From Dreams to Reality: How The Glow Club Became New Zealand’s First Filipino Cosmetic Store

The Glow Club isn’t just about selling makeup or skincare—it’s about building a space where everyone feels seen and celebrated. As the first Filipino beauty store in New Zealand, we are proud to bring our unique beauty culture to life, but it’s not just about us. It’s about the entire community we serve. We’re here to provide a platform for smaller brands, for local and international beauty businesses that deserve to be seen and heard. Our mission is simple: to give people access to the beauty products they love while supporting various voices in the industry.

When the pandemic hit, everything changed. Like so many others, I found myself stuck at home, unable to get the beauty products I relied on for my skin. I couldn’t go back to the Philippines, and the products I trusted just weren’t available in New Zealand. It was frustrating, and it made me realize something—there were probably many Filipinas in New Zealand facing the same issue.

The need for familiar, trusted beauty products became clear. It wasn’t just about wanting these items—it was about filling a gap that many of us were feeling. What started as a small challenge soon turned into a bigger opportunity, a chance to make these products accessible to the community that needed them most.

Inclusivity drives everything we do, which means creating a space where independent brands can grow and thrive. Beauty isn’t limited to well-known names—it’s about discovering unique, high-quality products from smaller creators with compelling stories. These brands may not have the same reach, but they bring something special, and we’re here to support that.

As the demand for our products grew, we realized that Instagram alone couldn’t contain it all. We needed a better way to connect with our customers, to give them an easier shopping experience. So, we decided to build a website. While none of us had a background in tech, we were determined to figure it out. With a little help from Shopify, we launched our site—and the response was overwhelming. It wasn’t just about having an online store. It was about offering a more inclusive space for people to shop with ease, find new brands, and have access to products that were previously hard to come by.

The website wasn’t just a place to make sales—it became a platform for information, engagement, and community. It allowed us to connect directly with people who shared the same passion for beauty, and it gave us the opportunity to share the stories of smaller brands we were proud to support.

Even with the success of our website, there was one question we kept hearing: “When are you opening a store?” It was a question we had been asking ourselves for some time. Opening a store isn’t just about expanding a business—it’s about creating a space where people can truly experience what you’re about. It’s about building a physical presence in the community you’ve been serving online.

So, we took the leap. Finding the perfect location in Newmarket wasn’t easy, and neither was designing the space. There were challenges—lots of them—but we knew that we wanted to create a store that was more than just a beauty shop. It needed to be a place where everyone, from seasoned beauty enthusiasts to people who were new to Filipino brands, felt welcome. On March 30th, we opened the doors to our first physical store, and the support from our community was incredible. It confirmed for us that we were creating something that people truly wanted and needed.

Six months after opening our physical store, we’re proud to say we’re not just surviving—we’re thriving. The journey has been a rollercoaster, with plenty of unexpected challenges. We’ve learned so much about ourselves, our customers, and what it means to be a small business in a competitive market.

From connecting with new customers to supporting small brands, every step has reinforced why we started this journey. I’m still working full-time in the corporate world, but the dream of dedicating myself fully to The Glow Club grows stronger every day. This journey has shown us that the world can be tough, so we need to be tougher.

At The Glow Club, we are deeply committed to women’s empowerment, not just in our business but in every community we serve. We are a 100% women-led company, and we are proud of it. Our goal isn’t just to sell beauty products—it’s to create a space where women can come together, lift each other up, and feel confident in their own skin. We believe that when women support women, incredible things happen.

But our commitment goes beyond just women’s empowerment. As a Filipino-owned business, we are also dedicated to supporting our own. We understand the struggle of being far from home, and we want to help make Filipino beauty more accessible, not just in New Zealand but across the world.

If there’s one piece of advice I can offer, it’s this: just start. The hardest part is always the beginning. The fear of failure, the uncertainty—it can be overwhelming. But I promise you, once you take that first step, everything starts to fall into place. The Glow Club wasn’t built in a day. It was built on persistence, resilience, and the belief that we had something important to offer.

So, if you’re thinking about taking that leap—whether it’s starting a business, launching a product, or following a dream—don’t wait for the perfect moment. The perfect moment is now. Start today, and I promise you, it’ll be worth it.