ASIAN skin care is truly unique in the world with its close to nature component and emphasis on hydration and moisturization.
Setting Manila Hotel into a beauty bazaar, the Taiwan Trade Center Manila (Taitra) brought in Taiwan Beauty Alliance member-companies with the goal of expanding to different overseas markets and introducing leading innovation in medical technology in cosmetics and skin care.
“Consumers put more emphasis on skin care. And with the tourism industry in Taiwan highlighting the positive qualities of the domestic beauty industry, more than 1,000 Taiwanese cosmetic brands have been established to date,” Taitra said.
Taitra Senior Project Manager Stephanie Yen said Taiwan products in the beauty department leads in terms of biotechnology since Taiwan is a leader in medical technology in Asia. She added that Philippine consumers would benefit from these brands considering similarities among Asian skin and skin-care needs.
Acknowledging the needs of the Filipina skin amid the country’s humid weather, Beauty Essentials Ltd.’s Naruko brand boasts a complete skin-care line that addresses the problems of acne and oily skin that are prone among Philippine consumers.
Founded by one of Taiwan’s leading beauty expert, Niuer, Naruko boasts of a wide range of natural skin-care products that are diversified based on the different Southeast Asian market weather, skin-care needs and customer habits.
Naruko Manila representative Rachel Cheung said the Tea Tree Shine Control and Blemish Clear Night Gelly is a best-seller because of its anti-acne properties. She added that most customers enjoy putting on the product as part of their nighttime ritual because of its cool texture on the skin.
“Customers here have more of an oily skin because of the weather, so this product will help that. It is a kind of a funny step, putting it on before you sleep. But it differs from the traditional face mask that you have to rinse off or wait to dry. This one, you can just go to sleep with it,” Cheung said.
Meanwhile, in battling for customer attention, Tenart Biotech Ltd.’s Maskingdom is a clear standout, infusing artistry and cultural design in its packaging. The eco-friendly facial masks make use of soy ink in printing authentic Taiwan designs made by their indigenous people and artisans.
Tenart Assistant Vice President Andrea Hu said they are looking into the middle-income to high-end market in the Philippines and are positive their brand’s artistic, green and innovative features will gain patronage in the country.
The Maskingdom Boutique Mask makes use of organic ingredients ranging from plant extracts to other botanical oils, and recommends a skin-care routine based on a woman’s monthly cycle.
“There is a really huge market. Everything is green, everything is safe. I think in the beauty industry, people always try something new, something interesting and fun. So this is something fresh for the consumers,” Hu said.
On the other hand, emerging from the shadows of a successful 40-year-old cosmetics brand, Herdsman Enterprises Co. Ltd.’s PSK skin care and cosmetics line caters to the younger generation and attempts to recreate the effect of its counterpart some four decades ago, the Beanne cosmetics.
“Beanne is a superstar product 40 years back in Malaysia and even in the Philippines. It is a two-in-one product, a makeup and skin care. This time, with PSK, we want generation to generation to experience the brand. It is an innovative design and we upgraded the ingredients, as well,” Herdsman Vice General Manager James Ling said.
Among the Beauty Alliance members, Herdsman is the only company offering cosmetic brand.
Its PSK features a complete line of makeup with its foundation and CC cream as best-sellers.
According to Ling, the PSK Peal CC Cream Color Correction is the superstar today. It is a cream press foundation that comes in a simple macaroon-shaped design. Boasting of deep-sea algae extract, which has anti-air pollution features, the CC cream can benefit ladies who are urban dwellers.
PSK Pearl also comes with its own air puff for application made easy.
The Glitter Gloss line of PSK is a treat in its own being an innovative lip gloss that comes with its own LED light and mini mirror perfect for touch-ups at night.
Image credits: Alysa Salen
