Here's the link to YouTube for my Formula Botanica Video Pitch Entry
Anne Remigio Formula Botanica Win the Scholarship entry
#OrganicSeptember #OrganicBeautyWeek #LookForTheLogo
Hello everyone, my name is Rose Aureen Remigio, call me Anne. I am 34 years old. I am gratefully & happily married with three young kids. I am a licensed Pharmacist and owner of Khrystal Beauty Essences here in the Philippines. My business started ten years ago, in a very small room with dermatological product formulations. I have made skin care products from a cosmetic grade active ingredients. I developed a brand under Perfection of Beauty, which caters low-cost skin care products, the Love Your Skin PH that has the highest quality of ingredients and formulation.
My organic skin care journey began when I met my mentor in soap making. He introduced me to all natural products. He gave me a handbook of Philippine medicinal plants. The information inside are very helpful; it made me realize that I can make all natural and organic skin care products using the local ingredients. My family also gave me books to read about natural skin care. However, organic raw materials are not easily available in my country. I did not stop despite that. Instead, I made soap product that is all natural at its best. I collect plant materials that are already available in my garden. I processed my harvest and I made few variants of soap from these natural plants. Some of these are Coconut Oil, Tumeric, Tomato, Moringa, Calamansi, Coconut Milk, Carrot, Guava, Rose Petals, Aloe Vera, Ginger, Papaya and Essential Oils. These became my best sellers since, then. I made few creams and lotions too, however, I am not afraid to use small amount of safe synthetics to make a certain product more functional.
I currently have a product under DG Naturals brand, a soap collection using Organic Virgin Coconut Oil, Coconut Milk and their active ingredients: all natural or organic as possible. I also have the Honey Soap series using raw honey and Organic VCO that I buy locally from the farmers and extra virgin olive oil which I buy in the supermarket. I have currently developed a natural face and body cream made of Goat’s Milk and OatMilk for sensitive skin including skin allergies like psoriasis, urticaria and eczema that is common in our country. These products that I mentioned are already out in the market. I am selling them through my social media accounts including Facebook and Instagram. I also run my own website. Aside from that, I join bazaar and similar events catering skin care products. You can also see my products in different eCommerce websites.
My first target market is my fellow countrymen. We have the same type and physiology of the skin so it will be easy for me to create a product for us. Aside from that, I want them to enjoy, experience and be proud of our local and organic skin care products. I will formulate and produce something that is affordable to all without sacrificing the quality, efficacy and safety of the product.
If I win this scholarship, I want to create a collection of more products with natural and organic ingredients. I will start first with the raw materials that are already available in my country and slowly I will study how to produce organic materials with the local farmers. I look forward to fill-in the gap between them and us as makers/formulators of these amazing products. I believe in the knowledge that I will learn from Formula Botanica will help me understand not just the business side of skin care but it will also boost my confidence, love and passion for creating more products that are eco-friendly, sustainable, natural and organic. It has been my long dream to find a school that is dedicated to skin care using natural and organic materials. I have been to pharmaceutical companies using synthetic drugs and in a skin care industry using the same types of chemicals. I never thought we can bring back the old ways of preparing drugs and products the natural way. I love natural products, it keeps on flashing the memories of my great grandmother of her natural shampoo using “Gugo” bark, her coconut oil and aloe vera hair conditioner, guava leaf and oregano poultice for the wounds, her herbal concoction of ginger, honey and calamansi (a local lemon), fresh roast and brewed rice coffee and tiny rice grain pops and a lot more.
And last but not the least I want to share my knowledge to others. I belong to a group of skin care formulators here in my country who aims for the natural and organic skin care products. Together we will encourage the idea of organic skin care among our members through their products and we will encourage the discussion of benefits to all our customers. It is not just all about the business but also the chance to deal and communicate with other people the goodness of nature-friendly and sustainable raw materials, eco-friendly and organic products, as well as love and hope for Mother Earth.