Rissa Mananquil-Trillo backs Filipino VCO brand supporting farmers, wives
MANILA, Philippines — It's been over a decade since romance-drama “Kailangan Kita” made noise because of Claudine Barretto and Aga Muhlach’s love scene in the 2002 Star Cinema blockbuster, but the mystery woman that stood in between Claudine and Aga’s love in the movie, Filipino supermodel and The STAR beauty columnist Rissa Mananquil-Trillo, seems to have not aged a bit.
Answering a query from Philstar.com, Rissa shared how her proudly morena beauty seems to bask in the frozen hands of time.
“I think for all women, it takes a village… there’s a lot of effort to be put in, especially, we have so many roles in the house or in our own home, whether it’s work or raising a family,” enthused the former president of Professional Models Association of the Philippines (PMAP) who helped set the standards for professionalizing the country’s modeling industry.
“Honestly, aside from the products that I really favor, I think it’s about being happy with my husband and friends,” she shared on what keeps her looking and feeling young.
“I think it plays a big role to find the right partner with the same values… and I feel very grateful because even after how many years, my husband cheers for me a lot, you know, the hardest and the loudest. And being with my daughters, my kids, I feel like there’s always a special moment with them. I love seeing the world through my kids’ eyes, and I feel that’s very special.”
Apart from her timeless Filipina beauty, Rissa’s authenticity is why she has been recently tapped as the first green beauty ambasssador.of Dermtropics, a natural body and haircare brand powered by raw and organic Philippine coconuts and other plant-based ingredients.
“Rissa not only represents the brand but also cares about it,” Dermtropics co-owner and co-founder Margaux Arambulo-Lucena said at Rissa’s recent grand unveiling as endorser in Rockwell Club, Makati City.
As a well-respected Filipino entrepreneur, Rissa is more than just the brand’s face; she also shares inputs and in fact, gave the products “a deep review,” said Margaux.
Like coconut, the brand’s star ingredient, which unleashes its beauty when opened, Rissa has also been known as a woman who comes out of her shell, added Margaux, who is also the brand’s president and product development head.
According to Rissa, what she liked most about the brand is its transparency in its processes, ingredients, mission and vision.
“I’m proud to represent this green beauty brand because not only does it aspire to be the best in the world, but also to be the best for the world,” she vouched.
She said she accepted the endorsement because the brand also aligns with causes she champions – supporting local, women empowerment, sustainability and conscious consumption.
“Even if there’s an opportunity to be a brand ambassador for a beauty brand, it was something I was ready to walk away from if I didn’t find that the products work for me,” she attested.
“I got excited not only at how it’s not only a local and homegrown brand, but it’s locally made. And how many homegrown, local brands champion local ingredients provide livelihood to Filipinos, because everything is made and sourced here?”
Why wet-milled VCO?
Miko Lucena, Margaux’s husband and Dermtropics’ Chief Executive Officer and Business Development Head, recalled that the COVID-19 pandemic motivated them to do their part in making the world a better place by starting a business at their own apartment – using fresh coconuts harvested by Filipino farmers from Cotabato and Davao in Mindanao, which are then turned into hair and body care products encased in bottles made of biodegradable wheat, and wrapped by him and the “cocommunity” they help, which includes the farmers’ wives.
Margaux explained that they ventured into coconut-based products because the Philippines is a rich coconut resource. But while many other brands harness the power of coconuts, theirs are made of organic wet-milled virgin coconut oil (VCO), considered as the purest and most potent type of VCO that she assured are very safe for both people and the environment.
Wet-milling, according to Miko, is actually an old, almost manual process of extracting VCO, so in an organic wet-milled VCO where the oil is not adulterated by many mechanical processes, all natural antioxidants and fatty acids are retained, making their products reportedly effective and safe for dealing with common skin problems like Keratosis pilaris (chicken skin), dandruff, dryness, dullness, Psoriasis, and Eczema, which he had.
The athletic Miko vouched for their soaps, as these do not make his skin dry even if he takes a bath more than once in a day when he sweats from sports.
Margaux also testifies to their products’ anti-inflammatory and anti-fungal benefits, and as such, aims to promote them as modern natural remedies, just like when Filipino grandmothers used coconut milk to keep their hair and scalp shiny.
Margaux shared that her dermatologist mom, Dr. Julieta Arambulo, inspired them to come up with the brand because her mom instilled in her and their family the value of avoiding strong fragrances and chemicals in keeping the skin’s integrity. Thus, following the same philosophy, they formulated their products to be gentle and they are continuously thinking of ways to improve their products and packaging, especially as they expand their product ranges and is set to open their first store in Powerplant mall, Makati City.
Rissa, for her part, swears by the brand’s lotion because as someone who moisturizes her skin every day from head to feet, she likes that the lotion is lightweight, easily absorbed by her skin, not sticky no matter what the weather is, and has no fragrance so it doesn’t mess up with her favorite perfume.
“Your fragrance lasts longer if your skin is well-moisturized,” she added as a tip.
Unlike what she used before, the brand’s shampoo is sulfate and paraben-free; and is low-foaming but cleanses the scalp “so well.” It also makes her hair “super smooth.”
“Your scalp should be well-taken cared of, not just the face,” she reminded.
Best of all, the shampoo does not make her hair fall. She tried all possible solutions to avoid hair fall, including using serums, but she found out that the best solution is to find the right shampoo.
Her third favorite from the brand is its conditioner. She has very thin and fine hair, so using a conditioner is usually a challenge. But the brand’s make her mane “soft and smooth without playing it down” or making it look “bagsak.” In fact, she found the brand’s conditioner to be even better than Korean or Japanese ones she has tried.
“We wanted something more than just a product for profit. We wanted it (the brand) to be a window to show what the Philippines is. For us, the Philippines is full of vast natural resources, alongside beautiful and skilled people who can make these types of products that can compete with the rest of the world,” Miko affirmed.
Recalling her research for a paper for her 2008 Executive Master in Business Administration (EMBA) degree at Asian Institute of Management (AIM), Rissa said “the numbers are staggering” on the effects of the beauty industry and the plastic waste it produces.
“More so now because the beauty industry has somewhat become fast fashion already,” she said.
Often, people are so concerned for products that don’t harm their skin, but also neglected those that harm the environment, she alleged.
“Dermtropics is an amazing brand to represent because if businesses don’t ask questions like these, they will be part of history rather than the future… We really need businesses that can change people’s habits for good,” she enthused.
“It’s about time the beauty industry also gets a makeover.”
