THESMALL-BATCHINDUSTRY
ISGETTINGBIGGER
Thepastfewyearshaveseenthesebrands
registerhealthygrowthinvariousways.
“Westartedoutmakingsimplelipbalms
andbodybalms.Now,fiveyearson,wehave
skincare,bodycare,babycareandcustom
formulations.WearealsoprovidingODM
andOEMservicestocorporateclients,”
saysFoo.“Theartisanalbeautyindustryis
nolongerthe‘madeinmykitchen’cottage
industryofthepast.BrandslikeBalmKitchen
areusingtrendingandexoticingredientsin
products,andmakingthemwithknowledge
ofcosmeticscience.Somehaveevenadopted
innovativetechnologiessuchasingredient
encapsulations,”sheadds.
Liew,whoseKatfoodproductsarenow
stockedatWatsonsandavailableonAmazon,
feelstheonlywayfortheindustrytogoisup.
Shesays:“WhenIstartedin2014,youcould
countthenumberofindependentSingaporean
beautybrandsononehand.Today,thereareso
manymoreoptionsavailabletoconsumers.”
Sheinsists,however,thatherbrandwill
continuetosticktoitsguns.“Ithinkit’sreally
importantthatourproductscontinuebemade
byhand.It’swhatsetsusapartfromthebig
brands.Evenasweaspiretothebigleagues,we
mustnotloseouridentity.Wearecommittedto
expandingourfacilitiesandteamsize–instead
ofsmallbatches,we’llmakebigbatchesbyhand!”
Othersexpresssimilarlystrongconvictions
aboutmaintainingtheirbrand’sDNA.
“RoughBeautyhasbeengrowingslowlyand
organically.Whilestickingtoourpractices
maynotallowustogrowquickly,wefeelit
isimportanttoadheretoourprinciplesof
simplicityandsustainability,”saysChew.
TanbelievesthereasonWanthastaken
offisbecausethereisaclearvisionofwhatit
represents.“Wantisaboutethicalskincareand
thiswillalwaysbethecoreofthebrand,”shesays.She says: “I studied with an online accredited
organic skincare school in the UK – Formula
Botanica – and was also part of its teaching team
for a year. With my Diploma in Organic Skincare
Formulation, Advanced Diploma in Organic
Cosmetic Science and other skincare certifi cates,
I was able to create more products.”
Foo is hardly alone in attaining her
formulating chops through the Internet. To
create Rough Beauty’s soaps, Chew went online
to learn how to make them from scratch.
The same goes for Liew, who picked up basic
techniques online before experimenting to see
which ingredients work best together to achieve
the desired eff ects.
Gwee says she started concocting diff erent
beauty oils by consulting books and countless
websites. “I am self-taught and motivated by my
sheer interest in the healing powers of plants.
There is a lot of free academic research and
laboratory test results published online, you
just have to look deeper to fi nd them. A lot of the
recipes I have used in my formulas are based on
“The artisanal beauty industry is
no longer the ‘made in my kitchen’
cottage industry of the past.”
− Teresa Foo of Balm Kitchen“Small-batch,handmadeproducts
arepreferredthesedaysas
consumersarestartingtolearn
moreaboutchemicalsand
preservativesusedinskincare.”
− WinonaTanofWant“ I think it’s important that
our products continue to
be made by hand. It is
what sets us apart from
the big brands.”− Kendra Liew of Katfood
these research papers, which show how organic,
natural and botanical ingredients can be
synergised to care for troubled skin,” she says.
Product testing is usually carried out by
brand founders on themselves, their family and
friends, as well as loyal customers. Foo says:
“We send out many samples to our existing
customers – they are the best testers – and close
friends. Once we have a general consensus on
a formulation’s effi cacy, and after a lot of fi ne-
tuning, it will be made into an actual product.”
Often, founders put their own skin on the
line. Tan says she once had a skin allergy reaction
when she accidentally spilt undiluted essential
oil on herself. “ That was a big lesson learnt
about careful dilution. That’s why I make sure I
research a lot on diff erent recipes, try them out
and tweak them till perfection,” she adds.
Gwee, too, saw her skin go through a roller
coaster of ups and downs. “The very fi rst blend
I did – based on a well-recommended book –
infl amed my skin because of the sheer number of
oils in the recipe. I took several days to recover
from the incident. But I persevered and learnt to
simplify the formulas before fi nally coming up
the my go-to beauty oil – the Instaglow,”
she says.15 Oasis
Skin Solid
Conditioner,
from $10
16 Savonnerie
Fer A Cheval
Marseille
Soap Cube at
Oasis Skin,
from $10
17 Balm
Kitchen
Awakening
Skin Tonic,
$58
18 Balm
Kitchen Fruity
Gelly Wash,
$60
19 Balm
Kitchen Super
Fruit Defense
Anti-pollution
Facial Oil
Serum, $24
20 Rough
Beauty Mint
Rose Hand &
Body Wash,
from $17
21 & 22
Rough Beauty
Mint Rose
and Geranium
Scruffy
Cleansing
Grains,
$14.90 each
23-25 Rough
Beauty Saffy
Fields Soap,
Orange Bar,
and Mint
Rose Soap,
$9.50 each
26 Rough
Beauty Calm
Moisturising
Oil, $15
27 Rough
Beauty
Ashberry
Soap, $9.508787