A 22-year-old woman was merely fascinated with makeup at first before she turned it into a job.
“As a kid, I have always indulged in making myself look good. I have always loved wearing makeup to the point that my teachers have scolded me for wearing it in school,” G21 CEO Jean Bonilla said.
Bonilla used to be a reseller of products from Divisoria and earned a following from that. She then realized she could also make a trend out of products she owned, driving her to build G21 in 2018 with a capital of P10,000.
The brand offers skincare products such as soaps, moisturizing serums, lotion, clay masks and pimple patches. It also has cosmetic products like blush, BB cream, lip ink, eyebrow liner, and lip gloss. All G21 products are Food and Drug Administration-approved.
“With G21, we are able to provide beauty products that are at par with the global ones. They are tested safe and effective,” Bonilla said.
The brand has become Bonilla’s channel to advocate for self-care through beauty products
“While accepting who we really are is the first step to being confident, there are means by which we can become even more confident. If wearing makeup or using beauty products is our way to feel beautiful and confident, we always have that freedom,” she said.
Since 2018, the brand has expanded and now has 30,000 distributors nationwide and in other countries. Bonilla expressed how this has become a source of income for many Filipinos.
“We haven’t only provided confidence to our users/supporters but we’ve also provided them with financial freedom. We have a number of distributors who have built their houses and bought their first cars. We’re also proud that we have members who have finished their studies through selling G21 products,” she said.
Celebrating G21’s fifth year this July, Bonilla promised to continue her company’s development.
“I will really work harder to keep this business growing. Many are dependent on our products to make them feel confident and more importantly, a lot rely on our business for their livelihood. We’re actually lucky that it’s gaining international awareness as well,” she said.
The brand’s skincare and makeup products can be purchased on Shopee and Lazada.
(Editor’s Note: An earlier version of this indicated that Bonilla is 23 years old. This has been updated with her correct age, 22 years old.)