It was the crack of dawn and a seemingly endless stream of people was pouring out of a brightly-lit old concrete church. It was very chilly—chilly enough for me to be happy, for once, that I had a thick sweater on. I was at the back of a pick-up truck, waiting for my parents to get back, and when they did, my father handed me a big, fat, warm bibingka, which smelled of sweet and salty and scorched banana leaves. I don’t remember eating that bibingka; only letting its warmth settle on my lap and then yielding, finally, to sleep.

The smell of a roasting turkey wafts into the living room of the house on the corner of P. Guevarra Street and Mariano Marcos St. in San Juan town. Drifting with this mouthwatering scent are other smells: Pochero is simmering in a large stockpot alongside a wok where laing is gently cooking. Outside, succulent pieces of fish and pork roast on a huge grill.

Most of the time, the best ideas are borne out of one’s passion. In 2007, Cristalle Belo, daughter of well-known dermatologist and cosmetic surgeon Dr. Vicki Belo and businessman Atom Henares, launched Belo Essentials, a line of skin whitening and skin care products, to reach out to the average Filipina.  It was during one of her frequent trips to the supermarket with her mom a few years before that the idea first sprung to life.  Cristalle noticed how her mom, who’s ever passionate about aesthetics, would always go to the beauty products shelves and how people would always come up to them, asking them if they have whitening soaps available for sale at affordable rates.