All posts tagged: TBG

TBG Interview: Indie Lee Skincare founder, Indie Lee

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A rare brain tumour was the rude awakening for Indie Lee. She was given six months to live, but survived it. The doctors said it could be the result of an unhealthy environment and the products she was applying on her skin. Following the brand’s debut at Sephora Singapore’s recent Spring/Summer 2019 launch, Indie Lee shares with The Beauty Gazette her trigger for a fuller life, and the creation of a  cleaner beauty brand. After I was diagnosed with a rare brain tumor in 2008, and recovered from it, I made it my mission to educate and empower others to live their healthiest lives. Our products serve to underline this message. When I first started the brand, I had no beauty experience and no industry connections – I was previously in accounting. But I was on a mission and I found my way. For us, it’s really speaking to a psychographic versus a demographic. We aren’t chasing one profile or age group. We want to connect with people undergoing a transformation in their life, be it pregnancy, a …

TBG Interview: Holly Thaggard, Supergoop! Founder and CEO

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Sunscreen is that one anti-ageing skincare product category that works for sure. Wrinkles, spots and sagginess are warded off as long as you use sunscreen consistently, and if possible, way before the spots and wrinkles appear. But Holly Thaggard’s concerns weren’t exactly just about clear and firm skin when she launched her dedicated sunscreen beauty line Supergoop! a decade ago. Skin cancer was. As Supergoop makes its mark at Sephora Singapore stores, Thaggard shares the story behind her brand with The Beauty Gazette. I decided to launch Supergoop when a close friend of mine was diagnosed with skin cancer when we were in our early 30s. I set out to learn everything there was to know about sun exposure. What I found was that skin cancer was the most common type of cancer in the U.S., and that it was primarily preventable with daily SPF. But no one wanted to wear it because it didn’t feel good, so that’s when I got to work. The three things we stand for as a brand help set us …

TBG Interview: Etienne de Swardt, Founder, Etat Libre D’Orange

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Enigmatic, intriguing, irreverent and irresistible. That pretty much sums up the indie French perfume label Etat Libre D’Orange. The selection of juices concocted by Etat stands out from a sea of same-ness in the over-commercialised perfume industry, and seals its cult status. Classic examples: Like This (Indonesian ginger, pumpkin, tangerine, immortal flower, Moroccan neroli, rose, spicy notes, vetiver, woody notes, musk, heliotrope) blended with the imagination of actor Tilda Swinton. Tom of Finland (Aldehydes, citron, feuilles de bouleau, pin, safraleine, poivre, cypres, geranium, vanille, feve tonka, iris, vetiver, daim, musc, ambre gris), inspired by the Finnish homoerotic artist Touko Valio Laaksonen. Secretions Magnifiques (Iodized accord – fucus, azurone – adrenalin accord, blood accord, milk accord, orris, coconut, sandalwood, opoponax), a cocktail of the “scent” of blood, sweat, sperm, saliva… Etienne de Swardt, the brand’s maverick founder answers – with his usual irreverence – a few of The Beauty Gazette’s quick questions. What sets Etat Libre D’Orange apart? The permanent art of sabotage and indecency with the sole dogma of highest quality for the formulation itself; somehow to save our souls by …

TBG Interview: Rowena Bird, Lush co-founder

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In today’s crowded global beauty market, there isn’t another brand quite like Lush. The British label is literally one of the most effervescent around: it is energetic, colourful, vivacious, dynamic, and its bestsellers include fizzy bathbombs that release a riot of colours and essential oil blends into the bathwater. Lush is also firm in its beliefs, everything from animal rights to environmental causes; and is loud and proud about it. Founded in 1995, Lush is actually an incarnation of the six founders’ previous mail order business, Cosmetics To Go (CTG) [more on this in Q&A below]. Today, Lush is available in 50 countries across more than 800 stores. Rowena Bird, one of the brand’s founders, tells The Beauty Gazette why, in the face of increased competition, Lush still stands out. Today, the beauty retail market is overcrowded. But what do you think has led to the success of the brand, so it can hold its own?  Lush is incredibly unique in what we offer – with creativity and innovation running through everything we do. When …

TBG Interview: Suzanne Santos, Aesop co-founder and general manager

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FEW places in a mall or shopping street make you feel like you’re in an oasis of calm, like an Aesop store. The warm and soothing essential oils that fill the air, interiors carefully designed by world-class architects (like the stylish Aesop Midtown store in Tokyo by Torafu Architects, pictured above), the unpretentious brown pharmacy bottles with monochromatic labels, to the refreshing licorice tea served, take shoppers away from the harried rhythms of the city. Each store is different but still unified in theme – an authenticity. And Suzanne Santos has a hand to play in every little detail of the the Aesop brand. The general manager and brand advocate has been with the label for more than two decades. Right from its inception, through to its recent full acquisition by Brazilian cosmetics manufacturer Natura Cosmeticos. Today, Aesop marks its 30th Anniversary in the business. It operates 177 stores, and another 84 department counters, across 20 countries. Suzanne shares with The Beauty Gazette on how Aesop stays true in a busy marketplace. It has been 30 years since …

TBG Interview: Francois Arpels, co-founder, Brands & Beyond

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The Singapore-based skincare label which is set on global domination, Skin Inc, has a new member on its advisory board: Francois Arpels. Of Van Cleef & Arpels fame (his family used to own the luxury business, and he started his career there), he now runs a private-equity fund focused on investments in lifestyle and luxury brands. The luxury retail mogul shares his industry insights with The Beauty Gazette.   What are you currently focusing your energies on?  I moved to New Delhi 18 months ago, following more than a decade of close dealings with India, to set up Brands & Beyond (formerly IndEU Capital). It is a private equity fund focused on investing in independent and non-ethnic made-in-India lifestyle and luxury brands that my partners and I plan on rolling out of India. Our business model is closer to that of a strategic operator; we plan on actively contributing value in the strategy of our portfolio companies than that of a typical financial operator.   How do you intend to contribute to Skin Inc’s advisory board?  I’ve …

TBG Interview: Marc Chaya, CEO and co-founder, Francis Kurkdjian

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The celebrated perfumer Francis Kurkdjian is one of the biggest names in the rarefied world of French noses. Kurkdjian’s claim to fame was Jean Paul Gaultier’s Le Male, which he concocted at the age of 26. The award-winning perfumer went on to create many other distinctive juices with his signature juicy, sexy, yet fresh and delicately feminine accords. The Beauty Gazette loves loves loves Guerlain Rose Barbare (2005), Carven Le Parfum (2013), Elie Saab Le Parfum (2011), and My Burberry (2014). In 2009, Kurkdjian launched his eponymous perfume house with businessman Marc Chaya. To kickstart 2017, Kurkdjian adds Aqua Celestia to his signature Aqua Universalis (2009) and Aqua Vitae (2013) line-up. The juice is described as having “a fresh, colorful and generous top note accord that resonates with the sunny radiance of mimosa blossoms from Provence and a celestial whisper of musk”. The Beauty Gazette finds out more about the essence of Maison Francis Kurkdjian from the brand’s CEO and co-founder, Marc Chaya.   How did you first meet Francis Kurkdjian? I met Francis some 10 years …

TBG Interview: Sabrina Tan, founder, Skin Inc

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In September, Skin Inc launched its new concept store at Scotts Square in Singapore to cater to women who need flash facials for their jam-packed days, and a relaxing pampering session on their days-off. The store also carries a full range of the brand’s products, from its signature serums to the best-selling masks, and nifty beauty devices. Skin Inc is currently available in 100 cities in Asia, Europe and USA (including Sephora) and online retail channels (Sephora, BeautyBay, Zalora). Next year, the Chinese market is on its cards. Skin Inc’s founder Sabrina Tan, shares why the new concept store is absolutely necessary for the brand’s expansion, and other insights on the brand; with The Beauty Gazette.   Why did you decide to open the new Facial In A Flash Skin Bar? We live in a fast-paced era, where we’re all busy, have little time for almost everything; and when it comes to taking care of ourselves, we literally have no time. But, we want it all. So, I decided to solve this issue that many face with a …

TBG Interview: Alwyn Chong, owner, escentials

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When escentials first threw open its doors in 2001 at the Raffles Hotel shopping arcade, it changed Singapore’s beauty retail scene forever. The multi-label beauty store brought in one-of-a-kind cosmetic brands that only the discerning, well-travelled, cult beauty junkies recognised. Today, escentials is still the Singapore exclusive retailer of Le Labo, Maison Francis Kurkdjian, Verso, Lipstick Queen, Diptyque, and Creed. It would not be an understatement to call Chong a tastemaker of the local beauty retail scene. Over the years, escentials has also introduced many other beautifully understated brands to the Singapore market: Eve Lom, Serge Lutens, Byredo, Annick Goutal, By Terry, Memo Paris, Strivectin and Perricone MD. And after all, escentials is part of Luxasia, which distributes more than a hundred cosmetic brands – like Calvin Klein and Bvlgari – across markets such as China, India and Myanmar. Luxasia was founded by Chong’s father Patrick in the mid 1980s. Chong is managing director of Luxasia; and he runs the business in China, while overseeing the Indonesia, Thailand and Philippines markets. He is also co-founder …

TBG Interview: Marshall Lin, Hairstylist, Frederic Fekkai

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Marshall Lin’s story is the kind of story that makes you believe dreams do come true in the Big Apple. Like so many others, he moved to NYC from Hong Kong with his family when he was 14. At 15, he found himself apprenticing in a salon. He lied that he was 16 – afterall, age is just a number to be manipulated – just so that he would seem old enough. “I was young, wild, active, creative; I love to meet girls. All the right elements to be a good hairstylist,” he says. And meet girls he did. Today, Lin has a long waiting list; and has groomed and styled A-listers such as Kate Bosworth, Olivia Palmero, Christina Aguilera and Coco Rocha. With more than two decades of experience backstage and on editorial shoots, Lin is now known for his signature effortless #wokeuplikethis #coolgirl cuts. Lin talks all things hair with The Beauty Gazette.   What, in your opinion, does a good hairstyle look like?  A good haircut should show off and frame your bone structure, this …