ESKINOL was a
locally-made skin care product Eskinol that was created back in the 1940s by
pharmacist Dr. Esperanza Castro-Palting. The first product, Eskinol Facial Lotion, was made for men and
women, but its early advertising targetted only the female market.
It was not until 1972 that and Eskinol product solely for
men was developedand launched—ESKINOL
MASTER. The new product gained enough traction and began advertising in
1974 using popular male celebrities. Before
its most successful campaign “Sikreto ngMga Gwapo” was rolled out in 1994,
there were at least 3 models—alll “gwapos” in their own right, who preceded
Rico Yan, James Reid and Alden Richards.
VICTOR LAUREL
Victory “Cocoy” Laurel (b. 1 Jul. 1951) is the first
known celebrity male endorser for ESKINOL
MASTERin 1974. The middle child of former Vice President Salvador Laurel
and stage actress Celia Diaz-Laurel,
Cocoy entered showbiz via the “Search
for the Philippines’ Romeo & Juliet”, a contest to promote the Franco
Zefirelli movie “Romeo and Juliet” in 1969 where the 19 year old bagged the “Romeo”
title to Lotis Key’s “Juliet”. He debuted in the 1971 film, “Lollipops
and Roses and Burong Talangka”, where he
played the love interest of superstar Nora Aunor. The movie blockbuster made
him a screen idol. At his peak, he recorded songs, performed in a live concert
and made a film with Miss Universe Margie Moran in “Oh, Margie, Oh!” In 1989, Cocoy was cast as assistant
commissar in Miss Saigon in London. This led to playing the lead role of the
Engineer in Miss Saigon’s Australian version .
CHRISTOPHER DE
LEON
Christopher "Boyet" Strauss de León (b. 31 Oct.
1956) is the son of top screen stars Lilia Dizon and Gil de Leon. He was
launched to full stardom in the 1973 film, “Tinimbang Ka, Nguni’t Kulang”, for
which he won a FAMAS Best Actor award, he would win a ttal of 5 FAMAS acting
awards. He was first married to Nora Aunor whom he met when he did the film, “Banawe”
with her. He is currently married to actress Sandy Andolong . He has done over
120 films, stage plays, as well as TV
programs—from gag shows like “ Going Bananas” and countless telenovelas. Boyet
is the first actor to appear in a centerfold in a 1974 women; magazine. He was
signed up as an ESKINOL MASTER model
in 1984.
EDU MANZANO
Eduardo Barrios Manzano (b. 14 Sep. 1955) was signed up as an ESKINOL MASTER model in 1987. This
American-born actor spent his
early years in the U.S. where he joined the Air Force at age 17. When he
returned to the Philippines, he went to school in La Salle, where he dabbled in modeling,
and appeared in a Lux Soap commercial that starred Hilda Koronel. He broke into
movies and made many popular films in the 80s and 90s, like “Working Girls”, “Captain
Barbell” ,”Maging Sino ka Man”, “Separada”
and “Tanging Yaman”. He tackled a variety of roles—as the handsome dramatic
lead, as a movie villain, or as a
funnyman . He was also known as talk-show
host for TV aswell as gameshow host of “The
Weakest Link”, “Pilipinas, Game KNB?”, “ 1 vs. 100” and “Asar Talo Lahat
Panalo!.” Manzano also embarked on a political career as Vice Mayor of Makati
in 1998, but lost when he ran for the city’s mayoralty. He was also defeated in
the senatorial race. Edu is the father of Luis Manzano, his son with Vilma Santos.
