Meet Ethel Emmons | Entrepreneur & Lifestyle Brand Blogger

We had the good fortune of connecting with Ethel Emmons and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Ethel, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
I had been a very successful global technology executive at a top-tier Fortune 500 company. In fact, I was on a 4-year international expat assignment in the Hague, Netherlands that started on 2019. Everything was going exceptionally well, but the global pandemic cut that short and abruptly. At the height of the pandemic, I decided to come home to Houston to be with my family and abandoned my original plan to pursue a global career that required me to stay abroad. At this point in time, being home with my family was more important than anything else.. When I traveled back home hastily in Mar 2020, due to the impending lockdown, I decided to pack just a few of my things, thinking that I would be back in 2 weeks, just like what I had done before. But of course the lockdown went on indefinitely. I ran out of my skincare products, as I left most of them in my apartment in The Hague, so I decided to replenish here in Houston. Sephora, where I would normally buy my skincare products, was closed at time due to the lockdown, so I went to a drugstore to purchase them. Not mentioning any brands here, but I got a severe allergic reaction on the products that I purchased, requiring me to visit the urgent care clinic for some Benadryl and anti-inflammatory injections. By the way, this was not a first time for me. I have very sensitive skin, so I am very choosy in terms of what I put on it. But at the time the choices were limited due to the lockdown. This was the time that I decided not to put up with this anymore and create my own DIY homemade skincare. I had done this before in 2007 when I started to dabble in this, but my busy career and lifestyle prevented me from pursuing going all natural. But working from home during the pandemic gave me the opportunity and the time to pursue this. I created my cleansing oil, toner, eye cream and face cream from organic oils, essential oils and botanical extracts. I loved the natural scent from the natural ingredients and the improvement on my skin! My skin looked and felt so hydrated, plum, dewy and healthy. I couldn’t stop bragging about this to my sister who then encouraged me to sell my products. So I pursued formal studies in natural skincare formulation with School of Natural Skincare (top UK-based school and in beauty business management with Formula Botanica (https://formulabotanica.com/graduates/skin-beautiful-organics/). This helped me to create the foundations of my skincare brand. My vision is to create the future of beauty from elite and highly potent, yet healthy and non-toxic, plant-based ingredients that are good for you and the environment. Skin is your best outfit, so I want to make you look and feel beautiful in your own skin (without lots of makeup or cover-up).

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
Skin Beautiful Organics is a new modern brand of high-performance luxury plant-based skincare. It is “luxury meets natural”. If you want luxurious skincare, you don’t need to use harsh chemicals made from the laboratory that could cause allergic reaction or toxic inflammation. If you want natural skincare, you don’t need to use bland and ineffective formulation. So my vision is to put “luxury” in “natural” so the skincare experience feels and smells luxurious and to put “natural” in “luxury” so the ingredients and formulation are clean, natural and effective. My passion is to change the way we experience skincare to one that shows noticeable results, feels luxurious to the senses, and is non-toxic to the body and the environment. Beautiful skin is a result of healthy lifestyle that includes mindful care and thought on what we put on our skin and inside our bodies. Our skincare line contains 20 to 65 high-performance and clinically-proven premium ingredients per product. We use innovative formula of synergistically blended botanical actives (Land and Marine), pigments, antioxidants, bioflavonoids, phytosterols, plant stem cells, marine algae and seaweed extracts and bioferments, enzymes, plant-based amino acids, cold-pressed lipid factors, vitamins, minerals, omegas, alginic acids, and polysaccharides. Some natural skincare have very basic and very common ingredients – nothing special or different, whereas we strive to incorporate high-end and unique plant-based ingredients packed with all the nutritious elements needed for true skin transformation.

We got to where we are today due to passion. As you know starting a business is very difficult. It’s time-consuming, cash-intensive, and very risky, especially when you are just starting out. We are still creating our name and building our brand. It is not easy. And many businesses fail at this point, especially if the only reason you’re here is about instant gratification. My inspiration in life has been: Do what you love and success will follow. If it was easy, it wouldn’t be fun. You need to be in it for the long run because success is not overnight. What will keep you going is your passion – because you believe in it so much that you are helping change people’s lives with your products. For me, passion was the caffeine that enabled me to burn consecutive midnight oils. Passion was the fuel that skyrocketed me to deliver all those impossible deadlines. Passion was the key that unlocked portals of creativity. Passion was the lens that made me see what was not there. Passion was the third eye that enabled me to imagine what could be.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
So I now live in Houston (after 6 years of living and working abroad). I will take my best friend to the best places in Houston: 1) Ambriza – Authentic Mexican restaurant in Vintage Park Houston. The food is authentic Mexican (not Tex-Mex) and super tasty. The ambiance is party atmosphere and very lively. They have unique art and decor everywhere. See more here: https://www.houstonpress.com/restaurants/first-look-at-ambriza-social-mexican-kitchen-9145157.
2) Uchi – Upscale Japanese restaurant in the Felix Space on Westheimer. The chef owner is one of the few American sushi masters who is also a James Beard award winner. This an elegant sushi restaurant with unique and fresh menu.
3) Treehouse Ventures – Outdoor adventure in the campus of the Recreation Center at Rob Fleming Park in The Woodlands. See https://texastreeventures.com. I would rent a treehouse to spend time hanging out with my friend among the trees. I would also go for the aerial adventure. The course is directly adjacent to the expansive 1,800 acres of the George Mitchell Nature Preserve, which is home to abundant wildlife, several miles of wooded trails, and Spring Creek. The course is a series of physical challenges and adventure-based elements designed for youth and adults. The three-level aerial adventure course tests you in a fun environment with 72 challenging elements.
4) Galleria Mall – shopping galore in Houston. See https://www.simon.com/mall/the-galleria
5) Space Center Houston – science museum which serves as the official visitor center of NASA Johnson Space Center in Houston. This is NASA’s center for human spaceflight, where human spaceflight training, research, and flight control are conducted.
6) Houston Zoo – 55-acre zoological park located within Hermann Park. The zoo houses over 6,000 animals from 900 species.
7) Museum of Fine Arts – located in the Houston Museum District, Houston, is one of the largest museums in the United States. The permanent collection of the museum spans more than 6,000 years of history with approximately 70,000 works from six continents.
8) Kemah Boardwalk – 60-acre Texas Gulf Coast theme park in Kemah, approximately 30 miles southeast of Downtown Houston. The Boardwalk is built entirely along the shores of Galveston Bay and Clear Lake, and is considered among the premier boardwalks in the United States.
9) Escape Room – fun activity to do to figure out how to escape the room. There are many variations of this in Houston
10) Houston Audubon Society – nature trails and park

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
My inspiration comes from my sister (Cielo Topacio) who encouraged me to always present the best version of myself to the world and at the same time kept me grounded on the realities of life. I had a very challenging journey from Manila to California to Houston to everywhere else. I migrated from the Philippines to the USA in my early 20s by myself. I had no family, friends or relatives in the USA to support me or hand-hold me at the time. Being alone and starting a career/life in a foreign country was a scary thought and a very challenging undertaking especially when you were just out of college with a little job experience. I remember spending a lot of money on international calls just so I could hear my sister’s voice to feel that certain warmth that gave me the strength I needed to be able to make it to where I am now. She lifted me up when I was about to give up. She gave me advice and at the same respected my life choices. She continues to be my mentor and cheerleader.

Website: https://skinbeautifulorganics.com/ (for my business) and also https://ethelemmons.com (for my personal branding)

Instagram: https://instagram.com/skinbeautifulorganics

Facebook: https://facebook.com/skinbeautifulorganics

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCs5985ULJxj2_dPuGcOWuGw

Image Credits
Thais Maya Julia Kristina Mueller Rich McCann