With over 20 years of experience in the beauty industry, Bambbi Fuentes has mastered the ways of manipulating light and shade, guaranteed to turn heads and captivate hearts in one hue or another.

Though her contributions to beauty have earned for her many triumphs and fulfillments in her career, they are now just one aspect that builds her reputation in showbiz industry. She proves that she’s multi-faceted.

In a Spotlight interview with Daily Tribune, Fuentes revealed the ins and outs of her decades-long stint in hair and makeup and her newfound joy in managing talents and filmmaking.

Fuentes’ passion for makeup began at an early age, but it was never a sure thing.

“I didn’t realize that I’d end [up] with a career in that because my parents wanted me to pursue banking, so I took up accountancy [in college] without realizing how difficult it was,” she said.

Although she finished a degree, she chose to forego a career in finance and returned to beauty. Her first job was at a salon in Timog Avenue, Quezon City. Through her circle, Fuentes expanded her network from the beauty industry to print and fashion. She would be acquainted with photographer Allan de Leon, who introduced the makeup artist to actress Gelli de Belen, after her shoot for Viva Entertainment. This moment started her journey to celebrity status as the makeup artist to the stars.

Timeless beauties

Fuentes shared to Daily Tribune that out of her extensive celebrity clientele, actresses Gretchen Barretto, Dawn Zulueta, Marian Rivera, and sisters Gelli and Janice de Belen are her favorites to work with, and the most beautiful.

“Gretchen reminds me of a popular French actress because of her black hair, fair complexion, her thick brows, pouty lips, and clear skin. She’s flexible, she looks good in both light and heavy makeup,” she said.

Zulueta, on the other hand, was praised for possessing a versatile charm that allowed Fuentes to try various makeup looks on the Palestinian-Filipino beauty.

“Dawn’s a chameleon, too. I used to play around a lot with her features. If I tell her that we’re doing a cateye wing with a barely there look, she’d be down for it right away. She’s such a doll,” she added.

Fuentes also expressed her admiration for Janice, whose appeal, she said, owes to her charm, which has the ability to attract audiences from the common folk to the rich. On the other hand, her sister, Gelli, owes her appeal to her youthful looks and graceful aging.

“Even now, she seems like she’s still winning the race against time because she looks so ageless,” she gushed.

While Fuentes believes in natural beauty, she said that anyone she has worked with has to be made up.

“No matter how beautiful you are, if you get to a point where you would have to sit next to ladies who aren’t as pretty as you but are all made up well, you’ll end up looking simple. You’re still beautiful but you won’t stand out. Say, you’re beautiful but once you get made up, you become more gorgeous, and who doesn’t want that?” she said.

Industry secrets

When preparing for a certain look, the makeup artist said that it depends on the character an actor or actress portrays.

“If they’re going to star as a villain, then their makeup should mimic that of a villain’s. They have to appear intimidating; darker, bold, with generous use of black,” she explained.

“If she’s sweet, then the focus is on shades of white and just her beauty,” she added.

For promotions, beautiful makeup is a must, emphasizing the key features of the artist.

But in the case of mestizas, Fuentes advises against heavy makeup “because anything can go wrong,” and can appear overpowering or alter the person’s appearance.

Recalling her experience with Kris Aquino, Fuentes shared that the Philippines ‘Queen of All Media was a breeze to work with and they were able to explore different styles.

“One thing that clicked between us is her dislike for wearing the same look over and over again. There were times she’d request that for today, we’ll go with a smokey eye, then tomorrow nude, and the next reddish or orange. She loves to play with makeup,” she said.

A new canvas

In 2022, Bambi established Dragon Talent Management, when her salon closed down because of the restrictions because of the Covid pandemic. This endeavor that sprouted during the lockdowns eventually blossomed into a venture of 22 talents as of late. Khai Flores, Christa Jocson and Shira Tweg are among their first talents.

“During that time, I felt that I was still confused because I was so in love with makeup. Because of the pandemic, I was challenged to manage this [venture]. So, I thought, ‘Sure, I’ll give it a try’ since I’m already connected to a lot of people,” she said.

Fuentes revealed that amid the establishment of her talent agency, her salon had nearly 30 booking cancellations and suffered an extended period of income loss from two to two-and-a-half years. Now, she looks forward to the launches of her artists, the groups 1RIZZ, Gandara and Gwapitos, and solo artist Shira Tweg.

She remains determined to make both the agency and its artists thrive.

“Managing is a waiting game, unlike (when you do) makeup. In an hour, you can easily get the result — if it’s good or not, or if you retouched it (properly). And it’s done. With management, it takes time, it‘s a very challenging world. Because you’ll never know what happens next — if they’ll be famous or not. You just have to be patient, and persevere,” she said.

With Dragon, Fuentes also tried her hand in filmmaking, debuting in 2021 with the drama Sugat sa Dugo (Wound to the Blood), starring Khai Flores, Janice de Belen and Christa Jocson.

An advocacy film, it centers on the life of a young boy who contracts and succumbs to HIV/AIDS. Written by Fuentes herself, the film was inspired by a dear friend’s death from the disease.

“During the pandemic, my best friend died of AIDS. I was devastated. We’re supposed to produce this film but it got neglected because of my friend’s passing. Then I thought, ‘I’m getting old, I have to do something about my time’, so I created this film to raise awareness among young adults and the older generation because of the current surge in cases. It can really kill you if not given the proper medication and [procedures for] early detection,” she said.

Recently, Fuentes has been pushing to have Sugat sa Dugo screened at schools to raise awareness on sexually-transmitted infections, and to inform the youth on prevention measures as HIV/AIDS cases increase.

As of March 2024, the Department of Health registered 3,410 new cases of HIV infections and 82 deaths. The number is expected to shoot up to 36,700 by 2030, according to projected figures of the health department’s AIDS Epidemic Model.