The best leaders are known to have a catalytic effect on the projects they spearhead, and the people they work with. During a chat with Skin Inc's founder Sabrina Tan, Susanah Cheok finds out who in turned influenced the entrepreneur and how she keeps her brand above its peers.
Sabrina Tan has no single role model and would rather pick the best traits of different people to emulate. Sabrina wears the RM 033 Extra Flat Automatic watch by Richard Mille; outfit by Lanvin.
Sabrina Tan attributes much of the success of her beauty business to her IT background. Without which, she says, Skin Inc would not exist. “In IT, we are trained to look at a holistic ecosystem, put resources together, develop an intuitive product for the customer, or even create something that never used to exist.” In effect, the driving forces in IT have taught her that just like in beauty, “bespoke is the new luxury”.
When Skin Inc burst onto the local scene in 2007, with its patented technology of tailoring serums to suit the needs of individual customers, it dispelled the notion of one-size-fits-all beauty products and disrupted the beauty scene. It became a global phenomenon in its sector. To date, it is in 100 cities in Asia, Europe and the US, and has over 350 distribution outlets. “We were able to predict the future and merged beauty with technology, which enabled us to be ahead of the curve.”
(Related: The Insider Guide to Singapore’s Fashion and Beauty Brands)
If Sabrina is an ambidextrous, solutions-driven leader, it is due in part to her late mother’s tenacious and resourceful nature. “My mum ran three salons of her own and had the biggest influence in my life,” she says. “She was strong and ahead of her time. She taught me how to believe in myself under any circumstances.”
While Skin Inc is already a lovemark for top global fashion and beauty influencers such as Aimee Song and Michelle Phan, her target is to be that of every woman. This Christmas, Sabrina will be leading Skin Inc in a partnership with World Vision International to sponsor education of 100 underprivileged girls for a year.
Photography: Darren Gabriel Leow
Art Direction: Matilda Au
Styling: Randolph Tan
Hair: Grego/Indigo Artisans, using La Biosthetique
Make-Up: Sha Shamsi/Indigo Artisans, using Tom Ford Beauty
Photographer's assistant: Eric Tan and Darren Chan
Stylist’s assistant: Ong Jollin
(Related: Up Close with Sabrina Tan, Founder and CEO of Skin Inc)