Rissa is the Filipina entrepreneur, co-founder, and Chief Brand Officer behind Happy Skin, the country’s

first home-grown makeup label offering innovative skin-caring makeup that can compete with the best
in the world. In the span of three and a half years, Happy Skin has set up 13 stores and close to 100
beauty counters across the country. It has won 40 beauty awards from top fashion and beauty glossies,
was hailed by Ayala Malls as the Most Promising Retailer for 2015 and 2016, and garnered Watsons
Philippines’ award as the Most Promising New Cosmetic Brand for 2016 and People’s Choice Award for
Cosmetics in 2017. Happy Skin is also the first local cosmetics label to collaborate with the international
juggernaut, Disney. Rissa was recognized as Woman Entrepreneur of the Year (Philippines) in 2017 by
Ernst & Young. Many of her business insights are shared in her best-selling book, Read My Lips: What It
Takes to Build a World-Class Homegrown Brand.
Woman Who Rocks: Rissa Mananquil-Trillo

She’s an inspiring figure in the beauty industry, but perhaps the most admirable trait of the multi-
faceted Rissa Mananquil-Trillo is her capability to turn challenges into opportunities. With her successful
homegrown brand Happy Skin helping plenty of Filipinas feel beautiful, comfortable, and proud in their
own skin, she continues to look ahead and find more ways to empower and lift others—and that
includes standing in her own power and understanding her worth.

Cosmetic brands have been a-plenty in the retail scene. Why did you think there was room for a new
player back then?

In more than a decade of being a model and a beauty columnist, I had not been able to experience a
single makeup brand that could take care of my skin and not leave it looking and feeling worse at the
end of the day. From the questions I received through my column, I knew that I wasn’t alone. That is
why Happy Skin is all about skin-caring makeup. Instead of waiting for someone to come up with a
solution, I took a chance to fill a gap in the local cosmetics industry, and I am very proud to say that with
Happy Skin, we were able to create skin-caring products that I could swear my life on.

Make-up has been touted as having transformative powers, as having gone beyond being an indulgence.
Your thoughts?

Happy Skin creates tangible products, but I will always be amazed by how it has changed and added
value to our customers’ lives. When Filipinas use Happy Skin, they are able to experience the unique,
transformative power of makeup. I have encountered brides-to-be shopping for the makeup they’ll wear
on their special day, and beauty advisors sharing stories about customers bringing prescriptions from
doctors or ob-gynes with Happy Skin as the recommended product. It’s really fulfilling to hear these
personal stories of how the brand has made women feel prouder and happier in their skin.

The beauty industry seems like a competitive industry. Is it fiercely so?

I’d like to think that women entrepreneurs genuinely celebrate each other’s wins. When one of us is
able to get something done, that’s an accomplishment for all of us. There is an understanding that the
hard work we put into breaking glass ceilings as entrepreneurs—which many of us do while being wives,
moms, daughters, and sisters at the same time—isn’t only for us, but also for the generations who will
succeed us.
How has life been for you, Rissa, who’s gone through some personal challenges and professional
incarnations?

It feels like I have nine lives: I’ve gone through experiences that should have kept me down and out, but
I’ve always managed to get back up. And each time I do, I learn that I always have a choice to not be
held back by the past. It’s difficult, but I’m proud of becoming more and more the kind of woman who is
able to choose happiness over history, and growth over comfort.

Who is your style icon?

I have many whom I look up to, but when it comes to dressing up, the one who knows best what looks
and feels great on you is always the person looking back at you from the mirror.

What’s your signature look?

Whether it’s a day in the office or a special night out, I am always after something that’s tailored and fits
me well, even if a pair of jeans, a shirt, a suit, or a couture dress.

What would you splurge on?

A vacation with my husband Paolo and our children.

What’s your self-care routine?

I make it a point to once in a while go offline and detox from social media. It’s both powerful and
empowering to be able to filter out any noise that can cause you to go out of character or lose sight of
the things that really matter to you. Going offline is the new luxury.
Every time I’m tired, I realize it’s because I haven’t been able to say no. I ask myself, is this really worth
my time and person? I no longer say yes to anything that doesn’t feel like a complete yes to my life.
Learn to say no, so the rare time you say yes, it becomes more powerful and meaningful. Saying yes to
self-care isn’t about the work you lose. It’s about the life you gain.

What would you tell your 13-year-old self?

Don’t be afraid to be different. Be more afraid of being the same as everybody else. You will never
influence the world by trying to be like it.

What other dreams do you want to fulfill?

There’s still so much I dream of doing, but as they say, never discuss three things: your love life, your
finances, and your next move.

The theme for International Women’s Day this year is #EachforEqual. What is your message to women
who are fighting for equality in their respective fields?

Believe that your voice matters. Speak, because when it’s quiet, it means there are so many others who
are waiting and listening. You don’t know how many you can empower when you choose to speak up.

For the past 22 years, Rissa Mananquil-Trillo has made a mark as multi-hyphenate achiever, establishing
her expertise as an entrepreneur, a beauty expert, a journalist, and a professional model.
Writing was Rissa’s first love, and it was with this medium where she developed in-depth consumer
knowledge on beauty and fashion. She was granted a teenage lifestyle column with national broadsheet
Philippine Daily Inquirer in 1994. For over 10 years now, Rissa's popular beauty and fashion advice
column Style S.O.S has been running weekly on national broadsheet The Philippine Star.

In 2000, Rissa professionalized her modeling career, joining the Professional Models Association of the
Philippines (PMAP). Her leadership skills lead her to serve nine years as board member for PMAP, with
five years as its president spearheading professionalism, during which she instituted significant reforms
in the modeling industry. The policies she implemented have become standard practice in the industry
today. She was later given an award at the 1stPhilippine Fashion Ball for her outstanding leadership and
significant contribution to the industry.

As a recognized beauty authority, she took on a beauty expert campaign in 2007 with global beauty
brand, Pond’s, where she was later asked to come on board as consultant to the brand. She has been
recognized by Cosmopolitan Philippinesas one of the “30 Power Pinays”, while Mega Magazine
acknowledged her as one of the “30 Women Shaping Style & Changing Culture.”

A graduate of BS Management from the Ateneo de Manila University where she was a Dean’s Lister, she
further honed her business skills at the Asian Institute of Management, taking part in Strategic Brand
Management and Marketing Distribution Management post-graduate courses. With her passion for
brand building and expertise in the beauty industry, she became a business owner in October 2013 and
launched Happy Skin—the Philippines’ favorite homegrown brand of skin-caring makeup—together with
co-founder Jacqe Yuengtian-Gutierrez.

In a span of two years, Happy Skin has set up 80 counters across the country, won 20 beauty awards
from top fashion and beauty glossies, was awarded by online news giant Rappler as a brand leader in
social media, was hailed by Ayala Malls as the Most Promising Retailer for 2015, and garnered Watsons
Philippines’ award as the Most Promising New Cosmetic Brand for 2015.

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Her Lips Unsealed: Rissa Mananquil-Trillo Talks About Beauty And Business

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Her Lips Unsealed: Rissa Mananquil-Trillo Talks About Beauty and Business

Her Lips Unsealed: Rissa Mananquil-Trillo Talks About Beauty and Business

By Jeanna Lanting

June 10, 2019

As a top model, beauty columnist, wife, and mother of three, Rissa already had it all. Despite this, she
decided to pursue another avenue in the business of beauty by creating a skincare and cosmetics brand
that caters to Filipina women. Now, Rissa shares her entrepreneurial journey with the world through her
first book, Read My Lips: What It Takes To Build A World-Class Homegrown Brand.

Advertisement

In your transition from super-model to beauty business maven, did you find the shift challenging?

When I graduated from Ateneo de Manila University in 2001 with a BS Management degree, I got into
modelling. Although I got offers from different companies in the corporate world, you can say it was a
business decision to choose to model because I knew I could earn much more than I would from a nine-
to-five job, and I would still have the extra time to pursue other passions.

Growing up, I always had an entrepreneurial streak. The first thing I ever sold was hand-woven
friendship bracelets. I was eight years old and it was all the rage back then. I would use my school
allowance to buy different colors of embroidery thread and weave them into bracelets. I sold them for
P5.00 each. As a teenager, I would set up a stall every summer to sell food to the nearby offices and
townhouses since there were no refreshments to buy nearby. I would go through our refrigerator and
sell chocolates and juice. I also loved to read and write. Every time we would be at the mall, I would ask
to go to the bookstore so I could get a new book. All the books I read inspired me to write. I wanted to
share this love for reading, so I wrote my own short stories, poems, comics, and even created my own
mock-up newspaper to sell to family and neighbors.n

search

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Her Lips Unsealed: Rissa Mananquil-Trillo Talks About Beauty And Business
share

Her Lips Unsealed: Rissa Mananquil-Trillo Talks About Beauty and Business

Her Lips Unsealed: Rissa Mananquil-Trillo Talks About Beauty and Business

By Jeanna Lanting

June 10, 2019

As a top model, beauty columnist, wife, and mother of three, Rissa already had it all. Despite this, she
decided to pursue another avenue in the business of beauty by creating a skincare and cosmetics brand
that caters to Filipina women. Now, Rissa shares her entrepreneurial journey with the world through her
first book, Read My Lips: What It Takes To Build A World-Class Homegrown Brand.

Advertisement

In your transition from super-model to beauty business maven, did you find the shift challenging?

When I graduated from Ateneo de Manila University in 2001 with a BS Management degree, I got into
modelling. Although I got offers from different companies in the corporate world, you can say it was a
business decision to choose to model because I knew I could earn much more than I would from a nine-
to-five job, and I would still have the extra time to pursue other passions.

Growing up, I always had an entrepreneurial streak. The first thing I ever sold was hand-woven
friendship bracelets. I was eight years old and it was all the rage back then. I would use my school
allowance to buy different colors of embroidery thread and weave them into bracelets. I sold them for
P5.00 each. As a teenager, I would set up a stall every summer to sell food to the nearby offices and
townhouses since there were no refreshments to buy nearby. I would go through our refrigerator and
sell chocolates and juice. I also loved to read and write. Every time we would be at the mall, I would ask
to go to the bookstore so I could get a new book. All the books I read inspired me to write. I wanted to
share this love for reading, so I wrote my own short stories, poems, comics, and even created my own
mock-up newspaper to sell to family and neighbors.
I realised I was entrepreneurial—I was not afraid to create things from scratch, find a solution, and make
the most out of opportunities. My innate interest in business was further developed when I took up BS
Management at the Ateneo de Manila University and even post-graduate courses on Strategic Brand
Management and Marketing Distribution Management at the Asian Institute of Management. Because
of my work as a model and beauty columnist, the beauty industry has always been part of my life, so it
was natural for me to start a beauty business.

With the help of my parents, I grew up knowing that with a lot of hard work and the right values, I can
become whoever I set my mind to be. That's why even if the entrepreneurial landscape was and still is
mostly dominated by men, I never thought twice about becoming a female entrepreneur. I celebrate
and honor other women who have also chosen this path because the more women leaders there are in
different industries, the more the younger generation of women can see that there is no limit what they
can do because they see women who have come before them actually paving the way.

A Conversation with Happy Skin Co-Founder Rissa Mananquil-Trillo

From modeling and writing a beauty column, Happy Skin co-founder Rissa Mananquil-Trillo created a
homegrown makeup brand that she swears by. Read on to find out more about how she got into the
beauty business and discover what it’s like building a brand from the ground up.

How did you get your start in business? Was it something you’ve always dreamed of or something that
you discovered you wanted to get into later on in life?
My first attempt at business was co-founding Happy Skin back in 2013, but even as a child, you could say
that I’ve always had an entrepreneurial streak. I sold anything I could create—from my own stories,
poems, comics, and newspapers, to woven bracelets and even food—and found customers in my
neighbors, family members, and friends.

As I grew older, and the more time I clocked in the beauty industry as a model and a beauty columnist, it
became a dream of mine to create my own makeup line. Not just the kind that attaches my name on the
packaging, but the kind that allows me to be hands-on with creating, formulating, and testing everything
from the start. Through Happy Skin, I was able to create products I can swear my life on.

What was your background before getting into business? Why did you choose to get into the beauty
industry?

I graduated from the Ateneo de Manila University with a Management degree and took up post-
graduate courses on Strategic Brand Management and Marketing Distribution Management at the Asian
Institute of Management. I also served the Professional Models Association of the Philippines for five
years as president. With so much exposure and experience in the beauty industry, it was natural for me
to start a business where my roots were. Happy Skin stemmed from a very personal pain point. Even
with 15 years as a model and beauty columnist, I hadn’t come across a single makeup brand that would
care for my skin and also celebrate Filipina beauty. So I thought, why not create one?

What were challenges or setbacks in the beginning? How did you overcome them?

When Happy Skin was created in 2013, it was also a challenge to share a beauty brand in an
environment where the word “local” was yet to be embraced by consumers. Six years ago, foreign
brands comprised 90% of the Philippine makeup industry. This was a figure we wanted to change by
competing with the best in terms of quality and innovation—and we did. From day one, we aspired to
be a global Pinoy brand: proudly homegrown with Filipino minds behind it and committed to offering
world-class quality.

I am proud to see that there is so much love for homegrown Filipino brands today. More people have
pride in local talent, and I would like to think Happy Skin contributed to this change in culture from
prizing what’s imported to genuinely loving what’s local.

The biggest barrier for Filipinas when it comes to using makeup is the worry that it will cause them to
break out. This was a fear we wanted to allay, and in order to break this barrier to entry, Happy Skin was
designed to be makeup that cares for the skin. At the time of our launch, no brand had actively
positioned itself as a dual citizen of skincare and makeup, and this is what differentiates Happy Skin from
other makeup brands.

Was it difficult to come up with a homegrown brand that could compete with all the other brands
already in the market—local or global? What do you think sets your brand apart?

In addition to our unique and inimitable product proposition and our passion for innovation, Happy Skin
also has consumer-first mindset. Our consumers are our core, our heartbeat, and part of our DNA. They
keep our perspective fresh and ever-evolving, and motivate us to always offer the best.

What made you obtain an Executive MBA from AIM? What do you think are the advantages of taking up
further studies if you’re looking into starting a business?

Graduating with an Executive MBA degree from AIM last December opened up my world in
immeasurable ways, even beyond business. After 20 months through the rigorous program, I can say
that pursuing post-graduate studies has been one of the most rewarding moments of my life. I didn’t
just learn from the most brilliant minds who share the same values—I also gained lifelong friends in the
process.

For anyone looking to start their own business, it’s essential to have a student mentality. It’s both
empowering and humbling to believe that you always have room to grow and learn, and that there is
always something new to know. You don’t necessarily need to pursue an MBA, although I would
recommend it from personal experience, but you always need to be educating yourself. Education,
whether you receive it inside the four walls of a classroom or through life’s many lessons, is the most
powerful tool you can use to change the world.

How do you manage your time between business and personal life? Do you ever find yourself having to
sacrifice one for the other? What are your non-negotiables?

Yes, of course. They say that when you’re a mother who works, you are always thinking about your
family while you’re working, but when you’re with your family, you also can’t help but think about work.
This is true and it causes a lot of moms, me included, to feel a little guilty. I think it’s important for moms
to accept that we cannot be in two places at once and to be two people at once, and when we’ve
embraced that, to be fully committed to spending as much time to what matters most to us. For me,
that’s my family. If a business engagement gets in the way of one of my children’s milestones or an
occasion that’s important to my husband, it’s the former that I will try to adjust. I’m also very lucky to
have Paolo, my husband, be very understanding of my role as an entrepreneur. Because of him, I am
also able to fulfill my roles as a wife and a mother.

What’s the best thing about owning your own business? On the other hand, what’s the not-so good
thing about it?

You have the luxury of managing your time. But since the business is yours, even when you’re not
physically working, the business is on your mind 24/7. Entrepreneurs find it difficult to shut their minds
off. The reality is, entrepreneurship is an exhausting journey that can eat up your time and energy, both
mentally and physically. That’s why if you’re always working on and thinking about your business, you
can—and should—delegate.

If you could give 3 tips to someone who wants to start their own business, what would those be?

Pursue your passions in whatever you decide to do. The result will always be different, but you’ll never
look back with regret. Starting your own business will never be easy and passion is like the raft that
keeps you from sinking and giving up when you don’t have much else left to go on. Above all, remember
that profit is no longer the measure of success, but if you are solving the big problems of the world.
Never compromise your values and know how to give back.