Women We Adore: Michiko Mascarinas
Love brown, a local brand that makes eco-friendly beach essential products, first caught our eye of how it broke beauty standards, empowering the #Morena movement.
Aligned principles in celebrating femininity, we are so fortunate to be collaborating with Love Brown and its founder, Michiko.
Here’s how our interview with the woman behind Love Brown went down:
What’s the story behind Love Brown?
To make an eco-friendly beach essential brand that promotes morena skin that you can bring wherever you travel.
As an entrepreneur what is your most important learning in the past year?
As an entrepreneur, I learned in the past year that you should always believe in yourself. If you want to create something, then go for it without self-doubt. You will never know what the outcome is if you always think of the “what if’s”. Always believe in your strength and abilities no matter what others say. I even created 2 brands during the pandemic; SendMood Ph (sendmood.ph) and DirtyPink Ph (dirtypink.ph). Send Mood Ph is all about food, and Dirty Pink Ph is all about my arts and crafts where I pour my creative juices.
How do you stay creative with your brand in these trying times?
To stay creative in these trying times, you should sometimes take a break from your business. Especially when you are a one-woman team, it can be really tiring because you do everything on your own. I usually take time for myself - A “me” time where I can go to my favorite salon or spa to relax, a quick weekend getaway with my friends, or a workout to clear my mind.
Looking back, what’s one thing you wish you understood about entrepreneurship before you got started?
It is to be conscious about your brand by thinking about your contributions to the world that we are living in. Before, I did not care about the packaging, and I mostly use plastics. Now, I try to lessen the plastic consumption on every Love Brown product/package shipped to my customers. Also, don’t expect your brand/product to be perfect on your first launch. You only have limited resources to begin with. You will never start your business if you always stop yourself to wonder about the “What if’s” until you actually launch. Because in time, you’ll definitely lose your brand to a new emerged competitor. Eventually, you will learn about new things and improve on your brand.
What makes you inspired or motivated in your entrepreneurship journey?
I am inspired because my customers appreciate my hard work. It really means a lot when they tag me on their stories and they are happy with what they purchased. I get to share my passion with them. With Love Brown, I am so grateful that I could encourage young morena women to be confident with their own skin. They know that someone will be there to support them in their confidence journey. As Love Brown is my side hustle, I am motivated in my business because of all the things that I could do: I could travel and go to the places I love such as beaches, I can visit my family anytime I want, and I can treat myself whenever I want. Hard work really pays off :)
You can find Michiko on instagram at @michikomsc and explore her creations at @lovebrown_ph, @dirtypink.ph, and @sendmood.ph.