Published on the Philippine Star
By Therese Jamora-Garceau
December 8, 2021
F-Beauty Gets Serious About Skincare
Filipino beauty brands like Issy & Co. and Habitude are stepping it up, going toe to toe with global brands by venturing into skincare, the segment that’s booming right now. Both recently launched well-edited skincare lines that address Pinoy needs and are accessible in terms of price.
Habitude is the newest beauty brand on the local scene. Founded by PR maven Romina Nañagas, her younger sister Noelle Hui, their Tita Edna Dolores and dear friend, writer Nikki Santiago-Rivera, it celebrates everyone’s habits and attitudes—hence the name Habitude—but I love how it also celebrates the power and beauty of Filipino women and champions local ingredients.
Tita Edna, whom they call their “chief donya executive,” is a pharmacist with 37 years’ experience who founded her own company, Vista Pharma, in 2000. For Habitude, “I wanted to make credible, useful products that are proudly Philippine-made but globally competitive,” she says.
Romina says they created the brand because “the feel and attitude of the beauty landscape is for kikay or cool girls or girls with good skin, but Habitude was created to celebrate everyone’s habits, attitudes and lifestyles, with no harmful chemicals and using local ingredients. The products work well on their own but also play well with others.”
The first range includes Hardworking Miracle Water: “We love how it's as if your favorite micellar or cleansing water, your favorite alcohol-free toner and your favorite Hydrating Serum were BFFs and decided to pour all the good they had into one amazing bottle,” says Nikki.
Galactomyces and rice-ferment filtrate unclog pores, tone and moisturize for a healthy, luminous glow.
Seriously Revitalizing Serum is the ultimate “glass skin” serum with high concentrations of plant mucin, 2% hyaluronic acid, niacinamide, powerful antioxidants and heritage botanicals.
To protect your dewy complexion, the Go-Getter Moisture + Sun Stick uses 20% zinc oxide to physically block UV rays, plus skin-loving emollients like fractionated coconut oil and antioxidant botanicals to nourish and illuminate. Housed in a plastic-free paper stick, Romina notes that you can travel with it even on a plane because it’s not liquid.
All the products are scented with French-made fragrances, but the ladies assure us they compose less than one percent of ingredients and aren’t harmful. In fact, new mother Noelle has been an avid tester of all the products and vouches that they’re safe to use.
With the striking tropical prints on Habitude’s packaging created by award-winning graphic artist Raxenne Maniquiz housing hardworking, multitasking products that promote F-beauty, I’m definitely looking forward to what Habitude has in store.