Words by Renee Nuevo Photos by Jan Mayo
Creative Direction by Meg Manzano
“What keeps me going is finding purpose,” Veronica Eala Garcia says. “When you start something, there has to be some sort of inspiration that motivates you to keep on going even if it’s challenging. I tie it to purpose. It’s in that constant search for purpose because that motivates us to do what we do.”
Armed with years of experience from working in a multinational company, along with her passion for beauty, and a strong sense of purpose, Veronica set out to launch her first brand. Enter Luxx Lash: magnetic lashes for women on-the-go, the first of its kind in the Philippines. Veronica introduced premium, reusable, and chemical-free magnetic lashes to the market in 2018, and it has been at the forefront of beauty innovation, while emphasizing the importance of leaving a positive impact on the environment.
But after six years in the market, Veronica started to feel frustration. “It was a challenge to achieve the reach we envisioned because of the price point,” she shares. An entrepreneur by heart, she thought of another way to grow her business—and because she previously studied makeup artistry, she thought about venturing into cosmetics.
Finding your unique selling proposition
“What’s hard with that was, I wanted to get into color cosmetics but there’s already so much in the market. How do you differentiate your brand? It took a while,” she says. “We had to think about where else there is room to innovate.”
She co-founded Five Beauty, built on the idea that women only need five beauty essentials. “We went on a mission to find out from women, what are those five products that can make up your look, and you’re already happy with it,” shares Veronica. “[That’s] cheeks, lips, brows, concealer, sunscreen. Just those five! There’s a lot of products in the market but if we simplify it and make sure that these products are created very well and are all very good quality to the extent that they can compete with global brands, then that would be great.”
Veronica, along with her co-founders, Isabel Regino, who handles Five Beauty’s marketing and PR, and actress Gabbi Garcia, who deals with the brand’s strategic partnerships and product development, wanted to simplify makeup for Filipinas. They wanted it to be quick, accessible, and, most of all, affordable.
But there was a big roadblock: “How will you compete with the top beauty brands without capital? You need a lot of capital! How would I even get enough capital,” she says with a laugh. “I was lucky that because of Luxx, an investor reached out.”
From there, the development of Five Beauty was fast-tracked. Once they were ready, they released their first collection—The Hybrid Colour Stick—first launching on the Lazada app. “That really helped us with reach from the get-go,” she says. “With that partnership we had a lot of visibility on the app. That’s a really big help for a brand that’s just starting because it’s so expensive to have all of those mileages.”
Veronica adds: “What I appreciated about the Lazada team most is how they’re very collaborative. It’s not transactional. They really cared about, “How do we make this work?” It was good because they were very open and they helped us find a way. The program in itself helps women entrepreneurs to reach the consumers, and that support is really huge.”
The many facets of a woman
Five Beauty is still an emerging makeup brand in the country, but it’s already generated a good amount of hype and a loyal set of returning customers. Veronica, on the other hand, had just recently gotten married. Another challenge she’s been contending with is the “balancing act” of growing her business and starting her own family.
“[I have to think] about when do I try getting pregnant? When can I have a child? Because I’m building something and people are investing in my business. I owe it to them to do my best. The balancing act is so hard,” she says. Veronica is fully aware of how much motherhood will impact how she spends her time, wanting to be both a hands-on mom and a dedicated entrepreneur. “I have these investors who believe in me, and I need to do my best.”
“That’s my challenge to myself. Find clarity on how that balance looks: building a family and also building a company,” Veronica says. “It’s that balance without feeling guilt or shame because you, in yourself, you’re at peace with how you’re managing both.”
For now, she is committed to her business—something, again, that ties her to purpose. “Five Beauty was created to give something that will make you feel good. Something that you don’t have to think about anymore. It’s making beauty easy and accessible for you, with very good quality and a very good consumer experience.”
For Veronica, everything she sets out to do has to be aligned with her values and her beliefs. “It has to be aligned with what God is, or what is good, or what is kind. If I’m able to do some good, be kind to people, share something that’s good for them, then that for me is success.”
Veronica admits that she would not be able to do what she does without the strong support system from family and friends. “Being able to provide for people that are close to me—my family, my parents, my sisters—is important. When you do something that you like and you’re successful, you have that capacity to give.”
You can find the Five Beauty official store here: https://www.lazada.com.ph/shop/five-beauty/