KC CONCEPCION ON HAPPY SKIN COLLAB: ‘IT’S A REFLECTION OF WHERE I’M AT IN MY LIFE’
The actress, singer, host and, recently, Avec Moi jewelry designer KC Concepcion has collaborated with homegrown skincare-in-makeup brand Happy Skin for two limited-edition nail polish shades and, as a nail polish lover myself, #HappySkinxKC Express Gel Polish Collection is truly unique.
The collaboration began in one of Happy Skin’s Rissa Trillo and KC Concepcion’s favorite places: a nail salon. Trillo was getting her nails done when Concepcion walked in. “My nail tech goes, ‘Ma’am ginamit
ni KC yung polish niyo.’ It was a light pink from our core collection. Everyone knows KC and I never met her before but I took the chance to say hi. She said she used Happy Skin because she asked for polish that’s made in Korea. She knows her nail polish and she understands the quality of Korean nail polish,” Trillo recalls during the launch at French Tips SM Aura. “She told me, you know, I also want to put out my own nail polish collection. I told her, we can do it!”
Differentiated by an emblem of two roses on its cap designed by Concepcion herself, the shades are colors she wished existed. Happy Skin’s Jacqe Gutierrez adds, “We told her, ‘We really look up to you in terms of beauty and sophistication, so whatever shade you want, just tell us and we’ll make it for you.’ She knew what she wanted right away. Luckily I was in Korea when she gave the colors so I could check it. ‘Beauty’ took eight to nine revisions. It was hard to find the right balance of pink and peach. It’s really a new color. If you look at the other nail polish lines in Manila, you won’t see it anywhere.” True enough, their first release in e-commerce destination Zalora was sold out in six hours and then sold out a day after they restocked. Now it’s finally in stores!
Concepcion describes “Beauty” as a “rare spin-off of normal beige. If you wanna be a little daring but it’s bawal at work, it’s just right.” “Power” is just as interesting as a deep cherry hue leaning more toward pink. YStyle learn more about all things beauty and femininity from KC herself.
YSTYLE: I heard that giving extra care to your nails is something you picked up from your grandmother Elaine Cuneta. What else did you learn from her and the women in your life that you’re also passing on to your sisters?
KC CONCEPCION: She would tell me that our nails reflect what a woman is about. If it’s malinis, malinis ka sa katawan. It’s a signal, especially to men, that if the nails are madumi, parang the rest of the body is not cared for.
Another is from my mom (Sharon Cuneta), to always clean my skin and allow it to breathe. Even in the middle of the day, especially while doing teleserye work, I would really dedicate 30 minutes to an hour when I take my makeup off and let my skin breathe.
I learned the importance of having a beauty routine that also cares for the inside of our body. Hygiene really matters. I learned to choose products that don’t harm my hair, skin and nails. Even with makeup, no matter how good the pigmentation or staying power is, if it’s not good for my skin, I won’t use it because I know it won’t look good. How many nail polishes do you have in your collection?
I have over 100. (Laughs) I always bring them when I have shoots. I have my little trolley of just nail polish. If I feel like a certain color, I just change it anytime. I change every three to four days. It’s like choosing what jewelry to wear and my hands
are the canvas.
How do you like to wear your nails?
My shape is oval-square. I like wearing them long. The hand treatments I get infuse vitamins into them to strengthen them. I use natural coconut oil on my cuticles and I mix essential oils like ylang ylang and lavender. Happy Skin’s polish has hydrolyzed keratin and almond oil and that’s why I love it. It already has a base coat to protect the nail itself. Because of that, it dries fast.
As a little girl, nail polish, like lipstick, was something I would put on to imagine what it was like to be a woman. How was it for you?
The women in my family have always been into jewelry and nail polish. I wear nail polish ’cause it’s fun and colorful and changes the mood for me. When I go through something, it’s either I cut my hair or I change my nails. Right now, it’s my nails.
First your jewelry line, and now nail polish with Happy Skin! You’re in a creation phase.
I’m so inspired! I did acting, singing and hosting. It will always be a part of me. I learned so much of my craft from ABS-CBN and I’m never going to leave. It’s just a season in my life when I feel there is so much more to a woman. If you’re a creative person, like an actress, then you’re probably creative with something else. I think other women should also not be afraid and to explore. A lot of people will discourage you from doing it, but if you have your reasons for doing it and you’re able to use your name for something good — for me, that’s good products for your health and skin — then explore that and keep learning. I’m learning so much about business and the beauty and jewelry industry. It wasn’t forced on me or anything; it came organically to me. As a commercial model and product endorser, it’s one of the first times again that I’m able to create my own products. It’s empowering how they allowed me to be really involved. I’m proud to put my name on a brand I love because Happy Skin goes the extra mile of giving Filipinas a quality product.
Everything you’ve come up with is so unabashedly feminine.
Yes! It’s my journey as a woman. It’s a reflection of where I’m at in life. People have watched my life since birth. Creating jewelry and nail polish shades are my way of taking them along with me that’s not a reality show, you know what I mean? It represents that shift to being more womanly and empowered. These little things symbolize everything.
The #HappySkinxKC Express Gel Polish collection is available at happyskincosmetics.com, select Happy Skin boutiques, and Zalora. Get a limited-edition Happy Skin Nail File when you purchase the set. Follow @happyskin_ph and #HappySkinxKC on Instagram and facebook.com/happyskincosmetics for updates.