For your lashes,’ I was told. It cost about P2,000. I said, ‘What? I have to spend that much for my lashes?’ I was young and couldn’t quite wrap my head around it,” Forteza told Lifestyle in an interview.
It may not seem like a lot, especially from where she stands now. But back when she and her mother had to make do with P500 for food and bus fares while they tried their luck at VTR casting calls, P2,000 was by no means spare change. And for what? A beauty tool, equivalent to four days’ worth of traveling from Laguna to Quezon City and back.
“It could have paid for our water bill,” said the 27-year-old actress, whose father was a tricycle driver, and whose mother made boxes for their small yema and pastillas business.
And with every passing day, it became increasingly clear to her that this new world she had found herself in was so far removed from the one she had known. “It was hard for someone just getting started because you have to invest in clothes, in makeup, and all this stuff,” she said.
Before she knew it, Forteza was drawn into a game of catch-up, compelled to spend beyond her means just to fit in with her better-off peers. “That way, when other artists sit next to you and look at your clothes or accessories, they would recognize the brand,” she said. “But the truth is—ang mahal!”
While Forteza’s early struggles highlight the tangible financial cost of keeping up appearances, Ruffa Gutierrez encountered a different kind of challenge—one she paid for not with money, but with self-doubt.
Gutierrez was about the same age as Forteza when she first stepped into the limelight. But unlike Forteza, Gutierrez hails from a prominent showbiz clan—and, as the family’s unica hija—grew up lavished with fine clothes and jewelry. And yet, despite such shiny adornments and the crown she would later wear as a beauty queen, the industry’s unforgiving standards eventually revealed themselves in other forms.
“I’ve been in the industry since I was 13. You can’t ignore the fact that it’s often all about the physical aspect. It’s true that once you get to know people, they’re actually kindhearted. But there’s no escaping comments about your looks, especially when it comes to weight: ‘Ay, bakit ang taba mo na?’” said Gutierrez, who placed second runner-up at Miss World 1993.
This pressure to always look their best—whether on- or offscreen, well-rested or barely awake after an all-nighter of taping—is something they have long conceded as their reality as public figures. “You have a certain image to maintain,” Forteza said, adding that, at some point, the thin line separating personal and professional life begins to blur.
Social media erases it altogether. With the veil of mystique invariably lifted, celebrities no longer seem as untouchable as they once were. They have become, for better or worse, more relatable. And this false sense of closeness invites emboldened onlookers to offer unsolicited scrutiny—every blemish magnified, every fluctuation in weight tracked.
Gutierrez, 51, happily announced she had recently lost 22 lbs., and her followers were quick to shower her with praise. But would they be as kind if she were to gain that weight back? For all that social media shows, it often conceals just as much.
“Some women give birth or go through hormonal changes—things we often don’t share with people. Yet there are those quick to call them fat, unaware of what they’re really going through,” she said. “The good thing now is that we can finally respond to those comments.”
Not that the critics are owed an explanation. “Yes, it’s our duty to look good and dress the part as celebrities,” she said. “But now I do it more for myself, not to meet others’ expectations. Because no matter what, people will always find something to say,” she said.
While Forteza’s and Gutierrez’s experiences intersect with Kyline Alcantara’s own journey, the younger actress emerged as a more defiant and unapologetic voice. “I don’t really feel pressured to keep up an image. I’m a human with flaws,” said Alcantara, 22. “Who I am in person is the same person you see. It’s up to you whether or not you accept it—as long as I’m being true to myself.”
As such, it’s no coincidence that “Beauty Empire,” which airs on GMA 7 from Monday to Thursday evenings starting July 7, hits a little too close to home.
Produced by GMA Public Affairs and CreaZion Studios, the plot follows Noreen Alfonso (Forteza), a self-made beauty entrepreneur out to get back at the people who wronged her—the same ones whose empire she now seeks to bring down. And in her thirst for revenge, she squares up with Shari de Jesus (Alcantara), a notorious beauty CEO mentored by Velma Imperial (Gutierrez), a powerful industry veteran whom Noreen once idolized.
While it’s a high-stakes revenge drama at its core, the series—key scenes of which were shot in South Korea—also holds up a mirror to the industry that shaped them, and that they continue to navigate. And in doing so, it aims to challenge, if not shatter, longstanding misconceptions about beauty.
Gutierrez, who has seen beauty standards evolve over four decades in the industry, hopes the show could help spark broader discussions. “I wish people become more understanding…with people accepting beauty of different colors, sizes, and heights,” said the actress, who believes that her longevity is a product not only of how she looks, but also of the qualities the industry demands once the novelty of beauty wears off—like camaraderie and professionalism.
“Beauty definitely gets you noticed, especially in the beginning. But if a pretty face is all you have to offer, you’ll be replaced sooner or later,” she added.
Alcantara touched on an idea we all know too well—beauty is in the eye of the beholder. But if the eye that beholds is your own, beauty can be difficult to see. It pays to be gentle with yourself, she said, and there’s nothing wrong with giving yourself a pat on the back and a bit of affirmation.
“Beyond the makeup, the clothes—your exterior—it’s all about inner confidence, self-love, and self-respect,” Alcantara said.
