MANILA, Philippines — Jennylyn Mercado’s “most challenging” role yet is also one of her most personal. That is, becoming CEO of her own beauty brand named after her daughter Dylan Jade.
The award-winning Kapuso star recently launched DLN Skin, her first makeup and skincare business venture.
After more than two decades in showbiz, Jennylyn said that running her own company in the digital age has proven more challenging than performing before the cameras.
“Definitely being a CEO,” she declared when asked by The STAR which was tougher to do — being CEO Jennylyn or actress Jennylyn.
“It is something very new to me. Running a business is very different now in the digital age. Yung pagiging actress, mas madali na because I’ve been doing it for more than 20 years now.”
The actress and recording artist formally introduced the brand and its first product, the DLN Intuitone Skin Tint, during an event held at the Blue Leaf Cosmopolitan in Quezon City on June 27.
The STAR learned that the venture took three years to develop, jumpstarted by Jennylyn’s own experiences as a public figure who’s more exposed to makeup and skincare products.
“It really started out as a need that we turned into an opportunity three years ago,” Jennylyn said during the launch.
“Makeup and skincare have always been embedded in my daily life as an actress and as a public figure, so there are certain things I am looking for in my makeup or skincare products to best suit my sensitive skin.”
She had been looking for a product that could be applied easily, blended well with the skin and contained ingredients suitable for her sensitive skin. That eventually led her and her team to develop their own formulation.
“That is when the idea of formulating my own brand came about,” she said. “It took us three years to get here, so I am just very proud of how far we have come and, of course, excited to share with everyone the DLN Intuitone Skin Tint. I hope they will enjoy it as much as I do.”
The skin tint is available in light, medium and dark shades. According to the company, it uses technology designed to adapt to the user’s skin tone and includes skincare ingredients such as niacinamide, hyaluronic acid and SPF 50.
“We wanted to simplify beauty through science-backed innovation,” Jennylyn claimed.
She, nevertheless, clarified that the skin tint, despite its skincare ingredients, is not intended to replace a person’s full morning and evening skincare regimen.
“It is a skin tint first and foremost and you can either use it as a makeup base, a daily sunscreen option, or it can be just a quick fix before you leave the house so that you look and feel confident.”
While Jennylyn’s entry into the beauty industry grew out of her profession, the name of her brand, as mentioned, reflected a more personal source of inspiration.
Asked what it means to come up with a product line named after her daughter with husband Dennis Trillo, Jennylyn told The STAR in an exclusive interview: “It makes it extra special, syempre, that my beauty brand is named after my daughter. She is, of course, my main inspiration why I am doing this. Why I work hard. Para sa kanya lahat ’to.”
For Jennylyn, building the company is also connected to the lessons on confidence and self-care she hopes to pass on to her daughter.
“As she grows up, I hope she learns the importance of inner beauty more than anything else,” she stressed.
“I hope she learns that she is beautiful exactly the way she is and that she learns how to take good care of herself at wala naman ibang gagawa nun for her, di ba.”
Meanwhile, her own understanding of beauty has evolved through the years, particularly after becoming a mother and building a family with Dennis.
Asked by this writer what motherhood and being Dennis’ wife have taught her about beauty, Jennylyn said, “That your standard of beauty changes as you age and as you embrace yourself more. There will come a time that you will stop comparing yourself to others and define beauty based on your own terms.”
She further defined real beauty as through the way a person accepts herself rather than through a prescribed physical standard.
“Real beauty means being confident in your own skin with how you look, how you feel.”
As for the personalities she has looked up to for beauty inspiration, she shared, “Growing up sina Julia Roberts and Bella Hadid. Now naman sina Lindsay Lohan and Hailey Bieber.”
And the best beauty advice she has received similarly centers on self-love.
“Take care of yourself. Love your skin. Love your body,” she said. “Dun magsisimula lahat and the rest will follow.”