(SPOT.ph) Imagine this: You’re en route to the Happy Skin boutique, your first trip in such a long time since the gruesome pandemic began, a bit excited to be able to finally shop in-store as soon as restrictions eased up and you were comfortable enough to actually go outside. You’ve been a loyal patron of the local beauty brand ever since, thus your frequent visits to their Trinoma branch, the one that’s most convenient and closest to you. Your feet already know where to go, which is right by the entrance of the mall’s ground floor.
“Am I in the right store?” You ask yourself when you arrive at the spot you’ve been visiting since 2016. You take one look around. Yes, you are. The sign and the jolly, sales associate that greets you upfront say so. But gone are the loud Tiffany blue walls, pink furniture, and gold accents that you were used to and in its place are muted, softer and calmer tones that all the more welcome you to walk inside.
After helping you with your makeovers and glow-ups for years, the Happy Skin stores are going through change as well—starting with their post in Trinoma, which they recently unveiled last Saturday, August 22. Just in case you haven’t stopped by yet, we’ll walk you through the revamped place of your favorite beauty brand store.
Also read: FIRST LOOK: Happy Skin Boutique at Trinoma Mall, Quezon City
Here's why Happy Skin boutiques are getting a makeover:
Happy Skin Cosmetics has always been about being a local brand with international standards, Jacqe Yuentian-Gutierrez, founder and CEO of Happy Skin Cosmetics, tells us that their brand was one of the first to break the mold of a typical Filipino makeup brand and be able to be at par in terms of quality with massive players across the globe. Yuengtian-Gutierrez is part of the founding team, and in true Happy Skin style, she points to the fact that they never stopped innovating since it started in 2016, with new collections almost every two months, even during the pandemic—where they released and built more on their face-basis and skin-care products.
While everyone was stuck indoors, the Happy Skin team saw the online marketplace as a reason to keep on going. In fact, its transition to the online space was easy, smooth, and strong, thanks to the trust and loyalty of its customers that have been there since the brand's inception.
They did product testing from home and held virtual campaigns. Now, Yuengtian-Gutierrez shares that one of the lines they launched at the height of quarantine, sometime in April 2020, continues to be a best seller.
While the digital space continued to reign throughout the quarantine, a massive shift sometime around March 2022 reopened physical spaces once more. It was at that point that Yuengtian-Gutierrez realized that their stores weren’t left unscathed by the quarantine either. Happy Skin’s brick-and-mortar shops and stalls across the Metro were no longer fitting spaces for the products they had continued to innovate–thus the decision to revamp their stores to breathe life into the spaces again.
Happy Skin's New Look
In the first year of the pandemic, Yuengtian-Gutierrez wanted to relaunch the brand. "I want to bring the brand's skin-caring tag forward. Happy Skin has always been 'makeup that cares for your skin,' that's our tagline. But somewhere along the way, we forgot to talk about it," she shared.
"With that change, I tried to soften the look and the brand."
Well, no surprise here, Happy Skin's boutique is still the beauty mecca you knew it would be—their extensive line of high-quality skincare and makeup products, bestsellers and fresh drops alike, are on full display with the most eye-pleasing color palette. It has an open facade and well-lit space, and frankly, it feels like walking into a warm and sunny afternoon.
In case you're not familiar with their product lines, there is your entry point into makeup, the approachable, simpler, and student-friendly Generation Happy Skin line—which was launched with Filipina celebrity Kathryn Bernardo. There's also what Yuengtian-Gutierrez said is their "core line," a.k.a the "pandemic babies" which consist of more elevated products that care for your skin: From the Rescue Me Sunscreens, the Calming and Soothing series, their best-selling tinted moisturizers, dewy cushions, among others.
As Yuengtian-Gutierrez tells us, Happy Skin continued to grow in the past few years, a clear sign that the local market is more than ready for a local brand with international-standard products. She shares that she’s even taken to bringing their products over to friends and family abroad, to glowing reviews for Asian makeup.
Also read: Beauty Breakdown: A Look at the Ingredients in Happy Skin's New Moisturizer, Sunscreen + More
Trinoma is just the first out of their brick-and-mortar shops to get this softer, calmer makeover. Yuengtian-Gutierrez also has something for their patrons to look forward to in the coming month. More on the eyes, she teases. So, keep your eyes peeled.
For more information and updates, check out Happy Skin Facebook page.