The Project Vanity Podcast, Ep 5 Recap: Happy Skin's Rissa Mananquil-Trillo on empowering through beauty

Features

Nov 27

I have been following Project Vanity’s podcast since Episode 1 - it’s something I like to do when I have to move around a lot but still want to get my daily dose of beauty. From controversial topics like fake makeup and skin whitening, the PV podcast has also featured special guests such as Angela Dinglasan of Zenutrients and Nina Dizon of Colourette. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed listening to all of them but when Episode 5 was announced, I got pretty excited as Liz and Den got to sit down with Happy Skin’s Rissa Mananquil-Trillo.

It has been six years since the brand first launched, and Happy Skin continues to make waves in the beauty industry. They have stellar collaborations with both local and international celebrities - Heart, Kathryn, and the Disney Princesses to name a few - so it was quite interesting to learn more about what goes on behind the scenes from no other than the brand’s co-founder.

Rissa is one of the women I personally look up to - someone who is passionate about beauty and successful in business, all while achieving that seemingly elusive work-life balance. Listening to the episode made me realized that even she has a hard time doing that!

With a schedule that changes daily, Rissa’s days can get pretty hectic. Until recently, she juggled pursuing an MBA degree and working on her book with being a wife, a mom, and an entrepreneur. To make the most of her time, she built her beauty routine to complement her lifestyle: “something that can be done in a moving car... practical, multi-use, and functional.” This is also a guiding principle in how Happy Skin’s products are designed and conceptualized. Rissa’s current favorites include the Happy Skin x Love Marie Vivid Cotton Lip Mousse, which can be used on the eyes, lips, and cheeks. She also abides with the “kilay is life” mantra and uses the Happy Skin x Disney Perfect Eyes Trio which is a brow pencil, a trident tip, and an eyeshadow in one stick.

What struck me most in their conversation is how Rissa puts a premium on her family time and checks her priorities when they don’t align. Her wakeup call happened one night when her husband asked her, “Are you going to spend another hour in the bathroom, or are you going to spend time with me?” I related to this so much since I’m a new mom, and I’ve realized I wanted to spend more time with my baby than in applying and removing makeup! So I’m following Rissa’s lead to choose products that allow me to still feel indulgent without sacrificing my time with my family.

Rissa’s experience as a model and a beauty columnist also made her realize the lack of products specifically made for our tropical weather and Filipina skin tone. As a morena, she recalls how her foundations never actually matched her skin tone, and how her skin was actually at its worst. She understood the Filipinas’ fear of ruining their skin when they use makeup so Happy Skin is working on changing that mindset by including skin-loving ingredients in their formulations.

This episode left me feeling quite inspired. I have always loved the Happy Skin brand, and knowing how it all came about is pretty interesting. I like seeing how a homegrown brand can sit comfortably beside other foreign brands, and how Rissa manages to do it all is something to aspire to. I’ve listened to the podcast at least thrice already so I can better absorb the tips she gave on productivity! And if you’d like to “pick her brain” some more, Rissa’s book Read My Lips: What it Takes to Build a World-Class Homegrown Brand is available in most bookstores.