Colourette CEO Nina Ellaine Dizon has had her fair share of life’s battles. Many already know the story: pausing her college education to make ends meet, a decision born out of necessity rather than choice. It was a difficult chapter, but one that would later shape her perspective as the founder of one of the OG Filipino beauty brands.
Years later, she returned to school and completed her degree—a full-circle moment that mirrors the same determination that built her business. Today, Nina stands as one of the most visible figures in Filipino beauty. Under her leadership, Colourette has evolved from a small, online-first label into a major local player. It is also among the few Filipino beauty companies to secure institutional funding, with backing from investors Foxmont Capital Partners, DSG Consumer Partners, and other angel investors.
The Power of The Peaches
To say that Nina knows her consumers would be an understatement. She still replies to comments on the brand’s TikTok account herself, maintaining a direct line to the people who helped build Colourette. That hands-on approach helps explain both her strong personal following and the brand’s uniquely engaged community.
After all, it takes a village. And in many ways, this beauty brand has been nurtured by one: the Colourette community, lovingly called the “Peaches.”
The name dates back to the brand’s early days. “The official term of endearment is Peaches because at that time, we were the only brand colored peach—and we owned it,” says Nina.
The Peaches—and the growing community around them—are one of the key pillars behind the brand’s success today. “Number one, I didn’t have a budget when I started Colourette 10 years ago,” says Nina. “We were strong in the community sense, in a way, and people were really reaching out to us. [They would say] ‘Thank you for including these models in your campaign.’”
During the pandemic, Nina formalized that sense of community by creating the Colourette Club on Facebook, a private space where customers could talk directly to the team and to one another. It quickly became more than just a social media group. Members shared everything—from the mundane to the serious—what they were eating, their selfies, and of course, their makeup questions.
As she recalls, “So I started the Colourette Club on Facebook back in 2017, and it was really just supposed to be a group where I could speak to the community. I wasn’t even a content creator then. It was really just a group, and then it turned into what it is today. It’s 50,000 strong, active members—almost everyone’s active. And I didn’t expect that years later, there would be star-studded brands launching locally, and I didn’t know how to compete with them. It was the community. It was only the community that I had.”
In many cases, the feedback and conversations exchanged in the group would go on to strengthen those beauty bonds—and even influence real decisions inside the company.
A Community That Evolved
There was a time when the Colourette Club leaned into a different identity. Members were referred to as “boss babes,” reflecting the height of the #girlboss era, when empowerment messaging and entrepreneurial energy shaped much of the brand’s early voice online.
These days, the language has shifted. On TikTok, Nina often refers to her followers as “Loucarettes,” a newer term that reflects the brand’s evolving presence on the platform. Still, she’s quick to point out that while the names may change, the heart of the community remains the same.
That same community continues to shape how the brand grows—and how Nina herself has grown as a founder.
From Followers to Faces
Beyond online conversations, Colourette has also brought that sense of participation into the real world. In recent years, the brand began holding annual Go-See events—open casting calls that invite everyday Filipinos to become the next faces of Colourette campaigns.
Instead of relying solely on traditional models, the brand looks to its own community. Participants come from different backgrounds, skin tones, and body types, reflecting the diversity of the people who actually use the products. In its first Go-See alone, more than 400 applicants showed up, many traveling from different parts of the country for the opportunity to be part of the brand they love.
For Nina, it’s another way of reinforcing what Colourette has always stood for: beauty that feels real, relatable, and reflective of the people who built the brand in the first place.
A Founder in the Spotlight
Despite being one of the most visible founders in the local beauty industry today, Nina says stepping into the public eye was never part of the plan. “I’m super introverted. I really don’t like people. But if this is where my job brought me, fine. I’m a do-it kind of girl. I’ll just do it if that’s what it takes,” she says.
“I didn’t want to become a content creator, but during the pandemic, my following blew up because I started sharing my journey. I really did not imagine how aspirational and relatable I was at the same time. I was from a middle-income family. I had to stop college.”—Nina Ellaine Dizon
During the pandemic, however, something unexpected happened. As Nina began sharing more about her personal journey online, her following grew rapidly.
“I didn’t want to become a content creator, but during the pandemic, my following blew up because I started sharing my journey,” she recalls. “I really did not imagine how aspirational and relatable I was at the same time. I was from a middle-income family. I had to stop college.”
Built With the Community
If Colourette’s growth has been fueled by its community, its products have been shaped by them as well. Many of the brand’s launches today are developed with direct input from consumers—something Nina says has always been central to how they operate.
It was the Colourtint, she reveals, that truly propelled the brand forward. The product—the brand’s iconic multi-use tint for the eyes, cheeks, and lips—became an early favorite among its growing audience.
In one of her interviews online, Nina shared: “Yung Colourtints yung nagdala sa mapa kay Colourette. (It was Colourtint that put Colourette on the map.) It was the first-ever product of Colourette that really gained the recognition of our community.”
That same collaborative approach continues today. With the most recent revamp of the Colourtint formula—the third iteration, now a versatile hybrid water-silicone emulsion—the Colourette team once again turned to its community for feedback.
In an Instagram post documenting the process behind the reformulation, Nina shared that the brand conducted focus group discussions to ensure their claims were backed by real user experience. The sessions included both longtime fans of the product and people who had never used Colourtint before.
“We know our community and what it takes to make them happy,” she says in the post, before adding, “We’re crossing our fingers the Colourtints will still be part of your favorites!” That process reflects something deeper about how Colourette operates: success, for Nina, has never been about launching products in isolation, but about growing alongside the community that helped build the brand.
A Different Definition of Success
This kind of collaboration has shaped not just Colourette’s products, but Nina’s outlook as a founder as well. “We look at it from a different lens now. Before, you look at it from the lens of, ‘Ang galing natin, successful yung launch,’” (“We’re so good. The launch was successful,”) she says. “But now I truly believe that everyone has their own spotlight. Everyone deserves to win.”
And for the Peaches who have been with the brand through every era, Nina has a message for them as she looks ahead to 2026.
“What I’m trying to live by now is letting go of the idea of more, more, more. I don’t want to chase a very specific version of success anymore. I want to live in the present, celebrate small victories, be with my kids, and love the people I love. That, for me, is success.”
“If makeup makes you happy, we’re here creating good products—but not at the expense of your own joy or stability. If I’m happy, then I’m good. That’s what 2026 looks like for me.”
Colourette today stands for far more than beauty and makeup. At its core, it is about community, representation, and belonging—creating a space where people feel seen in an industry that has long dictated narrow standards of beauty.
In finding her own voice as a founder, Nina has also created space for others to find theirs. And in many ways, that may be the brand’s most enduring legacy.
Building a Beauty Community
Five lessons everyone can learn from Colourette’s community-first approach
Lead with authenticity
Nina has always had a strong sense of self and often describes herself as a “go-getter.” During the pandemic, Twitter became one of the main spaces where she connected with her community. Whether through short posts limited to 140 characters or longer videos, her authenticity draws people in—allowing them to feel inspired while finding the sense of connection many had been craving.
Listen before you launch
Being “in the room where it happens” (a wink to Hamilton fans) was once nearly impossible for beauty consumers. Traditionally, brands developed products behind closed doors. Colourette flipped that model. By harnessing social media and real-time feedback, the brand began developing products that its community actively asked for—making customers feel like they were part of the creation process, not just the end buyers.
Collaboration before competition
Another innovative move came soon after the brand launched First Base, a demi-matte skin tint and Colourette’s first complexion product. Faced with a flood of questions—“What shade am I?”—the team worked with celebrated makeup artist Xeng Zueleta to create a shade matrix.
The tool was simple but brilliant. It helped customers navigate their options—not just for Colourette products, but also for other local skin tints and foundations—so they could choose the right shade more confidently and avoid wasting money on products that didn’t match.
“Being a community-centric brand, yes, we do think about you guys—all the time and in everything that we do.”
Nina says the project took hours and hours of work. They even purchased competing products—including those from brands like Issy and blk—so they could swatch and compare shades accurately. The effort ultimately paid off, earning praise not just from fans but also from fellow brand owners. “Being a community-centric brand, yes, we do think about you guys—all the time and in everything that we do,” she says.
Go where your people are
Community building doesn’t happen in just one place. Platforms evolve, and conversations move. From Facebook groups and Threads to TikTok trends and face-to-face events, Colourette consistently shows up wherever its audience gathers. The brand understands that building relationships means meeting people where they are—and adapting to how they connect.
Representation matters
From the very beginning, inclusivity has been central to Colourette’s identity. The brand focused on creating products designed for Filipino skin tones and real-life conditions.
Nina herself often wear-tests products while commuting in the Philippines’ hot, humid weather—a small but telling detail that reflects the brand’s understanding of its audience. For many customers, that kind of representation goes beyond marketing. It allows people to feel seen, understood, and genuinely included.
