“With one swipe on the lips, one swipe on the cheeks, you can feel its summer,” says Rissa Mananquil during the launch of Happy Skin’s Turn Up the Heat Summer Collection, held April 2, at the 71 Gramercy lounge and resto in The Gramercy, Makati.
The proudly homegrown brand just released its limited edition vibrant colored lipsticks and cheeky, sun-kissed blushes, which are bound to make summer more fun and beautiful.
Rissa—a known fashion model, beauty columnist, mom, and entrepreneur—co-founded the brand with her good friend Jacqe Yuengtian Gutierrez, who worked ten years for a major company's female face care department.
With years of experience under their belt, Happy Skin seems to be one promising brand.
“We’re very hands-on. Whether it’s thinking of a new product name, testing products, choosing colors, branding, packaging.
"It’s a very small team. We wanted something that would complement your skin care.
"Itis making you beautiful, but also takes care of your skin,” says Jacqe.
Each Happy Skin product has "Skin Lovin’ Ingredients," such as cherry blossom leaf extract, for that dewy and moisturize-rich skin; Japanese tea leaf extract, for cover-up and removal of dark spots; shea butter, to get luscious and kissable lips; Argan oil to keep your eyeliner in place; and many more.
Jacqe and Rissa's mission is to build a makeup line that can make you pretty even after taking it off.
“Idea kasi namin sa Happy Skin is to make girls happy, so kailangan from the packaging to the product to our actual store modules, lahat mapapa-smile ka kasi nakakatuwa... Even the names of the products!”
With products such as Eye Am Here To Stay, a 24-hour gel pencil auto eyeliner; Don’t Get Mad Get Even, a uniquely-formulated foundation; Get Cheeky With Me blush-ons; and other cutely named makeup in candy colored packaging, Happy Skin is keeping its word to make every Filipina happy.
Rissa says: “The brand is Filipino minds behind it. We’re proud about that.”
“Quirky, witty, funny—iyon iyong goal namin.”
SUMMER MAKEUP FAVORITES. Of course, beyond marketing, Happy Skin also aims to become a provider of makeup that not only beautifies, but also cares for the skin deep within.
Now that it's summer, everyone is sure to find themselves spending a lot of time under the sun.
However, behind all the beach volleyball tournaments, sandcastle building, afternoon swimming, and other summertime activities, harmful UV rays pose a great danger to the skin.
“Summer is always a fun, adventurous time. Everyone’s at the beach, but not always so awesome sa skin because of the heat. Ang daming aggressing factors!
"It’s actually the best time to get a makeup line that also cares for the skin, para hindi nane-neglect ang skin,” says Rissa.
“Kaso, di ba, iyon ang problema sa makeup, iyong ang ganda-ganda ng skin mo ,tapos pag gamit mo ng makeup nakaka-dry?” Jacqe adds.
Which is why they came up with a new line that answers that issue.
Rissa and Jacqe talked about their personal faves among the summer collection.
RISSA'S PICK. Remember when you used to get your mom’s lipsticks to draw on the walls? Well, times have changed.
Happy Skin’s lipsticks are now the big girls' crayons that you can mix and match to get your desired shade.
Plus, it's infused with shea butter and collagen to give you the perfect pout.
“My personal favourite are the lippies. It can be bought in a box of three or individually. But it’s fun to get the box of three," says Rissa.
"You can wear them alone or layer them, so you can get different colors.
"Any color you mix will give you a new color, so it’s like having six shades with three lipsticks. And they’re all vibrant, very summery, and it gives you that summer mood and makes summer more fun.”
JACQE'S PICK. Complete with a face map and guide, Happy Skin's Contouring Kit can make newbies feel like a pro.
It makes it easy to blend and highlight your face's focal points, giving you a taller nose bridge, higher cheekbones, and a more chiseled jawline!
“Favorite ko iyong contour, kasi chubby cheeks ako, e. So, siya iyong answer to my prayers.
"Especially now for summer, kailangan medyo ready ka for the beach. Iyong contour namin hindi halata, so kumbaga it’s very buildable, so pag nilagay mo very natural ang look, so mukha ka lang sexy and payat.”
KEEPING YOUR SKIN HAPPY ALL YEAR ROUND. Other than Happy Skin, Jacqe and Rissa also revealed their secrets for healthy and glowing skin.
"I’m happy kasi love ko iyong husband ko na sobrang supportive," says Jacqe.
"Kasi I’m based in Myanmar, I’m not based in the Philippines, so I travel every month to the Philippines.
"Pero sobrang supportive ng husband ko na pinapabayaan niya ako to do something that I love.
"So, that keeps me happy... Aside from using Happy Skin."
"Kung happy ka, it will radiate on your skin and how you look.
"So, well... I’m pregnant and I’m due to give birth. I guess for both of us [me and Jacqe] we’re family-oriented.
"We’re very lucky that we have supportive husbands, that even if we got in to this business na Happy Skin, which takes up... so much of our time!
"You know, they’re very supportive na, you know, parang loving husbands are our secrets into being happy and having great skin." Rissa says.
FOR EVERY FILIPINA. The two also revealed their choice of blush-ons.
Morena beauty Rissa uses pink while Mestiza Chinita Jacqe uses peach, dispelling the myth that certain colors only appeal to certain skin types.
"Sa Pilipinas, ang dami naman talagang iba-ibang skin tones, so we try to make sure that all the skin tones are covered, and even skin type.
"We make sure [we cater to] all skin tones, para, you know, we want to make makeup easy for women. It’s easy to look beautiful with Happy Skin."