For a long time, international beauty brands have penetrated the local market. But times are changing. Recently, New Lounge, a local beauty and wellness brand, opened its first branch in Beverly Hills, California, bringing the international quality of Filipino products and services to international market.
Founded by Rachelle Bravo, New Lounge is a beauty and wellness brand that specializes in eyelash extensions and nail services. But before it became the brand that it is today, Rachelle, poured her blood and sweat to establish it.
She began her journey in a small studio space in Las Piñas in 2017. With the support of her loving husband, Paolo Bravo, Rachelle built her dream and turned it into a reality. Anchored in her love for beauty, as well as her grit and hard work, she was able to grow her brand to 17 branches and mobile services in just seven years. Now, New Lounge offers services to the Filipino market and the global community as it launched its first international flagship store in Beverly Hills, California.
At 36, Rachelle is a self-made woman who consistently showed persistence in her early years, which ignited her fire. She graduated as a scholar from De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde with a degree in hotel restaurant institution management. Her background in hospitality honed her eye for service, allowing her to pursue a career in car sales and eventually become a sales manager.
The birth of the New Lounge
New Lounge started from Rachelle’s frustration with her original lashes that were short, straight, and downward-pointing. She wanted to remedy this, which led her to specialize in lash extensions. First, she started as a side business. Eventually, she left her job in sales and pursued running the company full time in 2018.
But running a business alone is not easy. She needed to find hardworking and trustworthy people to work with. She went scouting in Davao, Cagayan De Oro, Iloilo, and Cebu with passion and determination. When she found the right women, they went through rigorous trainings to become eyelash specialists. Through this, Rachelle opened opportunities for young women, not just by giving them livelihood but being able to change their lives and help their families.
In an interview, Rachelle said that her goal is to provide well-curated customer journeys and contribute to elevating the beauty and wellness standard in the local beauty scene.
“Leadership is ruled by the mind, and nurturing is ruled through the heart,” she said. “I have this mission to create an impact in the lives of people. My intention is always about people, so I always put them first.”
Today, New Lounge is among the top brands in mind when it comes to eyelash extensions and nail services in the Philippines. Combined with the expertise of specialists and Japanese technology used in those eyelash extensions, it now has 17 branches, over 200 employees, and 30,000 clients. Some of their loyal customers include fashion icons Heart Evangelista and Bryan Boy. Meanwhile, in California, Rachelle is bringing one of her first pioneer Filipino homegrown specialists in Beverly Hills, ensuring that this branch would offer quality service and Filipino hospitality.
“This is a new chapter for New Lounge, and we can’t wait to enter the wellness space. We have a different take to it—it’s something that you haven’t seen in Manila yet,” she ends.