MANILA, Philippines - Pierce Brosnan, a.k.a. James Bond in Die Another Day, took one look at her on the set and asked, “Where did you get your exotic looks?”
Before Rachel Grant could answer, he said, “Oh, I know. You’re from the Philippines!”
Brosnan did not say how he was able to hit the nail right on the head. But we all know one thing: He is a connoisseur of beauty. And his half-Filipina, half-English co-star’s looks impressed him so much he just had to stop dead in his tracks and pop the question.
Turns out Grant is not just another piece of eye candy. Her character is as fetching as her looks. The 5’8” morena flew all the way from her native London to Manila to help push Filipino beauty products and thereby help local farmers as endorser of Human Nature. The social enterprise founded by Anna Meloto-Wilks and sister Camille Meloto, daughters of Gawad Kalinga founder Tony Meloto, produces natural and organic personal care products that are 100 percent made in the Philippines and free form harmful chemicals.
“I discovered Human Nature when I came here a few years ago and checked out an organic farm,” she recalls. “I bought so many products the lady who was selling it had to go back to her house to get more stocks.”
Rachel swears her hair has never looked healthier, despite all the curling, ironing and other forms of punishment it gets from too much perming and styling.
“My hair used to be dry,” she reveals. “I never had hair this good. Everything happened quickly.”
Rachel applied another product on her legs and next thing she thing she knew, a dog happily licked the product as she stepped out from an elevator in New York.
“It’s even good enough to it!” she exclaims.
Rachel was so happy she wrote a testimonial on-line and got a flood of inquiries in return.
“I recently came back form the Philippines where I purchased many Human Nature products,” she writes. “I am completely addicted to them. My skin is the best it has been in ages! I have completely taken myself off all other chemical products. I would love to help out. Let me know if I can help in any way! It’s for a great cause!”
When she learned Human Nature was looking for a model to help pitch its products, saying yes was a no brainer. She just as gladly accepted Meloto’s invitation to come to Manila and visit GK sites.
Rachel had several reasons to feel excited all over again.
For one, she’ll be visiting relatives in Parañaque (where she and her mom, Isabel Padua stay here when they’re in the Philippines). Then, Rachel will be able to do what she always loved to do: Help the needy.
“I always had it in me to give back,” she grants. “I want to help Pinoy kids. I had a good education in England, and seeing poverty in the Philippines breaks my heart.”
So she volunteered to support Gawad Kalinga as early as 2007. A few days back, she visited a community in Citi Village, Parañaque.
Rachel has royal blood. Her father, Baron De Longueuil, is a descendant of Lady Ernestine Maud Bowes-Lyon, first cousin of England’s Queen Mother. But Rachel didn’t mind mingling with humble folk in Gawad Kalinga.
Nor did she mind staying in economy class on the plane that took her from London to Manila.
That, and giving her services pro bono, are her way of saying yes, she will help the Philippines.
“I plan to come here more often; around once a year,” she reveals. In fact, she hopes to stay longer in the country, if only her schedule permits.
Rachel will soon play the title role in the Hollywood film Red Princess Blues. She is also looking forward to doing a documentary film on the history of Filipino produce.
Human Nature uses purely Filipino ingredients. Its products, like the mineral makeup foundation, are tailor-made for morena Filipinas.
“We are honoring the beauty of the Pinay,” says Wilks, a morena herself whose British husband Dylan admits her morena skin attracted him to her.
He hopes more Filipinos will follow suit.
(For more of Human Nature, you may visit the First Human Nature Summit at Henry Lee Irwin Theater, Ateneo de Manila, Quezon City today).