The Rockstar Who Loves Me

Epilogue ♫ The Real Stars

The Moon Shines on Her Own
A Blog Post by Ellen Young

Ellen: Don't you ever get tired of the sun and moon puns?
Cecilia: I haven't entertained that notion because to be honest, those puns turned me into a star of sorts.

E: Of sorts? You broke into the beauty industry like a wrecking ball and took it over in just a few years.
C: No, que va! I wouldn't say that. I'm very proud of THEMOON Line's success but fundamentally the industry hasn't changed. Impossible beauty standards still exist, so does discrimination and exclusionary practices. I'm just a small CEO trying to change things, little by little, and my people are the ones who deserve the real credit here. They're the ones who come up with the ground-breaking ideas and turn them into a reality. Special shoutout to my personal assistant Dawn and my Creative Division head, Leyna!

E: I heard they were some of your early adopters, too.
C: Yes, along with my mom and my other friend Quinta, they were my first supporters and also guinea pigs. And it was Leyna who came up with the idea of having two product lines, a high-end one for customers who want to buy a full solution for their needs, and the DIY product line for customers with less purchasing power, who still deserve great quality products.

E: That was a total game-changer in the industry.
C: It was. Up to now, all brands were grab and go. But there are customers who are willing to make their own products at home as long as they can save some money. We just had to come up with a line of basic products and provide the recipes to follow, which we made super easy with our app. I was blown away by how well it did.

E: The financial statements of your company show a pretty diverse workforce and equitable pay. That already puts THEMOON Line ahead of your competitors and most other players in the industry.
C: Not to sound too PR-focused but I really have to thank our investors. They supported me one hundred percent since the inception of the company, when all of these practices seemed to make the initial business case less appealing. But the later return on investment was worth it!

E: Speaking of, is it true your mega-star boyfriend was one of the early investors?
C: He still is, yes. In fact, he's the one who came up with the name of the company and is also the origin of most of the puns you can find online.

E: How does it feel like to be married to a multiple Grammy winner, both as a solo act and as a band member?
C: Insane? Sometimes I wake up in the morning and pinch myself, in case the past five years have all been a dream. But then I see him sleeping like a log next to me, oblivious to the world, and I remember that yeah, sometimes life can be amazing.

E: Thank you for inviting me to your wedding, by the way. I was so happy to share such a special moment with you both. And with the other two couples.
C: (laughs) Never in my life did I imagine I'd end up getting married in a triple wedding, but in a way marrying Tae Yang was like marrying his bandmates too. We were all sort of drunk one night, when we came up with the idea of having a joint ceremony as a joke. But it turned out to be a good way to make one big party so they could move on to the next leg of their world tour without worrying about wedding planning. If anything, I should thank you for making the time to attend on such short notice.

E: Don't mention it! It's been so much fun to watch Casual Friday Funeral grow up. In fact, the interview I did with them helped me cement my career.
C: Game recognize game, you know?

E: Is that how THESUN and THEMOON came into each other's radars?
C: I mean, it really took a plan that was going down for that to happen. I've given Tae Yang a lot of crap about it over the years, but he was kinda rude when we first met. He thought anyone on the plane might recognize him and was trying to hide, which became impossible when we were clutching at each other for dear life thinking we were going to die.