Speaker 1: Welcome to the Wellness hour here on CNA 938. You're
Speaker 1: with me, Cheryl Goh. Now today's chat focuses on outer
Speaker 1: beauty because as the saying goes, if you look good, well,
Speaker 1: you feel good and for many women, makeup is a
Speaker 1: powerful
Speaker 1: tool to help us give us that confidence boost and
Speaker 1: in recent years, the trend of eyelash extensions, especially done
Speaker 1: in a salon, has helped many women to brighten their
Speaker 1: eyes and being semi-permanent also means saving a lot of time.
Speaker 1: getting ready in the morning, um, I would know I've
Speaker 1: fallen down the rabbit hole and my eyes do feel
Speaker 1: naked without eyelash extensions or when I'm in between my
Speaker 1: lash appointments, I feel like I have to put extra
Speaker 1: effort to do my eye makeup, so the whole gamut, right, shadow, eyeliner,
Speaker 1: mascara if I don't have my extensions. Uh, well, the
Speaker 1: thing is one company here in Singapore is looking to
Speaker 1: help women like me wean off our addiction to eyelash extensions.
Speaker 1: Hannah Dolly is a Singapore.
Speaker 1: Based lifestyle beauty brand with a focus on intentional beauty.
Speaker 1: I love that. They aim to craft positive functional solutions
Speaker 1: to empower the modern woman by taking back control of
Speaker 1: one's beauty style and inner well-being. So let's welcome to
Speaker 1: the studio Shermaine Tan, who is founder of Hannah Dolly Shermaine.
Speaker 1: It's really nice to have you in the studio. Hi,
Speaker 2: I'm so excited that you invited
Speaker 1: me here. Yeah, and you look beautiful with your uh
Speaker 1: your Hannah Dolly extensions on as well.
Speaker 1: Tell us, you know, I mean, I think you and I,
Speaker 1: we know, but for our listeners who may not be familiar,
Speaker 1: maybe our male listeners or so, I like extensions. Why,
Speaker 1: why are they such a must have beauty tool for
Speaker 1: many women nowadays?
Speaker 2: I think the first thing that you see people when
Speaker 2: you meet them for the first time is actually how
Speaker 2: your eyes speak to them. So having eyelashes makes a
Speaker 2: whole lot of difference because you know when you look
Speaker 2: at somebody and then their eyes sparkle, you are like, oh,
Speaker 2: this person is like.
Speaker 2: Really friendly.
Speaker 1: It's
Speaker 1: a bit of a kinder look
Speaker 2: and then it's really the first impression counts and eyelashes
Speaker 2: can bring the whole look together of course eyebrows as well,
Speaker 2: but eyelashes I really don't want to make
Speaker 1: you pop, right? And the thing with Asian eyelashes, most
Speaker 1: of our eyelashes are very thin and not as voluminous,
Speaker 1: so we need some extra help to make it nicer,
Speaker 1: isn't
Speaker 2: it? Yes, that's why we are here to help people
Speaker 2: simplify the idea of putting.
Speaker 2: eyelashes and also because I've always been doing salon extensions
Speaker 2: in the past. So I kind of also experienced all the,
Speaker 2: you know, like downsides to it. So that is why
Speaker 2: Hannah Dolly was born.
Speaker 1: Yeah, so I love um the meaning of your name,
Speaker 1: Hannah Dolly. Hannah means one in Korean, right? So uh
Speaker 1: I see from your website that's a reminder to your
Speaker 1: reminder to women to put themselves first. I really love that,
Speaker 1: but tell us a bit more about how you came
Speaker 1: to start.
Speaker 1: Uh, the business of
Speaker 1: Hanna Dolly.
Speaker 2: OK, so I think having to put yourself first is very,
Speaker 2: very important. That's one thing that you highlighted. I have
Speaker 2: not reflected on this for quite some time, but also
Speaker 2: when we are actually always going for salon appointments for
Speaker 2: the eyelashes, right? So most of the time you feel like, oh, I,
Speaker 2: I don't have time to go down for this appointment
Speaker 2: and then they try to slot you into another slot
Speaker 2: and then it's a little bit upsetting because you want
Speaker 2: to get it done.
Speaker 2: By a certain thing, but you can't. So then you
Speaker 2: lose all control of when you can, you know, look
Speaker 2: your best and very
Speaker 1: often it's a two hour commitment, right?
Speaker 2: So then it's very disappointing because if I really need
Speaker 2: it by this date, but then there's no more slots,
Speaker 2: then who can I look for? So that was why
Speaker 2: the whole idea of, you know, doing it yourself is
Speaker 2: born and this is how Hannah Dolly came into the picture.
Speaker 1: So it's a very practical reason that uh.
Speaker 1: Yeah that led to the birth of Anna Dolly.
Speaker 2: And on top of that, it was also because I
Speaker 2: was experiencing a lot of lash breakage and weak lashes.
Speaker 2: So when I removed the extensions and I want to
Speaker 2: feel myself again, it's always very depressing when I put
Speaker 2: the eyelash curler onto my eyes and then I go
Speaker 2: and then nothing.
Speaker 1: I'm sure you know how that feels, it's like, oh dear,
Speaker 1: my own lashes are so sad.
Speaker 1: OK, um, so we obviously know that you can get
Speaker 1: it done professionally in a salon where it requires you
Speaker 1: to lie down for about 1 hour or 1 hour
Speaker 1: and a half and then they will put the lashes
Speaker 1: on lash by lash. But for Hannah Dolly, tell us
Speaker 1: how your DIY do it-yourself lash extensions work because you,
Speaker 1: you have this 7 minute lash routine that you've kind
Speaker 1: of put together to help women, right? Tell us more.
Speaker 2: Yes, so we begin with the end in mind. So
Speaker 2: usually when you're going into the salon, you tell, we
Speaker 2: also try to begin with the end in mind, we
Speaker 2: tell this uh
Speaker 2: The artist that, oh, we want this look, but then
Speaker 2: you keep your eyes closed for the next 2 hours
Speaker 2: and you open your eyes and
Speaker 1: like it might not be what you envisioned, right?
Speaker 2: Yes, but with Hannah Dolly, you choose your look and
Speaker 2: then you are actually keeping your eyes open intentionally putting
Speaker 2: it on, so you know how you can look like
Speaker 2: and you can make adjustments along the way. So you
Speaker 2: actually apply cluster by cluster and why clusters because it's
Speaker 2: much more easier than the entire strip. So in the past,
Speaker 2: we always use the traditional food.
Speaker 2: strip lashes lashes. So those are might be a little
Speaker 2: bit harder to navigate because it might, you know, poke
Speaker 2: out from one side or the other. Whereas clusters actually
Speaker 2: like maneuver around the eyes a little bit.
Speaker 1: It follows
Speaker 1: the shape of each individual eye which is different from
Speaker 1: woman to woman.
Speaker 2: Correct. And then the clusters that we give are actually
Speaker 2: more than the, I mean more more clusters so you
Speaker 2: don't have to use everything. You can actually choose to
Speaker 2: use two or three pieces, which is most of the
Speaker 2: time what our customers are using.
Speaker 2: Because of our eye type and eye shape, so we
Speaker 2: don't want it to droop down. We use two or
Speaker 2: three pieces, we're able to make it more uplifted in
Speaker 2: terms of the
Speaker 2: application
Speaker 1: and um Hannah Dolly's eyelash extensions are different from the
Speaker 1: falsies that we tend to put on the strip ones
Speaker 1: that you say because yours last can last beyond a day, right? Yeah,
Speaker 1: how does that work?
Speaker 2: So basically instead of traditional falsies where you just put
Speaker 2: on for a DNA you take it off, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2: Hannah Dolly's lashes can also last you through.
Speaker 2: A week. Wow. Usually we we say that sometimes when
Speaker 2: you go to colder countries it can last you 2
Speaker 2: weeks because that's what I do. Yes, yeah, but we
Speaker 2: encourage you to actually remove them after a week because
Speaker 2: it is to respect the lash growth cycle so that
Speaker 2: you can let your lash rests, recover and also make
Speaker 2: sure there's no strain on your lashes. And the best
Speaker 2: part is that we want to advocate this damage-free lashes
Speaker 2: so that you can not only enjoy good like, nice.
Speaker 2: lashes but also help to nurture your own natural lashes.
Speaker 1: Yeah. So
Speaker 1: I, I remember part of your, your process is there's
Speaker 1: a lash serum that you encourage your users to put
Speaker 1: on that also protects the natural lash, is that
Speaker 2: right? It's to complement the lash growth cycle. So on top,
Speaker 2: you know, the lash growth cycle there's like about 30
Speaker 2: days or so but they will share. So at the
Speaker 2: same time while putting on your lash, you don't want
Speaker 2: to miss um putting on the serum. So that's why
Speaker 2: we make sure that the serum is compatible.
Speaker 2: With using the bond and C as well.
Speaker 1: OK, um, so my other colleague, uh, Andrea from the
Speaker 1: morning show, she's also tried your lashes because I've talked
Speaker 1: about it, but she had the issue she had was
Speaker 1: that because she also put on other eye makeup like
Speaker 1: eye shadow and all that. So when she tried to
Speaker 1: clean it off at the end of the day, she
Speaker 1: found that the lashes also came off. So how do
Speaker 1: we navigate, you know, a situation where we need to
Speaker 1: clean off the other eye makeup, but we still want
Speaker 1: the lashes to stay on. OK,
Speaker 2: so like you can see from
Speaker 1: you've got eye shadow on as well now, right?
Speaker 2: Yeah.
Speaker 2: right for the crease part, um, you just apply an
Speaker 2: eye shadow above the crease area that would help because
Speaker 2: when you open the eyes, right, for most Asian eyes, um,
Speaker 2: you don't really need to apply the insights unless you
Speaker 2: are a professional and you want like super nice makeup
Speaker 2: and you look down. Yeah. If not, there are some
Speaker 2: modifications you can make which is doing teal and eyeliner,
Speaker 2: which means you don't line your eyes, just a little
Speaker 2: flick at the end or above the crease eye shadow
Speaker 2: that would help because any eyes that come into contact
Speaker 2: with the bond will.
Speaker 2: Definitely dissolve it because we want it to be a
Speaker 2: simple solution where you can do at home. That is
Speaker 2: why oils are actually the culprit to making the lash
Speaker 2: extensions
Speaker 1: not yeah and how and the way the best way
Speaker 1: to clean it would I guess be water-based cleaners as
Speaker 1: opposed to oil cleaners, right? Yeah. OK, tell us about
Speaker 1: the how your extensions differ from the salon ones besides
Speaker 1: the fact that it's a cluster lash compared to salons
Speaker 1: where they do it individually. How how is it different?
Speaker 2: Um, how else it's different. I feel like you get
Speaker 2: to have more control over the kind of look that
Speaker 2: you want.
Speaker 2: That's, that's the most important part for me because I
Speaker 2: want to to change up my styles anytime I want
Speaker 2: to and I don't want to be bounded by like
Speaker 2: the the the salon appointment timings. And another thing is
Speaker 2: of course cost lah. It can be quite costly to
Speaker 2: buy like packages at salons. So for Hannah Dolly, each lash,
Speaker 2: let's say for the put it on yourself one, the
Speaker 2: Agile series, it's only about 2390. So that's really affordable, yeah,
Speaker 2: for most people, so you can actually.
Speaker 2: change up your lash style and they are also reusable.
Speaker 2: You can wash and rewear them for 10 to 15 times.
Speaker 1: So that is a lot of bang for $23 a
Speaker 1: lot of bang for your buck. If you of course
Speaker 1: you have to take care and you have to maintain
Speaker 1: them properly like you have to put some effort into that, right? Yeah, OK,
Speaker 1: and can you tell us about the different styles that
Speaker 1: you have at Hannah Dolly? I mean, you have all
Speaker 1: to suit all sorts of eye shapes, isn't it?
Speaker 2: Yes, so we have many different styles.
Speaker 2: But at the same time, right, the clusters are designed
Speaker 2: in the way where you can actually change it up.
Speaker 2: So for example, the most popular style is called natural.
Speaker 2: we have lined it up into a baby doll style
Speaker 2: where the longest strands are actually in the middle, but
Speaker 2: you can actually rearrange them to place the longest strands
Speaker 2: at the end for the cat eye look. Yeah, so
Speaker 2: there's like many different ways to play around with them
Speaker 2: and we have already made sure that no matter how
Speaker 2: you arrange them, they won't look weird.
Speaker 2: So even if you are a beginner, who have no
Speaker 2: idea how to put on lash, you don't have to
Speaker 2: worry whether or not, oh, this is a wrong or right.
Speaker 2: There's no right or wrong way just like makeup. It's
Speaker 2: really how you want to play around with your lash
Speaker 2: because yeah it's really taking back control, it's like
Speaker 1: up to
Speaker 2: you
Speaker 1: and I like that it gives women the freedom to
Speaker 1: experiment as well, right? I got to ask what you're
Speaker 1: wearing now, it's beautiful.
Speaker 2: This is another top crowd favorite is a baby doll
Speaker 2: and many of our makeup artists, right, they use baby doll.
Speaker 2: For their brides as well because it's more visible
Speaker 1: fantastic.
Speaker 1: I mean it's really, really um it's it's really a
Speaker 1: game changer I feel in the industry, but it's just
Speaker 1: that I think for a lot of people it's like
Speaker 1: getting it, getting it done right because you're so used
Speaker 1: to having someone do it for you. So the the
Speaker 1: do it-yourself element, at least for me, maybe I have
Speaker 1: no skill, but it just doesn't, it feels like maybe
Speaker 1: I'm not confident in myself. I know you've got tutorials
Speaker 1: and step by step guides, but what's the feedback been like?
Speaker 1: Have people managed to get the hang of it?
Speaker 2: Yeah, there are many customers who feel like, oh, this
Speaker 2: has been like a life changing, like, you know, solution
Speaker 2: for me, especially those who go for salon extensions and
Speaker 2: are sensitive to them and they cannot do salon extensions.
Speaker 2: I think, yeah, there are some people and for me
Speaker 2: as well when I do salon extensions, there are redness
Speaker 2: in the eyes or singing sensation. So I think these
Speaker 2: are some of the uh
Speaker 2: How do you say the pitfalls pitfalls extensions, so.
Speaker 2: This actually spurs me on to try DIY lashes lah,
Speaker 2: and those customers are the ones who are actually very
Speaker 2: sold by the brand as well.
Speaker 1: I'm
Speaker 1: gonna, I'm gonna I'm gonna try it again, uh Shemaine.
Speaker 1: I'm gonna, once I'm done with this current set of extensions,
Speaker 1: I'm gonna try and do it myself because I felt
Speaker 1: like maybe I didn't, I didn't have enough confidence and it,
Speaker 1: it didn't come out the way that I wanted, but
Speaker 1: of course we will always try.
Speaker 1: Again, uh, Shemaine, what, what do you think, um, you know,
Speaker 1: keeps your customers coming back? Is it, is it that
Speaker 1: control like you said about
Speaker 1: And the control and the time, is that what makes
Speaker 1: people keep coming back to 100
Speaker 1: dollars
Speaker 2: lashes. I think it's also the trust in the brand
Speaker 2: because like what you said earlier, there are so many
Speaker 2: brands that came in right after that and um many
Speaker 2: of them don't exist anymore. So right, you know, they
Speaker 2: come and they go and then you're not so sure
Speaker 2: whether the company is still gonna be there. So then
Speaker 2: they trust like Hannah Dolly to still be here and
Speaker 2: then they come back for all the new launches that
Speaker 2: we have, the new styles, and I feel like
Speaker 2: Not only the lashes, but also because we are continually innovating.
Speaker 2: We're always bringing in new products. We're always trying to
Speaker 2: see um what better way to improve the current, you know,
Speaker 2: offerings that we have and the latest one was actually
Speaker 2: the sticky lash
Speaker 1: pops. These are the press-on lashes
Speaker 2: the press-ons, we launched it last uh two years back
Speaker 2: in December. So
Speaker 1: this is another one even tell us how it works.
Speaker 2: So these are strips, right, that you can replace by yourself.
Speaker 2: So if you are not confident in using the the
Speaker 2: bond and seal, right, you can actually take the glue
Speaker 2: strips and place it on the lash. So it's like
Speaker 2: a one-step solution now, but then you can, you know,
Speaker 2: use it with the agile lashes which don't have the
Speaker 2: pre-bonded jelly bond on them. But
Speaker 1: these would, uh, I guess they won't last as long
Speaker 1: as you're born and seal ones, or can they last
Speaker 1: maybe more than a day.
Speaker 2: Yes, they they can they the ones with the jelly bond, right,
Speaker 2: they actually can also last up to a week. We
Speaker 2: have tested on people with um not so oily eyes,
Speaker 2: but for those with oily eyes, OK, maybe 3 to
Speaker 2: 5 days, I think it's more realistic, especially in Singapore's weather.
Speaker 2: But um if you talk about like convenience, then that
Speaker 2: one step process is something that a lot of beginners
Speaker 2: look for,
Speaker 1: right? I think it's the ease of doing
Speaker 1: it.
Speaker 1: OK, can I ask where do you go because you
Speaker 1: put
Speaker 1: So much thought into the designs and the quality of
Speaker 1: your lashes. Where do you source yours
Speaker 1: from?
Speaker 2: Oh, we have so many different places where we saw
Speaker 2: um our products from, but we, we have like uh
Speaker 2: different suppliers for different parts of the process. So like
Speaker 2: boxes and lashes, um, they're all from different areas where
Speaker 2: we think produce the best in what they can. So
Speaker 1: it's a
Speaker 1: multinational multi-country sourcing experience for you which which means again
Speaker 1: like how
Speaker 1: Shows you shows how hard you work to make sure
Speaker 1: you give the best for your customers,
Speaker 2: isn't it? Yeah, and for business sense to safeguard so
Speaker 2: we can always, you know, control how we think of
Speaker 2: it that way. Yeah, because if you have everything with
Speaker 2: one company, then that's also another risk that you have
Speaker 2: to undertake.
Speaker 1: Yeah, so you're diversifying and you're spreading your risk as well,
Speaker 1: very smart, um, and on that note, I also want
Speaker 1: to ask if you faced any challenges when it comes
Speaker 1: to running a business like Hannah Dolly.
Speaker 2: I think um what you said earlier, having many competitors,
Speaker 2: that is always the case with any business out there. So, um,
Speaker 2: I would say the challenge is actually coming up with
Speaker 2: new innovations. So like for our agile lashes, um you
Speaker 2: have tried our lashes, right? Um, the, the reason why
Speaker 2: we have populated is that, you know, like it became
Speaker 2: so popular is because it's so lightweight and then there's this.
Speaker 2: hollow fiber technology. So it makes it ultra light when
Speaker 2: you put it on, you don't feel anything at all.
Speaker 2: So I think the challenge is how can we search
Speaker 2: for more innovative products that can disrupt the market or
Speaker 2: maybe you know, solve another problem that people have. So
Speaker 2: this is a challenge that we always try and reach
Speaker 2: out for.
Speaker 2: Or to conquer. I love that we can bring out
Speaker 2: more innovative solutions to our
Speaker 2: customers.
Speaker 1: I love that and I mean like like I said,
Speaker 1: I think for a lot of women I like eyelash extensions,
Speaker 1: something we really just can't live without anymore. So having
Speaker 1: this alternative that is kinder to our lashes and also
Speaker 1: more suit requires less time is really a wonderful solution.
Speaker 1: Um, what are your plans, uh, Tremaine, for Hannah Dolly
Speaker 1: in 2025 and beyond, because I know you also just
Speaker 1: became a new mom, so you've got a lot on
Speaker 1: your plate. Uh, what can we look forward to?
Speaker 2: So we actually have um a few different new launches
Speaker 2: that are upcoming already, so stay tuned for that. But
Speaker 2: I think the most exciting one was the one that
Speaker 2: I shared with you, the sticky lash pops, which was
Speaker 2: really a hit because we were once again one the
Speaker 2: first in the market to bring in the sticky lash
Speaker 2: pops where you can replace any um
Speaker 2: Normal lash so it can be any existing lashes that
Speaker 2: you have at home. Yeah, any normal lash into a
Speaker 2: press on just by placing the sticky lash pop onto
Speaker 2: that lash. So the bond, the jelly bond that you
Speaker 2: so now they can just buy the jelly bond by itself.
Speaker 2: So I think that was a real hit because when
Speaker 2: we launched it, we were sold out in like less
Speaker 2: than one week or so fantastic. Yeah, we were out
Speaker 2: of stock for quite some time. Yeah, so I think
Speaker 2: coming up with this kind of innovations are what
Speaker 2: You can expect in 2025 we will continue to source
Speaker 2: for more innovations and can't wait to share with you
Speaker 2: guys as the year comes, I mean goes along.
Speaker 1: What would
Speaker 1: you say as like some final parting thoughts to any
Speaker 1: woman like me who still, you know, still cannot let
Speaker 1: go of eyelash extensions in the salon and you know,
Speaker 1: but you know, want to try this but just, you know,
Speaker 1: maybe a little bit apprehensive because you know they're just
Speaker 1: not sure of their own makeup skills.
Speaker 2: I, I would say that there is no, you know,
Speaker 2: like you, you have to.
Speaker 2: Give one up or the other, like while you have
Speaker 2: eyelash extensions, there are many customers who also use Hanna
Speaker 2: Dolly as an infill.
Speaker 1: Oh, when the lashes start to drop, then they they
Speaker 1: fill up the gaps,
Speaker 2: is it? Yeah, so if you're not that confident, you
Speaker 2: can actually start by using them as infills and then
Speaker 2: that would build your confidence as well. But you just
Speaker 2: have to remember Hanna Dolly is a brand that is
Speaker 2: all about empowering women. So I invite you to one
Speaker 2: day take that step forward.
Speaker 2: Have confidence in yourself and really just play around. The
Speaker 2: more you apply, the more confident you get and the
Speaker 2: more beautiful you look. Yeah,
Speaker 1: I think I'm gonna have, I need to have a
Speaker 1: 1 to 1 tutorial with you one day. This has
Speaker 1: been really, really intriguing. I mean, it's a topic that
Speaker 1: I mean very relevant to me. I hope it's relevant
Speaker 1: to you, our listeners as well, uh, especially the women
Speaker 1: out there who, you know, you know, have extensions on
Speaker 1: and want something, uh, looking for an alternative. We've been
Speaker 1: speaking today to Shemaine Tan, who is founder of Hannah Dolly.
Speaker 1: Uh eyelash extensions and they're beauty brand, local beauty brand,
Speaker 1: always happy to support local. Uh if you want to
Speaker 1: check out their website, Hannah Dolly, H A N A
Speaker 1: Dolly D O L L Y dot com. They're also
Speaker 1: very active on Instagram at the same handle at Hannah
Speaker 1: Dolly Beauty. Shemaine, it's been an absolute pleasure. Thanks for
Speaker 1: joining me on the Wellness Hour.