The local beauty scene has happily welcomed Popique's vibrant arrival.
On March 13, 2025, the brand was officially launched at Popique Beach Club, a summer-themed extravaganza held at Whitespace Manila in Makati City.
Leading the brand is 24-year-old entrepreneur Aleah Sia, whose inspiration for the skin-care and make-up brand comes from her passion for beauty under the sun.
In an interview with PEP.ph (Philippine Entertainment Portal) and other media, she shares, "Ever since I was a kid, like middle school, I've always been interested in beauty.
"And parang I wanted there to be a local beauty brand that celebrates the sun, really. Because that's what the Philippines is.
"It's a tropical country. We love the beaches and islands of the Philippines."
Aleah Sia's POPIQUE: BEAUTY THAT POPS
Aleah envisions her brand to provide a seamless beauty routine, from skin care to make-up, with the tagline "Beauty That Makes You Pop."
She aspires to break away from the current minimalist path of the "clean girl" beauty trend and aims to infuse more vibrant colors.
"We didn't want to go for a minimalist route in terms of our coloring. We were inspired by Drunk Elephant, Cosas, Tower 28.
"All those colorful California brands that's really popular in Sephora right now."
Aleah invested two years in creating her brand, marking it as a significant project since her graduation from the University of British Columbia in Canada.
In collaboration with creative director Joel Martin Andrade, she developed 11 unique products, blending skin care and make-up, each with a distinct color theme.
Aleah says, "We were developing this brand for two years... We wanted people to have a complete Popique routine.
"So that's from the cleansing balm, the cleanser in the morning, the toner, moisturizer, sunscreen, and then make-up."
She adds, "The pinks are the color cosmetics, the yellows are for your skin, like foundation, concealer.
"The orange is the SPF items, the purple is for moisturizing, and the green is for cleansing."
Aleah's goal is to provide a diverse range of shades tailored for Filipina skin, and she wants her make-up line to be the go-to-brand.
This is why she found it difficult to choose the perfect products and shades for her make-up collection, and even considers this one of the hardest parts of building her brand.
"What was more challenging was limiting the make-up collection," she tells PEP.
"We didn't want to do that. We wanted to expand it and make it 11 products straight from the beginning. So there's something for everyone."
With so many new brands and products emerging, what sets Popique apart?
Aleah answers, "So one, our shades are for morena skin.
"Two, I like to say it's a beginner-friendly [line]. You can apply it using just fingers, and it still blends nicely to your skin.
"And then, it's really a celebration of the pop and color. A lot of brands, I think, go for the minimalist route.
"We want it to really stand out in our packaging. Celebrate colors. Celebrate the beauty. Celebrate everyone's beauty."
Ultimately, Aleah aims for her brand to convey the message of embracing one's natural glow while also daring to stand out and shine in a unique way.
She says, "We like to say, keep embracing your natural glow, but don't be afraid to stand out, to pop out."
READ MORE: