In Vogue

Sunday March 23, 2008

Deliciously local

By SANDRA LOW

starmag-feedback@thestar.com.my

In less than seven months since its launch, a made-in-Malaysia cosmetics brand has not only become the talk of blogsville, but looks set to gain fame in the international beauty market too.

Beautilicious is a dream come true for Julie Wong.

THE invite that landed on my desk was rather mysterious. It was for the launch of a new beauty brand and stated that it was created by a local makeup artist whose name was not revealed. It also said that the creator already had plans to take her brand, Beautilicious, abroad.

I immediately thought of all the local makeup artists I have worked with and wondered who was plucky enough to plunge into an extremely competitive market and take on the giants in the beauty business.

Well, confidence is something 31-year-old Julie Wong Sook Hing has plenty of. When we met at a Petaling Jaya mall recently, Wong extended a warm and firm handshake, the hallmark of a serious businesswoman. She was flawlessly made up and immaculately dressed, looking every inch the CEO.

Her makeup brand was launched in Kuala Lumpur in September and the determined young woman has great plans for it.

Having worked her way up from the makeup counter to senior management positions in sales and marketing in the beauty industry, Wong certainly knows the business well. Her exposure includes well-known international brands like Clinique, YSL Beaute, Aesop and Laura Mercier. She was also involved in creating and launching local makeup brand, Elianto.

Wong says that she does not come from a well-to-do family and after getting her advanced certificate in marketing, she went on to get a degree in business administration while working to pay for her fees.

The Wonder Eyes Instant Eyeshadow certainly lives up to its name.

"It was one of the toughest periods in my life, juggling a demanding full-time job and studying for my degree. My brother told me that I wouldn't be able to do it and to prove him wrong I was determined to do it, and I did," says Wong.

She tells how the thesis that she wrote for her degree was entitled "Marketing a Malaysian brand internationally", based on the Royal Selangor success story. At that point, however, she never thought that she would one day create her own brand to which she could apply the same principles she wrote about.

"At the back of my mind, I have always wanted to be an entrepreneur and be involved in a business that I am passionate about," says Wong, a mother of a three-year-old son and a seven-month old daughter.

And how did she come up with Beautilicious? Creating her own product was something she's always wanted to do and a natural progression for her after being in the industry for so long. As for the brand name, Wong didn't think that her English name would be catchy enough so she had to come up withsomething that was trendy and memorable.

She explains that her product falls into a category that is termed "mass-tige" – where one can buy a good quality product that is well-packaged yet affordable. Wong has kept the pricing just above the mass market brands and below the prestige product levels and has ensured her customers get a good quality product. The raw materials for her brand are formulated in Italy and manufactured locally.

According to her, the biggest challenge was convincing retailers to give her an impressive enough space in their stores. Apparently brands are distinguished as being either mass market or prestige, and this determines space allocation.

Luck was on her side though: "(Retailer) Jusco had already offered me a space. Then I got a call from a another reputable retailer who was impressed with what it saw and wanted to offer me a space. That really boosted my confidence," says Wong.

The glossy Jam lip gloss comes in six shades.

She says that Beautilicious would generally appeal to women below 30 and because she feels that many people do not have the time, patience and expertise with makeup, she has come up with two main ranges of products under the brand, namely, the Be-Delicious Makeup Kits and Pick-Your-Own Refill.

"I noticed that some women feel pressured into buying makeup items, especially when they are assisted by a makeup artist at a counter. That is the reason I included instructions in each makeup kit. It helps young women or those who have little experience and allows them to put on their makeup comfortably in their own home," she explains.

Her more outstanding products include the Wonder Eyes Instant Eyeshadow, an Australian-designed product, which Wong reveals to me in a flurry of excitement. It is an idiot-proof instant eyeshadow kit that blends three complementary shades and allows the user to apply eye colour in three simple steps. Wong showed me how and her demonstration took about 10 seconds and my initial scepticism melted away.

The product not only worked like a charm, it actually looked great. Although Beautilicious is still a fledgling in the local market and has not been advertised extensively, it already seems to have found its fair share of fans and is a hot topic among local bloggers. A young teen talked about how she loved the girly pink counter concept, although she felt the products are very similar to American beauty brand Benefit's palettes. Another blogger compared Beautilicious' paper packaging to another American beauty brand, Stila, but said the former has a more affordable price tag.

On the similarity of her brand's look to that of Benefit and Stila, Wong says, "These brands have been in the market for a long time, and they are very successful. My brand is just starting out and no where near where these are today. I wanted illustrations (on the packaging) as this would be a more flexible way to be creative with the brand as well as paper packaging, which is more expensive, but makes the product look a lot more beautiful."

During the conceptual stage, Wong says that she worked with a freelance graphic designer who took into account her weakness for anything pink and her love for ribbons.

Wong says that the plan to take the brand abroad came about when a Japanese contact saw her products and approached her to sell it in the Japanese market. Another contact has also enquired if she would be interested in "beautifying'' the Middle East market. Wong is optimistic that the brand will be available soon in Japan, Dubai, Kuwait, Bahrain and India.

This new-found success may be dizzying for most, but Wong says: "It is a dream come true for me and even if the brand doesn't do as well as it could, I am contented knowing that I am doing something that I am excited about and I did it on my own."