/'bene-bāb/, n. noun: someone who embodies true beauty and confidence as well as empowering the people around them because a true benebabe is hoola-mazing inside and out
As a marketing major student, I have always been in to designs and creatives. So I decided to apply in properties where I can actually apply my pastel obsessions and love for cute things. One of which is Benefit Cosmetics, a beauty company that swears by the belief that make up doesn’t have to be serious and lives by the saying that laughter is the best cosmetic. Fortunately, I got accepted in the program and my life as a BeneBabe began.
Benefit Cosmetics is a company that makes women feel good and have fun, because that's when they are their most beautiful. After all, Benefit Cosmetics believes that laughter is the best cosmetic. That's why in 2015, they launched the Bold Is Beautiful Project, taking their legacy of laughter and feel-good philosophy around the world by partnering with charities that empower women and girls. This is the reason why I ended up falling in love with the company because I stand by its belief of empowering women and that beauty doesn’t have to be serious.
In addition to that, I was given the opportunity to work with two other Enderun students, Kim and Queenie. At first, it was a bit scary because I was not really close to these girls and I am a batch higher than them. But luckily, we all just clicked in a snap. We started a group chat wherein we would ask each other what time we’re coming to the office or what’s our baon. We even had a challenge wherein for one week we won’t be spending at all, so that was really challenging. Especially because we love to eat soft serve ice cream from mini stop for merienda, hence the picture on the side (hahaha).
For our very first project in Benefit Cosmetics, we had the product launch of Hello Happy. We were asked to canvass for items like crinkle papers that are put in PR packages, décor, heart shaped sunnies for the influencers, giveaways, and what not. I being an avid online shopper, had the advantage of looking for suppliers with the best deals and prices to offer. We also had our Divisoria trip wherein I was tagged as the Tawad Queen because I knew how to deal with the ates and kuyas in Divisoria. Thanks to my mom, by the way, for all the tips in haggling.
Last June 28, Benefit Cosmetics launched a new product called Hello Happy. The event was held at Vanilla Cupcakes but for that specific day alone, it was called The Benefit Sweet Shoppe. It was a fun experience since I met some of the YouTubers that I would watch like Rei Germar, Hannah Pangilinan, Say Tioco, and many more. I even saw one of my batch mates back in High School! Amazing, right? But my main task for the event was to be in charge of the inventory so people would approach me to avail of their free Hello Happy foundations and so I got to meet most of them and even met some people who were really nice and down to earth.
Aside from the event, we also had office and school invasions. It is when Benefit would go to different offices or schools and provide free brow waxing services as well as products with discounted prices. I enjoy office and school invasions because I get to learn a lot from the experience. I remember when we went to an office invasion at Philippine Airlines – Mabuhay Miles, I was chosen by the National Brow Artist, Ms. Celina, to be her model for the workshop. While she was educating Mabuhay Miles employees on how to do brow mapping, I was also learning from her workshop. In addition to that, I was also exposed to sales. Out of nowhere, an old lady approached me and asked about the products. I was low key panicking since we weren’t really briefed about the products and all. But, I gave it my best try and felt so proud afterwards because she actually bought one!
We also had the chance to do a shoot with MCA Music Artists at their head office. Wherein we met Elha Nympha, Edray Teodoro, and Sabrina. They were all so nice so it was a fun shoot to begin with. Aside from that, they were also fans of Benefit! Elha in particular was actually fangirl-ing at our products as soon as she saw us fixing them on the table. All I heard were OMGs and Wows for about a minute or two (hahaha). Then before the shoot even ended, I personally handed them their giveaways from Benefit and wow, it was the first time that I got to experience singers screaming out of pure bliss. And at the end of shoot, we had the chance to take pictures and selfies with them and followed each other’s Instagram accounts. It was a great experience because not only did we have so much fun, we also got to meet great people and expanded our network.
Our last project with Benefit was to create a deck for an E-Commerce pitch. We were asked to do our research on a particular E-Commerce site and how we, as Benefit, can partner with them. I was actually excited for it since making PowerPoint presentations are my thing. I present my ideas through story-telling and I don’t know but presenting makes me happy. It gives me a certain feeling of excitement and happiness whenever I see the faces of my audience or panel as they enjoy my presentations. But before our final presentation, we actually had lunch with our supervisors, Ms. Kriska (Marketing Manager) and Ms. Patti (Assistant Marketing Manager). We had Japanese food for lunch and it was just nice to experience their company and be able to just talk to them about our plans after our internship, and simple kwentuhans, while enjoying our food.
Lastly, for our last day at our internship, we were invited by Ms. Kriska to join the BenefitxLazada shoot. It was a live shoot and we were asked to be models of influencers, namely Martin Andrade and Helen on Fleek, for their makeup challenge segment. Again, it was a great experience and it was super fun!
Overall, I really enjoyed this internship and like what I said to my supervisors it was an eye-opening experience for it gave me direction to what industry I would like to tackle when I start looking for a job. I really enjoyed doing events, office and school invasions, as well as shoots. Plus! Benefit’s make up products and super cute packaging!