If you’ve been keeping up with influencer sisters Vern Enciso and Verniece Enciso, you’ll know that they’ve been busy. Aside from traveling the world and creating content, the two have also started their own business. You have probably seen their teaser photos and videos on Instagram for something called VV&Co.
They haven’t fully revealed what it is yet, until today. If you guessed fragrances, then you got it right. There are two scents named Vern Perfume and Verniece Eau de Toilette. Vern is described as citrusy and woody while Verniece is floral and musky.
When I found out what they were working on, I was intrigued and wanted to know more about this project. Luckily for me, I was able to ask them some questions about perfume, VV&Co., and what it’s like starting a business with your sister.
The two scents have very different notes, how do these reflect your individual personalities?
Verniece and I, though we look alike, have very different personalities. It’s crazy how we’re only a year apart yet the stages we are in our lives are very distinct. Our perfumes represent the the two women we have become and the stages we are in today.
Who do you see wearing your scents? What type of woman is she?
We had two types of girls in mind when we were making our two scents. For Verniece, it’s very sweet and fresh. It has remnants of a girl who is very happy taking little and unsure steps to figure out what she wants in life. She’s taking her sweet time and she’s not taking life too seriously yet. It’s a fragrance one can wear to school, a girl who’s experiencing her first job, on dates with her first real love, or even a trip with her girlfriends.
As for Vern, it’s a fragrance made for women who have gone through difficult times trying to figure out who she is and have come out of that stage in her life, more sure of who and what she wants to attain. I personally went through anxiety for the past two years and I know how trying it can be. Some may call it quarter life crisis given that I am in my mid 20s but just overcoming that phase of my life was very empowering. I wanted this perfume to be feminine but have that musky note because I wanted that part of the fragrance to remind girls that they were strong enough to get through just that. It’s a scent that a girl can wear everyday as she takes calculated steps towards a dream she’s sure she wants to pursue.
Among all the fields you could have entered like fashion or makeup, why did you choose scents/perfumes?
It all actually started with a childhood memory that we both have. Our fondest one is our dad kissing us good-bye every morning and he leaves this trail of scent that just lingered till we see him again later on at night. It was unlocked when we were in a department store abroad and we got a whisk of that scent that brought back those simple yet memorable scenes we had as kids. He’s always been our hero and the person we looked up to the most so reliving that memory was very dear to us. Then and there we knew that fragrance was the business we wanted to venture in, we wanted to help unlock old memories and even be the keeper of new ones.
How did your background as content creators help in starting the business?
I guess it made it easier for us to know what image we wanted to have as a brand and what market we would automatically tap into as it’s very similar to what we have now. After being in the blogging business for almost 10 years, we knew what our strengths were and what kind of people we should hire to make up for our weaknesses.
What was it like working on this project together both as sisters and business partners?
We both do blogging full time so it made it easier for us to know which side of the business each sister would be in. It’s cliché but this business made us closer and appreciated each other more. We realized that we do work best together!
What are the most important lessons you learned throughout this process?
That you should treat your business like your first child—be hands-on with every step of the way so you’ll know it inside and out. No one can do it better than yourself the first time then learn to let go and segregate on the second and third times.
Any advice for women who want to start their own business?
Start a business you really believe in because if you don’t believe in your own, how will your customers?
How were you able to balance this project along with traveling and managing your other roles?
We had to take a step back with traveling and carefully chose the trips we were in. We actually took a three-month break and just stayed put in Manila working on VV&Co! it’s funny because our readers started to ask and some would even hate that we’re getting laos but we were just working on this brand. As with blogging, we’re happy we can do it anywhere so it wasn’t so difficult.
Do you see VV&Co. expanding to other product lines?
Yes, our fragrances are just the beginning.
Art by Marian Hukom
For the latest in culture, fashion, beauty, and celebrities, subscribe to our weekly newsletter here
Follow Preen on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, and Viber
Related stories:
Ariana Grande’s new perfume might be inspired by Pete Davidson
Spice up your scent with musky perfumes
I tried using essential oil as perfume for two weeks
Master the art of perfumery with these 5 tips
