Filipino skincare brand offers minimalist line made for tropical weather

MANILA, Philippines — With the beauty market becoming crowded every quarter as it sees new brands and existing brands introducing new, specialized products, it can be confusing for most, especially who are just jumping into their preferred beauty regimen. 

There are brands that have managed to made their presence known. One of them bears a strikingly familiar packaging that is favored by many brands these days, and it is proudly Filipino-made with the Philippines' tropical weather in mind. 

Dermorepubliq is among the popular skincare brands on TikTok Shop Philippines. Its conception is similar to how other skincare brands were conceived: addressing the skincare woes of its founder.

"The brand was developed and launched in 2020 as my way of addressing my own skincare concerns. I was struggling with acne problems due to stress at work and I wanted to create effective solutions that others could also benefit from," said founder Keith Corwin Sta. Barbara to Philstar.com in an email interview. 

As a fledgling beauty company, Sta. Barbara's skincare brand is banking on simplicity and minimalism, a key beauty trend these days. 

Its packaging is as straight-to-the-point as it is, with labels for the percentages of active ingredients clearly visible on the front label, as opposed to the past practice where these are lumped together in tiny, unreadable words at the back. 

The packaging also looks clean, mostly in white and black letters. The bottle configurations either come in spray, pump, or dropper formats, which can help minimize unnecessary or excessive leakage or spoilage, leading to waste. 

The brand's site features a helpful interface, categorizing its products according to their functions. There are sub-sections that are clearly defined for various skin concerns i.e. anti-aging and anti-acne. There are also product features that immediately says their targeted concerns, such as dull skin, moisture booster and dark spot corrector. 

"I personally designed the packaging: to reflect our simple yet effective formulations. I aimed for a simple, minimalistic and direct-to-the-point design. Product labels and boxes mention specific percentages of active ingedients,