Over 250 Quezon City residents equipped with beauty and social media entrepreneurship skills at L’ORÉAL Digital Beauty Academy

Participants of the L’ORÉAL Digital Beauty Academy from Quezon City during the graduation ceremony

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L’ORÉAL Philippines, in partnership with the local government of Quezon City, SPARK! Philippines, and TikTok has successfully concluded the inaugural batch of the L’ORÉAL Digital Beauty Academy, empowering 259 Quezon City residents kickstart their beauty & social media entrepreneurship journey. In the graduation ceremony held last June 30 at the Quezon City Hall, Yannick Raynaud, Country Managing Director of L’Oreal Philippines and Quezon City Chief Executive, Hon. Mayor Joy Belmonte of Quezon City acknowledged the participants who completed the program, as well as the Top 50 Awardees and Top 6 District Awardees who demonstrated potential in beauty and content creation.

The L’ORÉAL Digital Beauty Academy is a significant milestone in L’ORÉAL’s commitment to use beauty education as a catalyst for inclusion in the Philippines. Curated by industry experts, this first-of-its-kind holistic training program on beauty, digital content creation, social commerce platforms and small business literacy is open to women and individuals living in vulnerable conditions, 18 years old and above. The program featured:

• Beauty and Personality Development including Beauty 101 by L’Oréal experts and Effective Management of Emotions by MindYou, a mental health technology company.
• Content Creation 101 that covers TikTok Platform overview, guidelines for basic production, tips, and tricks to start and grow an account, best practices, policies, and community guidelines, as well as livestreaming guidelines
• Earning as an affiliate and live streamer featuring a TikTok creator inspiration session, introduction to the TikTok Shop, and Live streamer track by L’Oréal
• Becoming a Responsible Content Creator which covers Digital Literacy, small business registration, and mental health support trainings.

At the ceremony, Mayor Joy Belmonte, commended the graduates and the program, stating that their elevated confidence and beauty are proof points that the program was successful. She also added, “Umpisa palang ito sa makulay na paglalakbay sa mundo ng Digital Beauty. Ready na ba kayo? (This is just the beginning of your colorful journey to the world of digital beauty. Are you ready?). You have all embarked on a path that blends creativity, passion and digital skills to transform the beauty industry one video at a time. Some say it’s easy to be a vlogger, influencer or content creator, but what they don’t know is you need to have the skills to create successful content and be of good use to people.”

“The L’ORÉAL Digital Beauty Academy reflects the Groupe’s conviction that beauty can be a transformative force and make a positive impact towards inclusive communities and growth, especially for women. Our goal as a digital-first company is to unlock opportunities for people brought about by the digital transformation in the Philippines,” said Yannick Raynaud, Managing Director of L’ORÉAL Philippines. We hope to empower Filipinos to express their authentic self through their online content and at the same time, educate them on earning opportunities available to them.”

Wilson John Nual, a 40-year-old hairdresser from District 2 who does hair and makeup during fiestas, shared, “I discovered the DBA from a friend, and when I joined, I experienced a lot of learnings and wonderful lessons from DBA. I feel that I have value, and what I know has value. I now have the ability to show what I have learned and can add that to my expertise. Because of the DBA, I know I can still do more.”(“Nakita ko po yung Digital Beauty Academy through a friend, sinuggest niya po sa akin na mag register. Ito na po ako at naexperience ko po yung learnings at yung magagandang bahagi ng DBA. Nararamdaman ko po na may halaga din po ako sa bahagi na ito at naipapakita ko po yung aking kakayahan. Dadagdag po ito sa aking mga services.”)

Already dabbling in other careers, Angela Ducusin, a 20-year-old from District 6 on her 2^nd year studying BS Entrepreneurship, said she still perseveres to have an open mind. “Always grab opportunities because we don’t know where these can take us. In the future, I see myself setting up a beauty and health business that can help teach self-care especially for women. I am thankful for DBA for helping people of all ages like me and sharing learnings on how to earn.” (“Dapat grab lang tayo ng grab ng opportunity, kasi hindi natin alam kung kailan natin magagmit yung opportunity na tinake natin. Sa future, nakikita ko yung sarili ko na magcreate ng isang business about sa beauty and health na makakatulong sa kung paano alagaan ang sarili, especially sa mga babae. Sa bumubuo ng DBA, thankful ako kasi mayroong ganitong opportunity na ginawa nila, hindi lang para sa bata or sa mga teenager – lahat ng age pwede.”)

The successful pilot batch produced 259 gradautes, who shall continue to receive regular check-ins and coaching sessions from L’ORÉAL, SPARK Philippines, TikTok Philippines and other partners. In addition to being recognized for their completion, TikTok also awarded the Top 50 Content Creators with free advertisement boosting to help support and increase their reach on the platform, making them eligible to apply as brand and platform afiliates of their preferred brands and categories.

L’ORÉAL Philippines through the Digital Beauty Academy program aims to give motivation, self-confidence and means for livelihood reintegration. After the inaugural program with Quezon City, L’ORÉAL aims to expand the training program to more cities in the Philippines to create positive impact to the lives of more Filipinos.