Cover The Philippines’ beauty industry is catching up with its own diversity, embracing morena tones, inclusive shades and ethical cosmetics (Photo: GRWM Cosmetics)
The Philippines’ beauty industry is catching up with its own diversity, embracing morena tones, inclusive shades and ethical cosmetics (Photo: GRWM Cosmetics)
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For decades, Western standards defined beauty in the Philippines. GRWM Cosmetics is shifting the conversation with shades, ethics and sustainability that celebrate every Filipino tone
Ideas of Filipino beauty have long been shaped by templates not native to its people. For decades, Western‑aligned lighter or cool‑toned skin was widely prized as the ideal, rooted in colonial histories and reinforced through media, advertising and product marketing that featured fair‑skinned faces as the most desirable. Studies and cultural commentators alike note that this preference for fairer skin was not simply aesthetic but was tied to social hierarchies, where lighter complexions were associated with prestige and success, while natural brown or golden undertones—the majority—were often marginalised or underrepresented.
Even as international brands filled mall counters and online carts, many Filipinos were left navigating products that did not quite feel made for them. Shade ranges were limited, undertones poorly understood and product formulas often ill-suited to the country’s climate. Many products seemed designed to lighten toward a cooler or Western‑associated ideal rather than serve the full spectrum of Filipino skin. It was a gap the Filipino beauty industry had long overlooked, until brands began to reckon with it. Among those that first did was GRWM Cosmetics.
Mae Layug-Madriñan, founder, CEO and president of the brand, describes the early Filipino beauty industry not with nostalgia but with clarity. “I started this brand because, in the early days of the local scene, my shade simply didn’t exist unless I bought expensive global brands,” she explains. “We treat inclusivity as our foundation, literally. Everyone deserves to see themselves represented in their own local brands.”
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Above A nurse by training and profession, Mae Layug-Madriñan parlayed what was initially a break-time hobby of practising make-up application into a profitable endeavour (Photo: courtesy of Mae Layug-Madriñan)
A nurse by training and profession, Mae Layug-Madriñan parlayed what was initially a break-time hobby of practising make-up application into a profitable endeavour (Photo: courtesy of Mae Layug-Madriñan)
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A Tatler Gen.T Leader of Tomorrow, Layug-Madriñan approaches beauty not as a template to follow but as an intersection of personal expression, lived experience and cultural identity. “Beauty is what you nourish, what you give attention to and what you care for and love,” she says. “Beauty is personal.”
That philosophy underpins GRWM Cosmetics, a local brand that has helped shift the industry’s gaze inward, questioning long-held assumptions about what Filipino beauty looks like—and who it includes. Rather than positioning itself against global brands, GRWM set out to recalibrate the local market’s understanding of its own consumers.
She identified a structural gap: the mainstream market failed to see Filipino skin as diverse. GRWM’s response was methodical, embedding inclusivity from product conception through to community engagement. Its Daily Skin Tint, now available in over 30 shades optimised for humid climates and Filipino undertones, exemplifies this approach. “Everyone deserves to see themselves represented in their own local brands,” she observes. “We ensure that every Filipino, regardless of depth or undertone, feels seen by us.” Over time, this intentional focus helped catalyse a broader shift in beauty culture, as appreciation for olive and morena tones emerged in beauty culture and consumer demand.
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But for Layug-Madriñan, representation extends beyond shade cards. Beauty, in her view, is inseparable from responsibility. GRWM Cosmetics has been PETA-certified vegan and cruelty-free from the start, a non-negotiable commitment that reflects both ethical conviction and consumer trust. The brand has also partnered with HMR Envirocycle to allow customers to responsibly recycle their empty GRWM products, addressing waste in an industry often criticised for excess.
This insistence on intentionality also shapes how the brand approaches trends. Layug-Madriñan notes a shift away from the restrained “clean girl” aesthetic towards what she calls unapologetic maximalism—bolder eyes, sculpted contours and expressive colour. Yet GRWM does not chase trends for novelty’s sake.
“We don’t follow every trend; we only do the ones that reflect our values and solve our consumers’ problems,” she says. The brand’s strategy is grounded in listening to data, to community feedback and to the lived realities of its customers. This dialogue has informed everything from formulation to packaging decisions, reinforcing a relational model of brand-building that resists top-down, trend-driven marketing.
Regionally, Layug-Madriñan situates Filipino beauty within a growing conversation about climate-appropriate design. While she looks to markets such as Korea for innovation and Thailand for weather-resilient formulations, she argues that local context must lead. Products, she insists, should be designed with Southeast Asian heat, humidity and skin in mind and not retrofitted as an afterthought.
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“I envision GRWM as the catalyst for F-Beauty (Filipino Beauty)”, a local approach to representation that emphasises spectrum over standard, personal meaning over prescriptive trends and practical design over aspirational aesthetics. “By featuring people of all ages, skin types and gender identities, we are proving that beauty ‘standard’ is actually a spectrum. Representation isn’t a trend; it’s a right we all have,” she says.
She articulates a vision that extends beyond domestic markets to the global stage. She envisions Filipino beauty brands not merely as alternatives to imports, but as contributors to a more expansive, inclusive understanding of beauty worldwide. In that sense, GRWM’s work can be read as both a response to an outdated local industry and an invitation to redefine beauty on broader cultural terms.
As beauty conversations evolve in 2026 and beyond, the distinction she underscores—between products that reflect real people and those that reflect outdated standards—remains a compelling axis of change. By foregrounding representation not as a token gesture but as strategic design, GRWM Cosmetics and brands like it are expanding the vocabulary of beauty for the Philippines and beyond, inviting more voices, faces and tones into the frame.
Syrah is Tatler Philippines’ Power & Purpose editor, where she spotlights extraordinary journeys shaping the Philippines and Asia. She covers business, innovation, impact, and culture—chasing the people, ideas and forces shaping how we live and think today.
