What Is "Bangketa Makeup" And When Did We Decide That Makeup Is Only Valid If It's Expensive?

On the viral "bangketa makeup" issue on TikTok.

Published on May 14, 2025

ILLUSTRATION: Ica Del Mundo

If you've been scrolling through local #beautytok recently, you might have noticed a lot of discourse on so-called "bangketa makeup." In case you missed it (honestly, bless your algorithm), here's the gist. A certain content creator has been getting flak for using the term "bangketa makeup" to describe affordable beauty products—think P50 lip tints and under-P100 eyeliners—that are being sold on legit e-commerce platforms like Shopee and Lazada.

Yup, that's right. We’re not talking about sketchy, unlabeled eyeshadow palettes at some sidewalk stall. These are boxed, FDA-approved, shade-labeled, e-comm-listed products. They just happen to not be from your favorite clean girl aesthetic brands. And for that reason alone, they're being side-eyed, dismissed, and in some corners of TikTok, straight-up ridiculed.

Let's just get this out of the way: this isn't about product safety. Not when these products are FDA-approved, come in sealed boxes, and have hundreds of positive reviews from people who actually use them. Not when half of TikTok is out here recommending homemade (!) pimple solutions that sound like chemistry experiments gone wrong. If it was about safety, this convo would look very different.

No—this is about class. Specifically, how beauty standards and class expectations are still completely entangled, even in 2025.

Let's be honest for a sec here: calling something "bangketa" when it's sold on Shopee is disingenuous. What people are really saying when they use that word is, "this looks cheap to me." And "cheap" in this context doesn't mean affordable. It means: not aspirational. Not curated. Not expensive-looking enough to signal taste. In other words? It's less about what the product does and more about what it says about you.

Because somewhere along the way, we stopped talking about beauty products as tools and started treating them as personality traits. If your products have a minimalist look, you're that girl. If you own a product seen on a celeb's GRWM video, you're in the know. If your blush costs P500+, you're "investing in yourself" and "upgrading your routine." If it costs P49 and comes in a plastic case? Forget about it.

But here's the thing: beauty has never been just about the price tag. It's about performance. It's about expression. It's about what makes you feel good in your own skin, whether it's a P2,500 foundation or a P100 brow pencil that stays on through gruelling commutes and whole day meetings. The assumption that cheaper means worse is outdated—and honestly, kind of lazy.

And it's not like these "cheap" products don't work either. These products aren't jokes. They're staples. Essentials. Holy grails for people who want to look good without having to drain their wallets. And yet, some creators are treating affordable makeup like an embarrassing ex—something they don't talk about now that they've moved on to glossy branding and four-digit price tags. The cringe wasn't in the product—it was how little they spent.

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Photo: Pexels

Let's pause and ask ourselves: where exactly does this attitude come from?

Answer: branding. Plain and simple. We've been conditioned to see sleek, neutral-toned packaging as worthy, and colorful, loud, or "overly accessible" packaging as less than. That’s why other local brands like Sunnies Face, Happy Skin, and blk cosmetics get a pass (and deservedly so—they're still solid brands!). But just because something isn't being pushed by a macro influencer or doesn't appear in glossy IG layouts doesn't mean it's already inferior.

That perception gap? It's marketing. It's classism. And it's something we all, consciously or not, absorb.

Here's some food for thought: maybe beauty shouldn't be a hierarchy. Maybe someone's Shopee cart full of local, affordable brands is just as valid as someone else's Sephora wishlist. Maybe the real glow up isn't "upgrading" from "cheap" makeup, but unlearning the idea that your worth is tied to your spending power.

Because what happens when you treat "bangketa makeup" as a joke isn't just that you're mocking a brand—you're mocking the person who uses it. You're telling them their routine is less worthy. That their budget-friendly beauty haul is a red flag, a cringeworthy moment, a stage to grow out of.

It's not just snooty behavior—it quietly tells people they don't belong in this space.

So here's the bottom line: if your makeup is FDA-approved, actually delivers on its claims, and makes you feel like a main character, who cares if it was P50 or P500? You're not required to spend a certain amount on makeup to be taken seriously. There's no "makeup tax" you have to pay to be considered worthy of space in this industry or this conversation.

Let people like what they like. Let them wear what they want. And let's stop pretending that budget-friendly means bad—it doesn't.

So the next time you feel tempted to roll your eyes at someone's GRWM video using affordable makeup, maybe ask yourself: Is it really about the product? Or is it about the brand not fitting into your perception of what's "good"?

Either way, it might be time to get over it.

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Cheska is Cosmo's resident beauty girl. When she's not waiting for the next sale, you can find her buried in a book or obsessing over her latest hyperfixation.