Bea Alonzo once waited 26 hours for her turn to be shot as a background actor, only for her scene to be deleted.
“Before I was casted for a role, extra lang ako (I was only an extra). One time, I showed up on the set at 7 in the morning and then waited until 9:00 a.m. the next day before they shot my part,” she recalled.
“I waited for the episode (where I was supposed to appear) to come out that week, and when I saw the scene, I realized I was edited out.”
Alonzo, now a full-fledged star on both the small and the big screens, looks back at the beginning of her career with pride, appreciating the journey she took to get to where she is today.
Bea’s beginnings
“I used to audition a thousand times and get rejected a thousand times,” she shared during a virtual “swatch party” for Avon True Color’s new collection, Floral Wonderland.
“But if you are able to rise above all those things, I feel the victory is much sweeter.”
The 32-year-old actor and entrepreneur reminisced about her youth while checking out Floral Fuchsia, a vivid mid-tone pink lipstick with blue undertones.
She said the pink shade reminded her of “my younger days when I used to go to auditions and wear a lot of pink lipsticks.”
When Alonzo was finally starting to make a name for herself, she recalled something “clicked” in her. “I wanted to be taken more seriously; I wanted to have fun but I wanted to have a direction, a purpose.”
This change in mindset, as she put it, suited the regal rose-burgundy Ruby Rose Red lipstick, a red shade with blue undertones, which Alonzo said she would wear if she wanted to feel empowered as she handles her responsibilities as a café owner of a Dean and DeLuca franchise here in the country.
And as she treads her path, Alonzo believes a little confidence boost goes a long way. If others use “liquid courage,” she has something she calls “lipstick courage.”
“I’ll use this shade (Midnight Orchid) if I want to kick my courage up a notch, to feel more confident,” she said while trying on the deep bruised plum lipstick, the darkest shade in the collection.
Bea today
Nearly two decades in the entertainment industry, Bea Alonzo today focuses on maintaining grace, exploring new ventures—both in and out of the circle she’s in, and using her platform to help others.
In times when she considered to fight detractors back, Alonzo said, “time taught me that it’s not always the best solution.”
“Strength comes in different forms, instead of explaining myself, I’d rather let my lipstick do the talking,” she said, describing Dainty Coral, a burnt apricot red lipstick, which Alonzo said reminded her of a “quiet fire,” slow and steady and lasts a long time.
Experience, she said, taught her to assert herself while gracefully dealing with roadblocks.
Aware of her strengths and weaknesses, and armed with valuable experience and confidence in herself, she now tends to “choose quality over quantity” when it comes to projects.
She alluded this self-assurance to the neutral brown Nude Petals shade, saying that the more confident a person is, the less they try so hard to stand out.
“You know yourself well enough that even if the public doesn’t see you, you’re fine; you can live with it.”
From an “extra,” Alonzo has grown into a star, and continues to grow as a person. She’s an entrepreneur, a pastry chef, and an aspiring screenwriter.
Her growth and her journey, she said, helped her earn the confidence she has now. The confidence that allows her to pull off, for instance, a bright red lipstick shade like Red Poppy.
“I have come to love myself for who I am, flaws and all,” she enthused.
Besides nurturing herself, Alonzo is also using her platform to help those in need. Although, admittedly, her livelihood has also been affected by the pandemic, during the enhanced community quarantine in Luzon, she co-founded the nonprofit organization I am HOPE to provide frontline workers with personal protective equipment and other medical supplies.
“Now we transitioned into helping women with their livelihood,” she said, “And we aim to help underprivileged kids with their education.”
I am HOPE recently raised P9 million in cash and kind donations for various COVID-19 relief efforts. In July, Alonzo, together with her team, handed over donations to the SOS Children’s Village in Muntinlupa City and Lipa, Batangas. She also turned over relief goods to Pasig City.
“I try to look at things from a different perspective. The quarantine allowed me to realize that I have a bigger purpose.”
Alonzo, the multi-hyphenate, joins Avon’s roster of brand ambassadors as the new face of Avon True Color Floral Wonderland Collection. The new collection consists of six matte lipsticks. It’s now available online at avonshop.ph or through an Avon Representative.