And then there were five.

We’re in the homestretch of the third season of Project Runway Philippines now, and for the last episode before the finale we were served with another sponsor episode with a twist: dress the L’Oreal woman, as embodied by new endorser Lucy Torres Gomez, in haute couture inspired by Filipino master artists. “Glamorous” “sophisticated” and “expensive” were thrown around, the usual one-day challenge made into two, and the fabric budget doubled.

The message was clear: Designers, it’s your last chance to wow us.

The results, however, were mixed. The clothes had the air of being produced by creatively exhausted and drained minds. This was most personified by Glenn’s mod mini-dress.

Asked to make a high-fashion / glamorous / sophisticated / expensive dress inspired by high art and he turned out this…cocktail dress. Nothing wrong with cute mod cocktail dresses, but this was far off the mark. Glenn knew it too – in his interviews he said a lot about sticking to his vision and aesthetic, as though he knew he would be voted off and he wanted to get it over with. Well, there you go. Voted out.

Then there was my favorite, Amor, and her twee cinqueañera dress.

There’s the start of a good dress under here – I especially like the petticoat – but buried under the pink fluff and that jeweled belt (burn it burn it I say!) and all you could think about were fairies and debutantes. Ms. Amor, konting editing! Thankfully the judges decided to keep her in the finale, so I’m excited to see what she will come up with.

I was fascinated by Milka’s chic little seashell-inspired dress. Rajo mentioned a hint of sea foam blue under those gorgeous layers (which I couldn’t see on TV). This dress was enough to secure the pendulum-like Milka a spot in the final three.

There was never any doubt that Cheetah, who is perhaps the most aesthetically thoughtful of the bunch, would make it to the top three – most especially when this vampy confection of burned lace with that dramatic hot pink train walked down the runway. While it was different and more impactful then the other stuff there, I do find this a bit MUCH, you know? Like some good editing could tip it over to perfect. That said, I am excited as to what Cheetah will show in her final collection.

And then there was Nel.

I predicted an Amor-Cheetah showdown, so it was only a matter of choosing Milka or Nel to join them in the top three. When this gown first walked down, I thought Milka had it in the bag. But when they showed it up close and there was that impeccable structure and seaming (except for the chest area, which is an aberration), and compared it with Nel’s inspiration – a spare postmodern sculpture of concrete blocks – I started to hedge my bets. Nel has really grown as a designer, slowly shedding the taste issues that dogged him throughout the competition. And in a twist that took me by surprise, Tweetie said what we were all thinking: “You deserve a chance at the crown.” Nel was included in the finale. Crazy!

Top 4 designers, people! Who has your vote?

Katrina Atienza, writer, wife, mom of two and fashion devotee, blogs at Plus Size Fasyon Mudra. Follow her on Twitter (@iggyatienza).