Beauty queen, mom, and CEO Arlene Cris Damot is on a winning streak. After getting the highest placement for a Filipina in the history of the Philippines' participation in the Mrs. Universe pageant  (she placed 2nd runner-up in  2023), she has happily announced that her company, Royal Aesthetics Philippines, has been recognized with two prestigious awards by Galderma Aesthetics, namely the Breakthrough Award and the Blue Diamond Excellence Award.

Arlene stressed that she's sharing this good news not to boast but to continue inspiring other women who are sometimes burdened with juggling multiple roles. The stunning mom of two boys stressed that any achievement is possible with a "strong work ethic and striving for excellence always. Doing average work is not enough."

She added that: "Cultivating authenticity is essential to succeeding in the beauty business. By this, I mean always being relatable to customers and never forgetting to establish meaningful connections along the way.  Every connection counts."

Mrs. Universe Philippines 2023  credits the support of her Malaysian husband, David Jayabalan, for the success of Royal Aesthetics. A clear division of their roles was essential, especially in the early days of their business. David was in charge of the administration and financial aspects, while Arlene was responsible for marketing and getting the word out about their skin clinic.

"It was something we went into, not knowing what the future holds because it's something new to us. On Valentine's Day, Feb. 14, 2018, we opened our first branch in Multinational Village, Paranaque City. It was very small, just a 20-something square meter kind of thing. We started humbly, with just nails, spa, facials, and some contouring machines. As we went along, we saw that the response was pretty good, not only from the village. People from outside started coming in because of positive feedback about our reasonable prices and highly personalized service," Arlene revealed.

David recalled: "Arlene was in the clinic providing services. I was in front of the counter greeting clients, collecting payments, and doing all the paperwork. Everything was done by ourselves. Clients knew us.They were all quite surprised that we were so hands-on, but it was good."

David attributes the success of their brand to their teamwork. "Arlene's marketing skills were exceptional. I had complete faith in her ability to reach the right audience. As our first clinic started to fill up, we knew it was time to expand," he recalled, highlighting the power of their collaboration.

Even with the pandemic and the long lockdown, the couple managed to open more branches of Royal Aesthetics. In addition to their original location in Paranaque, they can be found in SM North EDSA, SM Center Las Pinas, SM Baliwag, SM Center Imus, and Bacoor, Cavite. They offer a variety of services, such as semi-permanent makeup, microdermabrasion, facials, IV therapy drips, and the latest anti-aging treatment, Sculptra.