Facial treatments are undeniably a pick-me-up for any beauty aficionado out there.
But the truth remains – the exorbitant prices of these salons often deter us from even contemplating the treat. With facial sessions going up to approximately $200 these days, I’d choose to do away with such indulgence than to enjoy fresh, milky skin at the expense of my bank account.
And that’s where The Beauty Fame comes into the picture.
Manifesting The Entrepreneur In Her
Young and wide-eyed, 16-year-old Cammie was drawn into the realm of blog-shopping back in 2008. It was a time where the prevalence of blogspot.com became apparent in Singapore, leading to a huge wave of accounts being set up.
She also happened to be looking for an avenue to earn some extra pocket money after completing her ‘O’ levels – something many of us are familiar with.
There it was for Cammie – a popular platform and a burning incentive to embark on a journey in the blog-shopping world. But there was still one puzzle piece left unsolved: what should she sell?
Like most teenagers going through puberty, she was battling with persistent acne problems throughout her secondary school life. Though on hindsight, this was a blessing in disguise that led to the birth of The Beauty Fame.
“As I had to deal with my acne on a consistent basis, I was inevitably attracted to skincare and beauty-related products,” she laughs.
Cammie was then able to work with a few suppliers through her family contacts. Coupled with her strategic entrepreneurial mindset at the mere age of 16, The Beauty Fame finally came to fruition, selling imported skincare products from Taiwan, Japan and Malaysia.
Leap Of Faith
Having held a corporate job in an online payment company for 7 years while simultaneously juggling the management of The Beauty Fame, Cammie found it tough to devote much attention to the latter.
She finally took a leap of faith end-2018 and left her corporate job to focus on this business wholeheartedly.
“I’ve always been treating it more like a ‘side-line’ than a business, but I decided it was about time to invest my heart and soul into The Beauty Fame full-time.”
It wasn’t happily-ever-after for her just yet, though. Cammie is still a one-man show, wearing many hats as her role demands it. Liaising with suppliers, keeping stock and managing customers – it certainly isn’t easy.
“As with every entrepreneurial journey, there were definitely ups and downs. But I have the support of my family; I even get help from them occasionally!” she says.
Her 7 years of hustling was not in vain either, as she translates her lessons learnt from the corporate world in her current business management skills.
“Being in several customer-centric roles during my previous job has really helped me to prioritise customer experience as the most important part of The Beauty Fame,” Cammie reflects.
No Need For Middleman Retailers
Recalling the pricey cost of an average facial session, I was initially surprised at how The Beauty Fame manages to keep their prices so affordable. A 5-piece set of ampoules costs only $34.90 – a stark difference from what is offered in a typical facial salon in Singapore.
Cammie attributes this to her long-term relationships with the suppliers she works with, allowing her to bring less-accessible products – usually sold in bulk quantities – to home-based salons and consumers directly.
This arrangement renders the middleman role of salons and spas redundant, breaking free from the traditional bounds of retailing that is known to inflate wholesale prices by several times.
“We were able to work out a win-win situation for both of us – this gave the suppliers more sales and allowed us to value-add to the market.”
Be Your Own Facialist
Forget serums, moisturisers and toners.
Given that The Beauty Fame gathers their products from companies that actually supply skincare resources to facial salons, their range of products is no typical one compared to an average online beauty store.
Ampoules are a hot favourite among Cammie and her customers. Small but mighty, these contain a high concentration of ingredients that promise to target your specific skin care needs.
There’s even a “BOTOX” effect one that gives your face a temporary face-lift and reduces the activity of mimic muscles on your face. “It helps to ‘boost’ your skin like a botox filler but does so without injections!” she explains.
Another personal favourite of Cammie is the Peppermint Modeling Rubber Mask. If you’ve ever indulged in a facial, you’d know that these masks are a staple in beauty treatments. They start out in a powder form, then transform into a paste-like mixture upon adding various activators like water.
For an average beauty consumer, such professional products are certainly hard to source for, let alone at such affordable prices.
Indeed, online stores like The Beauty Fame change the way we think about purchasing from retailers. If these businesses are able to offer quality products at wholesale prices, I don’t see why financially savvy consumers shouldn’t be turning to them more often.
To check out The Beauty Fame’s range of professional skin care products, visit here.
