Verniece Enciso on Not Losing Sight of Herself

In her very first MEGAStyle cover featuring just herself, Verniece Enciso’s individuality still shines through despite constantly being part of a dynamic duo

It’s not exactly a bad thing to be going through life with someone by your side. Whether that person is a sibling, a friend, or a partner, you two get to experience whatever it is that life throws at you—the good and the bad. It’s a comforting feeling knowing that what you’re going through, the other person is, too. To put it simply, you’re not alone.

Verniece Enciso knows what that exact feeling is like—first, as a sister, and now, as a partner—and while she’s grateful she has her siblings and her fiancé by her side, she’s confident that she’s still growing and becoming her own person.

For her MEGAStyle cover, fashion enthusiast and influencer Verniece Enciso proves that being part of a tandem doesn’t mean she can’t and won’t ever be herself.

As a sister

When asked about who she is as a sister to her three siblings, she says, “I make sure they can rely on me as a sister. They know that we’ve got each other’s back no matter what. As a sister to my two younger brothers, I’m very protective, but I also want them to feel that they have someone to guide them and support them.”

For the longest time, a lot of people have mistaken Vern and Verniece Enciso as a set of twins. They look incredibly alike, they have very similar names, and they were almost always seen together. They’re two peas in a pod, basically. However, Verniece kind of broke that illusion because apparently, it didn’t exactly start that way. The 28-year old shares, “Because of how close we were, age-wise, we had sibling rivalry for our parents’ attention when we were young. We would compare who gets the higher grades in school and who excels in extracurricular activities, too.”

It’s a pretty common thing for a bunch of siblings to one-up each other. Besides, it’s one of life’s many natural occurrences. But what their parents did to make them sort things out was to put the two sisters in one room together. “The trick that our parents did was they always placed us in one room. That made us sort out our differences and work things out as sisters.” Both Vern and Verniece got so used to being together that when they were given their own bedrooms in high school, they still ended up sleeping in one room—and have been inseparable ever since. “That was when I started looking up to Vern as a big sister.”

“[Vern and I] would always complement each other’s strengths and weaknesses—I would handle the creative side while she would be in charge of the business side.”

“Since we’re both together, we were always labeled as ‘Vern and Verniece.’ We’re like a package.” Because of this, it was a big possibility for Verniece to lose her own sense of identity. She literally grew up with her older sister, so it wouldn’t have been a surprise if she was able to unknowingly acquire Vern’s traits and mannerisms. However, Verniece explains that she and her ate are still very much different despite their similar physical attributes. “Vern and I have several differences, especially in personality and interests. I was an athlete growing up, so I’m laser-focused on things I want to accomplish. I’m a perfectionist, while Vern is more accepting if something won’t go her way. As for style, we’re almost the same, but if I were to describe it, Vern is more structured and classic. On the other hand, I explore more different styles and trends while striving towards a certain timelessness.”

As a partner

Apart from being both a younger and older sibling, Verniece also has another role that she currently portrays, and that is being a partner to her boyfriend-turned-fiancé, Alf Dichaves. “Before, I would always be so pessimistic about love. After going through several failed relationships, I didn’t believe a love like this would be possible.” Funnily enough, one of those failed relationships was actually the first time that she and Alf were together.

In one of Verniece’s vlogs, the couple shared that they first dated almost a decade ago, after both getting out of long-term relationships, which eventually became the reason why it didn’t work out then. However, the two remained good friends that led to an even deeper platonic relationship.

“Then just about four years ago, we talked about why we didn’t work out before and why we should try again now that we were older and knew each other better. It’s nice because we started as best friends. This love we have, we really didn’t see it coming.”

While it may seem very outdated and even cringey to some, we still asked Verniece to relate their relationship to a song. She answered “Maybe This Time” by Michael Martin Murphey because it mind-blowingly, perfectly depicts their journey as a couple. She shares that the song, specifically the lyrics “Two old sweethearts who fell apart… Maybe this time, they can be more than just friends. She’s back in his life and it feels so right. Maybe this time, love won’t end,” is their story—and this is the exact reason why both Verniece and Alf chose this song for her to walk down the aisle to.

Since there are a lot more things to discuss when planning a wedding, it can’t just be a one-person team, and Verniece knows this all too well. Thankfully, Alf is very much hands on with the wedding planning process as she is! “I’m really so lucky with Alf because he’s always there for me. He would allow me to take the lead in planning my dream wedding, but he would be there when I needed him. He would sit down at five-hour planning meetings, drive me around to oculars, etc. So Alf is actually fully involved in the preparations, and for that, I’m really blessed. And I am really having fun through all the craziness.”

Even if Verniece and Alf are planning a wedding that both of them will enjoy, the bride-to-be still made sure to incorporate personal touches that represent her beliefs surrounding a wedding and marriage. “My family is keen on keeping Filipino traditions. One example is the pamamanhikan because [we] wanted to keep that tradition of meeting the families and formally asking [for] my hand [in] marriage.”

As her own person

As mentioned earlier, being part of a tandem can sometimes mess up with your identity, but Verniece has got that all handled by still showcasing her own self, whether it’s through her hobbies and interests, work ethic, and personal style. Giving us a background on the type of person Verniece was when she was younger, she says, “Her world revolved around school, [the] ice rink, school, then ice rink again. When you talk to her, she [was] more of a yes or no type of girl—a really shy and introverted girl.” But now, with her line of work in the world of social media, she explained that she got to step out of her shell, eventually gaining the confidence to express herself and explore her capabilities.

Touching on the topic of social media, a concept Verniece is very much familiar with given that she is celebrating her 10th year in the “industry,” she realized that nowadays, it’s not about creating content for the purpose of standing out because each person active on the Internet will always have their own space and an audience that will appreciate and relate to them. “Now, it’s a matter of being true to yourself. Standing out is being true to who you are.”

In the early ages of social media, Verniece was one of the country’s first fashion influencers that everyone fell in love with. However, it wasn’t all fun and games. Just like a lot of people, Verniece shares, “I’m lucky that I started early in the game, and social media really paved the way for my career to blossom. Still, it’s less glamorous than people think it is. The world of social media helped me accept the reality that no matter what you do, there will always be people you can’t please. Back then, haters would really affect me. Now I try to block myself from the negativity and focus on the people who really matter.”

Apart from travel photos and family gatherings, Verniece also posts a lot of content that showcases her authentic style that evolved through the years. “Before, I would always stick to my comfort zone—skirts, colors, and tutus—and would typically stick to one kind of style. Now I’m more open to trying new trends and styles, and making them my own. My style, though, no matter what trend I’m trying, would always gravitate to more classic feminine silhouettes.” And when asked what piece of clothing she can’t live without, she answers, “A little white dress. It is easy to style and layer. I can dress it up or down depending on how I style it with accessories, or combine it with other pieces to make a new look.”

As an older, wiser, and more confident Verniece

To officially cap off her first solo MEGAStyle cover, we had one last thing to find out—who will Verniece Enciso be in 2033? The sister, partner, fashion aficionado, and adventure-seeker proudly shares, “I am not too scared anymore about dreaming up possibilities I want to work on, even if the future is uncertain. One thing is for sure, though—Verniece will continue to step out of her comfort zone [and] chase her dreams no matter what life stage she is in. She will continue to explore the world and be open to whatever life will throw at her.”

Photography OLY RUIZ
Creative Direction BRIE VENTURA
Fashion Direction, Beauty Direction, and Styling MIKA REYES
Makeup MAY FRANCISCO
Hair VIEN NUEVA
Sittings Editor PEACHES GARCIA
Videography RIC THIRDIAN
Video Producer and Editor AUDREY SISON

All pieces by MICHAEL CINCO