Colourette CEO and founder Nina Ellaine Dizon in an interview with ABS-CBN News in Makati City on February 29, 2024. Mark Demayo, ABS-CBN News

MANILA – “I won't say na you need to look whiter to be beautiful because it's not true,” Nina Nina Ellaine Dizon said of Sgt. At Arms, the underarm care line she sells in digital stores.

The deospray, a favorite on TikTok, helps prevent excessive sweating and body odor but also helps even out underarm skin tone when used with a counterpart overnight cream and serum.

“We don't promise you whiter, makinis [smooth] underarms in seven days. That's not how we do it. But we will support you in your journey. Our slogan is ‘progress over perfection’. I don't want to harp on colorism to sell my products,” she said. 

Colorism is a topic Dizon is passionate about. Her posts on Twitter and TikTok constantly remind women everywhere that they don’t have to be fair-skinned to be beautiful. 

She is also the founder of Colourette Cosmetics, a makeup line featuring colors that enhance and look well with the Filipina skin tone. Dizon was able to establish her business and guide it to success even though she had yet to finish her college degree back then.

But what drives her and keeps her heart aflame about championing the Filipina?

Humble beginnings

“Kasi pinanganak akong morena nung bata ako and I love swimming,” she told ABS-CBN News. “I really love swimming pero alam mo yun ‘pag papasok ka ng school ‘di ba naasar ka?” 

(I was born brown-skinned and I love swimming…you know what it feels like being teased at school for your skin color?)

‘Sheer determination’ is key: Girl bosses empower other women seeking business ventures

Dizon said she never allowed herself to get annoyed by her classmates who kept teasing her for her skin color.

“I just feel like I just want to embrace my own features, you know, and my daughter Bambi is a morena herself. I don't want her to feel na she needs to whiten her skin, ‘di ba?”

Dizon founded Colourette in 2015, at a time when there were barely any Filipino-owned makeup brands in the market.

“There was only like Mac and NARS ‘di ba? And like all the campaigns are like white or western models and like as a Filipina, I felt like it wasn't the makeup brand made for me. So I wanted to create makeup for me, for Filipinos.”

The executive said she wanted Pinays to see themselves in Colourette’s marketing campaigns.

 Colourette Cosmetics CEO Nina Ellaine Dizonposes with some of her beauty products. Mark Demayo, ABS-CBN News  “I wanted our consumers or our audience to look at our campaigns and see, ‘Uy! Ako yun! Uy, kamukha ko yun,’” Dizon said. “Kasi yung colonial mentality during the time is very, very strong na parang lahat ng models mukhang western. We ourselves wanted to look Western for a time. I did not want to go that route.”

[I wanted our consumers or our audience to look at our campaigns and see, “Hey, that’s me! I look like that!’ Because the colonial mentality during the time was so strong that all models looked Western.]

The executive said the Colourette product design process starts with the Filipina in mind, considering their lifestyles, their budget, and their skin tones.

Today Colourette is present in 22 department stores and almost 3,000 7-Eleven stores nationwide. Their bestselling product, the Colourtint–a multi-use tint that can be used on the eyes, cheeks, and lips–has sold more than 2 million units to date, Dizon said.

‘Wala naman kaming choice’

Dizon's profile on the One Young World website notes that she established Colourette despite dropping out of college.

She said she first had to drop out of nursing school because of financial woes. So she looked for a side hustle to support herself through school.

“I sold scrapped soaps, girl,” she said, recalling how she approached soap makers in Pampanga to give her their unused products, which she then sold online.

This led to Dizon establishing her first business, Fairness and Flawless, in 2013.

She was selling soaps and facial sets. Slowly, the business picked up and she talked to the owner of the factory if she could have her own line of soaps. 

“So I had my own brand and then hindi na ako natutulog. As in I would sleep ng 4 am. I would reply to the messages. I would pick up the stocks from the factory. I would pack the orders and then I would go to school pa, so I dropped out of college.”

Dizon is not the first successful entrepreneur to grow a business sans a college degree. 

Still, she asserts that a business degree is very helpful in running an enterprise.

Dizon gestures as she speaks in an interview with ABS-CBN News on February 29, 2024. Mark Demayo, ABS-CBN News

“Laging tinatanong sa’kin, parang why would you still encourage other people to finish their degrees eh ikaw nga successful ka kahit wala kang college degree? For me kasi, I had to make a lot of mistakes before learning what I could have learned by reading a book. So yung ‘tuition fee,’ mas mahal, ‘di ba?”

(I always get that question: why would you still encourage other people to finish their degrees when you are successful without one? For me, I had to make a lot of mistakes before learning what I could have learned by reading a book. So like the ‘tuition fee’ became more expensive)

“And it took me longer to learn about these things. College kasi arms you with the principles with the theories, the foundation. I didn't have the privilege to learn that by, you know, sitting in a classroom and listening to my teacher.”

“So we were forced to have diskarte, I would say. Kasi wala naman kaming choice,” she explained

.

(So we were forced to be enterprising, I would say. Because we didn’t have a choice.)

The executive said doing business has always been in her as a little girl.

“Bata pa lang ako mahilig na ako magbenta ng stuff. So yung mama ko gumagawa siya ng polvoron, kinukuha ko tapos binebenta ko sa village. Tapos pag may nakita akong Pokemon cards, nagpapabili ako tapos ibebenta ko sa kaklase ko,” she related.

(I was already selling stuff as a child. I took the polvoron my mom made and sold it around the village. I would buy Pokemon cards and sell them to my classmates.)

She also saw an opportunity in "song hits" back then--these were music magazines that had the lyrics of popular songs as well as the chords for the instruments. Her classmates loved to sing with a guitar, but the song hits, at P20 each, already cost as much as their allowance.

“So I found that as an opportunity. I asked my Papa to invest P100, nag-print ako ng mga lyrics sa bahay, pina-photocopy namin then everyday I go to school may dala akong clear book, nagbebenta akong song lyrics, piso isa.”

(I told my dad to invest P100 in me, then I printed the lyrics and sold them in school, P1 per song)

Dizon eventually finished her degree in marketing management from Lyceum of the Philippines University in 2023.

“I feel right now I feel like I'm in the journey of self-discovery naman. And like, I also want to learn more about scaling a business, people management, I want to be better in product development–a lot of things actually,” she said.

A staunch advocate

Beyond being a businesswoman, however, Dizon is also a strong advocate of the SOGIE bill, and has spoken up strongly against the Anti-Terrorism Law. 

She even donated a portion of Colourette’s sales to organizations helping political prisoners in the Philippines–shortly after she was accused of involvement in an alleged vaccine-for-sale scheme in 2021.

'I was the one who exposed it': Whistleblower rejects hand in 'vaccine slots for sale'

Eleazar tells cops to review raps filed vs woman who revealed 'vaccine for sale' scheme

PNP withdraws charges vs whistleblower in 'vaccine slots for sale' scheme

She also openly campaigned for then-Vice President Leni in the 2022 presidential elections.

Dizon said openly taking a stand on controversial issues has both hurt and helped her business.

“During the time na we were being bashed, okay lang sana kung ako lang ang bina-bash pero nagkaroon din ng time na pati team ko bina-bash. I’m not okay with that kasi nadadamay sila,” she said.

Dizon has a tattoo on her chest that says ''Malakas at maganda" in baybayin or precolonial Filipino script. Mark Demayo, ABS-CBN News

(During the time, I didn’t mind being bashed if it was just me. But my team was hit, too. I’m not okay with that)

She noted however, that her being vocal seemed to have firmed up their brand’s identity in the minds of Filipinos.

“Nakakatulong in such a way because consumers nowadays, they’re smart. They practice ethical consumerism. They will no longer buy from brands who don’t support the same values that they uphold. So marami rin tumindig  (stood up) with us. Marami sumupport sa brand.”

(But it helped in such a way because consumers nowadays, they’re smart. They practice ethical consumerism. They will no longer buy from brands who don’t support the same values that they uphold…so many stood with us. Many supported the brand.)

Looking at the bigger picture, however, Dizon said those who have the platform should pick their battles on social media.

“It doesn’t have to say na always be on the safe zone, always stay mum, pero you also don’t have to speak about everything kasi at the end of the day, what is your priority ba as a business, ‘di ba?” 

“I don’t regret anything that I did because that honed me to be the businesswoman that I am today, that honed Colourette to be the brand it is today,” she stressed. 

“In my head during that time is we have a platform, we wanna deserve it, “diba? So kaya I spoke about it. Kaya we did things we knew would contribute to the greater good during that time.”

Moving forward

Dizon speaks with a colleague at her office in Rockwell Center, Makati. Mark Demayo, ABS-CBN News

“My vision for Colourette is one day it will become like a household name,” Cabrera said. “One day I want it to be like, when you think of a makeup brand, a Filipino makeup brand, you think about us.”

To stay competitive amid the presence of other low-cost brands in the Philippine market, Colourette will stay true to its core by not rushing their product development process.

Dizon said they usually take 8-12 months to perfect a product.

“For example, we develop like a complexion product right? I made sure that it's developed for an everyday Filipina like how they use it every day, pag nag-commute ka, hindi siya mabilis matanggal (when you commute, it doesn’t get removed right away). It's long-wearing. It has SPF 13. We did all the tests that we need to do for it kasi we want our products to be credible,” she said.

“And at the same time, kahit nags-scale up na ang company, we also stay true to our pricing and the quality of the products we put out in the market.”

Dizon said Filipinos now seem to be more progressive when it comes to embracing their own skin color.

“What I’m gonna say is Fiipinos are more confident now, mas progressive tayo, ‘di ba? Mas ine-embrace na natin ang kulay natin. We now hold brands accountable with their campaigns, with their product development. ‘Meron na bang shade diyan for me,‘di ba? Hindi na tayo nagse-settle for less that what we think we deserve,” she said. 

“Mas aware na tayo na, ‘Uy dapat may shades hanggang sa very deep shades for complexion products.’ Kapag ang campaigns walang diversity, we call out brands ‘di ba? Mas ine-embrace na natin yung culture natin, yung kulay natin and yung itsura natin.”

(We are more aware that we need deep shades for complexion products. When campaigns have no diversity, we call out brands. We now embrace our culture, our skin color, and our appearance more.)

To women who wish to go into business, Dizon has this advice: “Panindigan mo.” 

(Embrace it.)

“It’s not gonna be rainbows and butterflies, lagi ko ‘yun sinasabi (I always say that),” she stressed. “When you’re gonna enter the business world, you have to be ready for it and it’s not gonna get easier. Pero, you’re gonna get bolder, you’re gonna get wiser, you’re gonna be stronger, and you’re gonna meet all of these other people who are fighting the same battle as you.”

“Hindi siya magiging mas madali, pero mas gagaling ka, mas tatapang ka, mas marami kang kasama sa laban na gusto mong gawin,” she said.

She also encouraged women to continue taking up space and raising their voices despite the world seemingly excluding them because of their skin color or size.

“Don’t be ashamed of who you are. Never dim your light for anyone else,” she said. “Prioritize yourself, your goals, kasi if you don’t fight for these things, if you don’t take up your own space, who’s gonna do it for you? Who’s gonna do it for your kids or for the future generation? 

“Yung mga benefits na nari-reap natin today as women, is because of the women who fought before us. Imagine if they didn’t do that.”

“So, we owe it to them to continue this battle of equality, of showcasing our strengths as women for the future generation,” she said.

#AmazingWomen: AirAsia mounts all-women flights to mark Women's Day

#AmazingWomen: Filipina chemist wants to help solve hog industry woes