Is it possible to build a skincare and wellness brand from plants around your area? This young mother from Libona Bukidnon tells us how.

The woman behind this local skincare brand

Bless Nacua is the founder and formulator of Blessed Potions Bath&Body, a local skincare brand based in Libona, Bukidnon province. She is a mom of 4 children, and studied nursing and traditional chinese medicine early on.

“Hi, my name is Bless. I am a mom of four, and I am the maker/formulator of Blessed Potions Skincare. I try my best to provide all natural, sustainable, less to zero waste skincare products for all skin types. I started making my "potions" in our tiny kitchen, thus I made small batches at a time. I am not a skin expert or whatsoever, all I know are the skin benefits of the herbs/botanicals that I use in formulating my skincare products.

Crafting/soapmaking keeps me sane. So I am always busy doing some crafts with my kids or soapmaking (sometimes with my kids,too).” This is how the founder of Blessed Potions describes herself and her business.

What is Blessed Potions Bath&Body?

Blessed Potions Bath&Body is a skincare brand based in Libona Bukidnon that uses all natural ingredients mostly sourced locally, and products are all handmade as well. It creates a range of products from essential oils, soaps, lotions, balms to DIY skincare, soaping and candle making supplies.

How did this business start?

Bless tells us how all this started, “Blessed Potions began not as a business plan, but as my quiet answer to my own needs. As a devoted mom of four, I first felt the stirrings of this passion during my second pregnancy. At the time, I was highly sensitive to artificial fragrances and harsh skincare products. The simplest things -scents, lotions, even soaps-triggered discomfort. And when my infant began to show signs of skin irritation, I knew something had to change.”

Since almost all drugstore skincare products she tried did not work on her baby’s skin irritation at that time, her neighbor, an elderly lady, recommended a local plant to cure her baby’s skin rashes. Bless tried it and was amazed by how effective it was in treating her baby’s skin condition.

“So I turned inward-to nature, and to tradition. With tender hands and a mother's intuition, I started crafting my own gentle remedies - free from synthetic fragrances, made from clean, nourishing ingredients. What began as a personal necessity soon became a mission.”

Standing between diverged roads

Today in its 9th year, Blessed Potions Bath&Body is about to choose a path to move forward as a brand. The first option is to follow the footsteps of similar big brands in the country, this means getting approval from the Food and Drugs Administration, which will allow a brand to distribute to more geographic areas and commercial outlets in the country. This requires dispensing resources for research and development and adjusting the brand’s products and identity according to the government’s requirements.

Another option is to remain in the SME route, done in a smarter way. Bless believes she cannot afford to shrink her brand to something it is not for the sake of wider distribution and more profit. With the right community and tailor fit support to the needs of her business, Bless also sees this as a viable way forward.

“It has been a beautiful journey—from mom to entrepreneur to formulator. Along the way, I grew to deeply love building a local brand and nourishing my curiosity for medicinal plants and raw materials. I became an artisan of my own craft.

Each product carries my story: the journey of a mother, the strength of a woman, and the power of intentional care.” 

Highs and Lows of doing her mission

“As the years passed, Blessed Potions grew alongside my children. I became more intentional with sourcing, choosing to partner with local farmers and suppliers-supporting my community while ensuring the highest quality raw materials. I embraced a low-waste lifestyle-offering refills, using reusable packaging, and designing my processes around sustainability and mindfulness.” Bless tells us her thoughts on why she loves the work she does.

Bless extends her knowledge and skills to others by teaching people in her community the art of soapmaking and other basic skincare products. She does this by either organizing independent workshops or she gets invited as resource person for agency-led workshops in Mindanao.

By doing business independently, Bless encounters challenges that she believes are part of being a small entrepreneur in this country. This means she has to compete with bigger brands that have more resources for marketing, research and development, and product distribution. She feels like falling short of these capacities, which she suspects to be causing the difficulties in meeting some expectations from customers.

Explore this local skincare and wellness brand here:

Learn more about creative makers in Mindanao through the Creative Circle PH, an independent collective empowering local makers through market access and community support.