Founder of Oasis Beauty Kitchen
I want to showcase how skincare and personal care products can be made with wholesome, natural ingredients and be efficacious at the same time!
Tell us your story, how did you get here?
I’ve always struggled with skin conditions, from childhood eczema to teenage acne. Both returned with a vengeance when I entered my 30s; I’d get red, angry breakouts. I tried everything from taking antibiotics and applying steroid creams to overpriced bi-weekly facials – nothing worked for the long term. Having tried virtually every chemical I could get my hands on, I decided to give natural remedies a try.
Inspired by the natural skincare books my husband got me for my birthday a few years back, I started to conduct online research and sourced for ingredients to experiment on. There’s actually a lot of free research content around the efficacy of natural ingredients so I felt reassured this would not just be some hippy-dippy project.
After countless rounds of self-experimentation, my skin is looking healthier than ever before and it gave me the confidence to start Oasis. I want to showcase how skincare and personal care products can be made with wholesome, natural ingredients and be efficacious at the same time!
What impact have you made in Singapore?
Being a plant-based brand, we feel closely connected to the natural environment. We’re very conscious of our impact on the environment. At the start, our packaging was fully glass. But we evolved to allow for the refilling of products since that’s the only way to reduce single-use waste. Saying our packaging is recyclable isn’t enough; we have to enable our customers to reuse them. Many of our customers have done so!
We’ve also adopted a 100% recycled packaging policy since we were able to house them back in 2020. The boxes and packaging material are all donated by customers and the general community. The impact is collective – I couldn’t have done it without the support of customers and my hardworking team.
What does 2022 look like for you?
Hopefully, a fruitful year of reaching a wider audience and creating more educational content for everyone on our socials! We’re also hoping to bring back workshops and do more collabs with other local players and communities.
On the product front, we managed to collect a lot of invaluable feedback from our community at the end of last year. We’ll be working on launching an exciting new line-up of goods centred on wellness such as room sprays, perfumes and more.
What do you love most about Singapore?
Singapore is my home, where my family is. It’s cliche but true. I love how we’re a young nation and that we’re at the early stages of crafting our identity – almost like a new startup. Singaporeans are well-educated and exposed to myriad cultures. We just have to harness all these different facets to continuously build what being a Singaporean means. Although we’re known as a city of great food and chefs, nothing warms my heart more than seeing a burgeoning local makers scene in carpentry, ceramics, skincare, apparel and more.
What’s the one product you can’t live without?
How can you ask me to pick my favourite child? I’ll have to say it’s a fight between the InstaGlow Brightening Beauty Oil and any of the solid shampoos. I love them all! In switching to these natural products, my body feels adjusted, healthy and, in my opinion, looks better than it ever did before.
Who is your Local Legend, and why?
I nominate Jackie from Triple Eyelid Studio who’s been working with clients to upcycle wood into beautiful customised furniture designs since 2014! I first came across his profile while searching for upcycled wood furnishings when renovating our Joo Chiat store.
After chatting with him to find out more about his story and past works, we decided to engage him to help us. Using pallet wood and discarded cable drums, Jackie and his team built all our retail shelves in Joo Chiat – they’re beautiful and sturdy. We wouldn’t hesitate to work with Jackie again for future projects.