Beauty summit brings out the goddess in girls

MANILA, Philippines - At the first Dove Summit, the industry’s beauty leaders, celebrities and bloggers gathered at the Sofitel Philippine Plaza Harbor Tent to celebrate real beauty. In crisp white outfits — the style choice we were advised to wear — and fresh, perfectly painted faces, we were ready to parade into the immaculate, white lounge and make merry. But before we could catch up and fully appreciate each other’s Instagram-worthy outfits, a slight change of plans.

“Please return to your rooms and remove all your makeup,” said Lexi Schulze-Berenguer-Testa, our bubbly host. Laughter ensued, smiles broke out. But as the minutes dragged on, a subtle but still palpable nervousness began to set in. “Even mascara? Or lipstick? Everything?” we asked.

Most women seemed game to play along, but there was an undeniable number who seemed hesitant. One divulged that even her husband has never seen her without makeup.  (She would wake up before sunrise just to pretty herself up).

Apples Aberin, the PR head of Unilever, gently urged the rest, as she stood onstage sans makeup. Underneath the bright klieg lights, she wasn’t shy to admit that it took a little bit of will power for her not to reach into her purse and pullout her concealer. “Unmasking is an emotional journey,” admitted Apples. “But you can become comfortable, too. Our wrinkles and laugh lines tell a story.”

If Aberin, a stalwart in Philippine fashion and modeling and one of the most recognized executives in the country, needed the security, the armor of makeup to feel better, what more us regular gals?

In a country where women have been recognized as the most beautiful in every major international beauty pageant, and in the metropolis where thousands of “selfies” are uploaded by the second (enough for Time magazine to proclaim Makati City and Pasig City as the “selfie” capital of the world), one would believe that Filipinas are not only confident, but they should have a better, healthier self-image. But the unfortunate fact is that only seven percent consider themselves beautiful. A shocking statistic, indeed.

In a global survey conducted by Dove, with the participation of 6,000 women, in 20 countries, including the Philippines, it was found that “two out of three women felt pressured to be beautiful. And one out of two women felt critical of themselves. In the Philippines, 93 percent of Filipinas don’t even like the way they look,” stressed Mian Datu-David, Unilever marketing manager for skin.

Hoping to tip the scales and change the statistics, Dove steps in with its Real Beauty, Real Care campaign. As the leading brand in personal care, Dove believes that real beauty can be found in every person. And through its wide range of personal care products: Dove Skin, Dove Hair and Dove Deo, Filipinas can get the real care that they deserve. “We aim to inspire women to realize their personal potential for beauty. Dove believes that every woman has a potential to be her most beautiful self and that is what real beauty is all about,” Datu-David said.

Head to toe

Beauty starts by feeling comfortable in one’s skin. And in the Philippines where the humidity is overwhelming and the sun unrelenting, daily protection and hydration is key in getting to the bottom of skin problems. While other regular soaps contain harsh skin damaging ingredients, Dove’s Body Wash gently replenishes the moisture levels of one’s skin — even better than milk!

According to Dove Philippines’ brand manager for skin, Jules Gollayan, and dermatologist Anna Palabyab-Rufino, healthy, glowing skin can be restored with their brand’s innovative Nutrium Moisture TM. The rich blend of natural moisturizers penetrates deep into the inner layers of skin.

Dove also reigns supreme in the area of hair. According to studies, eight out of 10 Filipinas have damaged hair  caused by extreme heat, styling practices and harsh hair products. And despite this common problem, only one of three women uses damage-repair products, shared Carlo Isla, Dove Philippines brand manager for hair care.

According to studies, what makes hair dry, brittle and susceptible to breakage are the small gaps and holes in the strand. One can “fill in” these weak spots with the Keratin-Active technology of Dove Hair Care products, which carefully coat each strand and repair  down to the cellular level, leaving one with a strong, tangle-free mane. With Dove, say goodbye to bad-hair days.

True to its real care, real beauty philosophy, Dove also believes that a woman is at her most beautiful when she is confident about every part of her body — underarms included!

Filipinos have a unique obsession with underarms. Despite the sometimes painful process of waxing, plucking and shaving, we grit our teeth and brave through it because we simply cannot fathom going out and being accidentally seen with a strand of hair on our pits. But when one must resort to the aforementioned “abuses,” the unsightly effects of bumpy, chicken skin and dark underarms are inevitable. Shaving, the preferred means of 80 percent of women, in fact, creates micro-abrasions on the skin, which lead to redness. And the melanin, produced to protect and heal the skin, leads to hyperpigmentation and skin darkening.

Neil Trinidad, Dove Philippines’ category head for deo, shared that skin needs 20 to 30 days to heal itself, but since women shave their underarms as often as three times a week, it is to be concluded that our skin never fully heals. To soften the harmful impact, he recommended  that women try Dove soap, which is packed with 1/4 moisturizing cream and Vitamins E and F. Dove not only moisturizes skin to make it less prone to damage, but it also restores skin to its natural condition. In as little as seven days, one can have lighter smoother underarms. 

On the evening of first day, during dinner at the Sofitel Harbor Tent where all of us met, Manila’s top beauty photographers Jo Ann Bitagcol, Sara Black, G-Nie Arambulo and Pilar Tuason unveiled the photos of all the women they had photographed earlier sans makeup. Adding to the delight of the crowd, touching testimonials from family and friends for their loved ones who were participants at the Dove Summit were shared.

So much can change in a day, and with just one campaign. Beaming at our fresh, bare-faced portraits, we realize that our true beauty shines forth when we finally feel comfortable and confident in our own skin.