AN UNEDITED LIFE

Not just a pretty face, Jess Wilson is honest about the hard work it

takes to get to the top

Nude sleeveless suit dress, BUMGARNER STUDIOS BY MARK BUMGARNER; B.zero1 hoop earrings in 18 kt rose gold, Diva's Dream necklace in 18 kt rose gold with 18 kt rose gold pendant set with one diamond and carnelian, B.zero1 Design Legend four-band ring in 18 kt rose gold and white ceramic, all by BVLGARI

Pink dinner jacket by JOEY SAMSON; Pink palazzo pants from BUMGARNER STUDIOS BY MARK BUMGARNER; Serpenti viper necklace in gold with mother-of-pearl and pave diamonds, Serpenti viper pink gold band ring with mother-of-pearl and pave diamonds all by BVLGARI

It has not been a full year since the launch of Sunnies Face, but the brand is now a mainstay in the local Filipino makeup scene and slowly making its name abroad through word of mouth and the patronage of internationally renowned makeup artists—all thanks to the power of social media. Jess Wilson, the brand manager is cognizant of the strength of online platforms to get the word out. “It’s the marketplace for what’s happening globally,” she says.

Living in the era of social media, she and fellow brand co-founders Georgina Wilson Burnand, Martine Cajucom Ho, and Bea and Eric Dee knew they were always going to launch online. “It’s the way forward now. People live on their phones, both online and offline so it is just tapping all the channels, and for us, that was something super innate,” Jess says. “Understanding the e-commerce platform is a big challenge and every day we’re still learning. It is really about seamlessly integrating the offline and online experience because the whole experience has to be considered when you talk about the brand,” she continues

The Sunnies Face website crashed when online orders opened and its online partners quickly sold out of the product. On the day its brick-and-mortar stores opened in Glorietta and UP Town Center, the lines stretched across the expanse of the malls, and eager fans flocked, waiting for hours for a chance to buy the lipsticks the brand offered on the first outing. Interesting to note is the fact that according to the store associate (full disclosure, the writer of this piece was one of those people waiting in line), people came and already knew what they wanted to buy, based on online reviews from influencers who had received the products a few days earlier. The line for the cashier was actually the bulk of the wait that day. In essence, it was online hype influencing the real world consumption habits of people, very much a microcosm of the buying habits of 20-somethings in the 21st century.

“It felt much like a new sneaker drop from Kanye or a new product for Supreme,” mentions a fellow media person. “Very unprecedented for the Philippines, and especially for makeup.”

The brand packaging is very much a social media marketer’s dream, with the use of pinks, peaches, and oxblood. The store interiors take the same fancy aesthetic with furnishings influenced by mid-century modern look. Jess is quick to mention she and her fellow cohorts all really do like those things, and it wasn’t just a fabricated media ploy to get likes. “Martine is our creative director, and if you know anything about her, it’s pink. The whole look I guess is what’s current and what we like,” she says. “It’s not about likes or social media influence or anything, we don’t want to be one of those social media beauty millennial brands, that’s not what we’re going for. It is not about the marketing or brand image. At the end of the day, it’s the lipstick in your hands, and if that can speak for itself, it’s a job well done.”

While packaged in a way that suits millennial tastes, Jess says the it was designed and formulated to make sure the lipstick appealed to a broad range of looks, ages, and tastes. “Everyone is invited to wear Sunnies Face. Everyone is part of the story,” she says proudly. The brand’s visual imagery is very much a reflection of Jess’s personal tastes. “I like seeing skin and looking healthy,” she says. “That’s always something I accentuate. I’m naturally drawn towards warm, flattering colors like peaches, oranges, and reds.”

“It is not about the marketing or brand image. At the end of the day, it’s the lipstick in your hands, and if that can speak for itself, it’s a job

well done.”

PROJECT MAKEUP

“I was always interested in making my own beauty company, I just didn’t think it was ever really a possibility because it seemed so big,” says Jess. The idea first took root in 2013, but Sunnies Studios, the sunglasses brand and precursor to Sunnies Face, was about to open, so Jess, Georgina, and Martine parked the idea, even if they continued talking about it. “We called it “Project Makeup” and didn’t really have a name for it, we just knew what we wanted and it kind of slowly evolved,” says Jess.

She moved to L'Oréal for the time being and learned more and more about the industry. “I was exposed to the business side of the world of beauty and I thought, ‘You know, there are so many things I would do if this were my brand,’” she says. “And more and more, the idea became more exciting, and we decided that we needed to do this.” Continuing the working relationship with Sunnies Studios made sense, although Jess says working with family and close friends is not easy. “It’s very tricky and not my preferred option,” she says, candidly. “But it’s also amazing because you’re on the same page, you always think alike and it never feels like work,” she furthers.

As the brand manager, Jess is the conductor of the orchestra that makes up Sunnies Face, a big voice in making sure the things they want to happen do happen. “I’m also very much involved in product design and development and to the creative operations,” she says. “There isn’t anything I don’t get involved with, I kind of touch on everyone’s roles, and fill in and orchestrate.” With a background of history and economics at the University of Sydney, Jess finds that every day she is learning on the job. “I think marketing is something you don’t just study, it’s something you learn and are constantly learning because the market is constantly changing,” she says. “People’s attention span these days are so short, and there’s so much information you’re bombarded with every day, so I think it’s really important to understand how to talk to your market and that’s something you don’t just learn at school.”

Jess very much considers her role at Sunnies Face her dream job. “There’s not one part of the whole Sunnies Face process that I’m not a part of, which is exhausting but I love it so much,” she says. “I have so much gratification because, after so many years of being in jobs but not being in my dream job, which is where I’m at now, it’s so gratifying to finally be here, and do what I want to be doing in life. It’s really amazing to wake up every day and say ‘I love what I do.’”

THE CHANGING NATURE OF THE GAME

Jess is from that generation where people can remember their lives before the internet, a marked difference from those who have come of age not knowing anything before the world was interconnected. “I remember in 2008, I just had Facebook and was told to start using Twitter by a technologically savvy friend of mine,” she remembers. “He was saying I should buy my own website domain with my name because you’ll never know if you’ll need it. So at that point, I realized this was the future, and we have to start understanding how it will influence our lives and the decisions we make, and how it will affect us growing up in this generation of technology.”

“I think now it has completely changed how we talk to each other and how we socialize,” she continues. “(It affects) The way we purchase and influence. I cannot even imagine buying things without checking Instagram, to see what the brand looks like. Social media has played a huge role in forming my opinion on a lot of things, for better or for worse.”

Because she does not make her income wholly on the internet, Jess is under no pressure to curate her Instagram feed. “I know a lot of people have anxiety if they don’t post because there’s always a little bit of pressure to have something great,” she says. “I do have that freedom to play around with it and be more spontaneous.”

With editorial media currently in the throes of a reckoning about the discipline’s future and sustainability, much is probably also going to be discussed about what is coming next for social and digital media. Jess has noticed a cyclical shift on how people act on the platforms. “I’m noticing the younger generation doesn’t like the pressure of social media. The young ones are growing up in an age where technology is all they know,” she points out. “So I think the future of social media will become more private, more edited, down to the people who you want to see, and I think in that sense we’re going to have to evolve not just as online personalities.” Even enterprises like Sunnies Face will have to start thinking of this, Jess says. “How do you really truly speak to a customer and how do you have that direct relationship with the customer, as opposed to being this untouchable creature?”

“I think the future of social media will become more private, more edited, down to the people who you want to see, and I think in that sense we’re going to have to evolve not just as online personalities.”

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Constellation Manhattan quartz 28 mm steel and yellow gold watch by OMEGA

White high neck top and black tulle skirt by JC BUENDIA; Black suit vest by JOEY SAMSON; B.zero1 hoop earrings in 18 kt rose gold, B.zero1 Design Legend four-band ring in 18 kt rose gold and black ceramic, B.zero1 18 kt rose gold bangle bracelet with logo on the spiral, B.zero1 18 kt yellow gold bangle bracelet, B.zero1 18 kt yellow gold bangle bracelet with logo on the spiral, all by BVLGARI

As an online influencer, a #Girlboss that people look up to, Jess is aware of how she presents herself to her audience, especially young girls. “I think it’s really important on social media to be true and honest. A lot of people portray a life that isn’t true, and they will do anything beyond their means to make their lives look way more exciting than they usually are,” she says, pointing out that she too can be guilty of this. “What I do is not to portray a life that isn’t real, to show the struggle and be candid, be honest,” she says. “It’s the small things, like making sure you don’t over-Photoshop, so people have the right idea of what is real and what is reachable.”

When she was younger, Jess looked up to people and the power of actions and words stuck with her. As a role model, she is conscious of the same thing. “I think it’s really important to make sure that everything I say is thoughtful and to consider there are young people that that are listening and taking it and using that to better themselves,” she says.

FROM LOCAL TO GLOBAL

While it seems like Jess has lived a charmed life, things have not always been picture perfect. “When I was 15, I found out I had a brain tumor,” she says. “I went through surgery and had it removed, and it was kind of terrifying but a really fast process.” She made a full recovery but the months after, followed by rehab and physical therapy, were obstacles she had to surmount. “I had to learn how to walk again properly. When it happened, I was on my school’s varsity basketball team as the team captain, but I had to stop doing that and even had to learn how to hold a basketball again because my movements were affected by my surgery,” she shares.

The situation was not easy, but Jess believes she got through it thanks to the support system around her. “As much as you are going through this, everyone around you who loves you is also going through this,” she says. She had friends and family who cried with her when she shaved her head, some of whom also shaved theirs. “It was really sweet and cool of them,” she says. “At the end of the day it wasn’t something I could fix myself, so I just had to leave it up to people who could help me.”

The other biggest challenge in Jess’s life was when she was 21, living independently in London and trying to figure out how she was going to pay for rent. “I was trying to make it work in the fashion industry, and I wanted to try out London,” she says, “but the industry doesn’t pay much and London is very expensive.” Having gone through the experience as well as she did is a testament to Jess’s resilience and strength of character. “If I could go back in time, I’d tell myself ‘you’re only 21 once, you’re only going to experience this now, and there’s so much to learn and enjoy about this,’” she says.

What happens next? A look at Sunnies Face’s Instagram page and people are clamoring for the brand to start selling abroad through international e-commerce. This is what Jess wants for the brand, and she wants to be part of it when it happens. “My dream for Sunnies Face is for it to become a global brand, something people will be able to access around the world and for it to be an international household name for makeup,” she says. “We’re all working so hard to make that happen and make it a reality really soon.”

With an eye constantly looking towards the future, Jess is not one to rest on her laurels. “I’m always pushing myself to do better and work harder,” she says. “I can look back and appreciate where I’ve come and the people who have helped me get there, but at the same time I always look forward to seeing how I can help others achieve their dreams alongside mine.”

“What I do is not to portray a life that isn’t real, to show

the struggle and be candid,

be honest.”