Kim Lim on her expanding beauty empire

She walks in with an Hermès towel draped around her shoulders under her freshly washed hair and cheerfully announces, “Hello! I’m here!” If the slew of publicity in local malls featuring her visage to advertise her beauty brands were not indication enough, Kim Lim always makes her presence known. After all, “go big or go home” is her ethos, especially when it comes to running her business. The daughter of billionaire tycoon Peter Lim has her sights set on building an empire and is determined to succeed.

Kim started out with the establishment of hair-loss treatment centre Papilla Haircare in 2019 and has not stopped working towards her goal since. Over the last three years, she has added more brands under her holding company, KLHealth, including medispa Illumia Therapeutics, aesthetics clinic Illumia Medical and skincare line Illumiaskin by Kim Lim.

The 31-year-old has been expanding her empire with new outlets – most recently a one-stop beauty destination at i12 Katong that houses Illumia Therapeutics, Illumia Medical and Papilla Haircare under one roof. “The east is a strategic location because a large number of our customers reside there,” she remarks. “We are bringing our signature beauty experience to those who live in the east and don’t like to travel out of that area.”

Just like other founders on the entrepreneurial journey, Kim Lim not only knows the inner workings of her business but takes pride in being very hands-on across functions. A beauty fiend herself, all her treatments are “Kim-approved”, and she fronts the brands as the face and ambassador.

However, as someone born into power and privilege, Kim Lim is constantly in the public eye. It is inevitable that there are detractors who believe she is just running the business for fun or that it is built entirely on her fame. To that, she Earnestly asserts, “I can very confidently say none of this is true; the success of the business is the amalgamation of my passion for beauty and our commitment to delivering unparalleled results.” Nonetheless, the astute businesswoman understands that strong products alone may not be enough to quash criticism and has been working on strengthening her brand awareness and credibility.

“I hope that, one day, my name will be synonymous with aesthetics and beauty, and when people think of ways to achieve their beauty goals, the first thing that comes to their minds will be the Illumia and Papilla brands,” she says. “I want to leave a legacy.”

As Kim comes into her own as an entrepreneur, there are hard lessons she has learnt. Many, she surmises, boil down to mutual trust and respect. She references Japanese author Haruki Murakami, who wrote in his novel Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman: “ I sometimes think that people’s hearts are like deep wells. Nobody knows what’s at the bottom. All you can do is imagine by what comes floating to the surface every once in a while.”

The quote resonated with her after she realised that she was often too trusting of others in the early days. “I have been very blessed to have met many people so far who have shown me the goodness of their hearts, but not everyone is like that . For some of them, you really don’t know what their intentions are,” she explains. “I’m very glad that I now have a group of people who have stuck with me, and we really have each other’s backs.” While she has come to be more savvy, behind closed doors at our shoot with a team she knows and loves, Kim’s guard is down. Her glamorous social media image belies a spunky soul who often bursts into boisterous laughter. Her banter with the photographer she affectionately calls “uncle” and her candid quips reveal her warmth and openness.

Despite her busy schedule, Kim regularly makes time to give back to society. Growing up, her father taught her the importance of philanthropy – a value she is now imparting at work and instilling in her five-year-old son Kyden. When setting up KLHealth, she put in place corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives in support of disadvantaged groups such as the elderly, children and animals. “These are constant efforts, and we just help whenever we can,” adds Kim, who’s in talks with several organisations to construct more long-term CSR plans.

Beyond growing her brand in Singapore, Kim Lim has her sights set on eventually expanding overseas, starting with Southeast Asia. Right now, Kim is hitting pause on physical store expansions, focusing instead on developing her e-commerce business and partnering with more platforms such as tangs.com. There are plans to relaunch the Papilla Haircare series in the third quarter of this year and introduce a new Illumiaskin range.

While channelling so much energy into her business has been fulfilling, the self-confessed workaholic makes it a point to spend more quality time with her loved ones and take good care of herself. She finds respite in going for treatments at Illumia Therapeutics and Papilla Haircare . “The treatments help me look and feel good, so I always feel brand new when I step out. It’s important to know when to take a break and recharge your batteries before heading back out to conquer the world.”

Her top priority and biggest joy is, of course, her son. Everything she does is for him. “He’s really one of the best things that has happened to me,” says Kim. An ideal day out for the mother and son is going toy and grocery shopping. “Toys are something Kyden and I both really like, so we will always have a ton of fun. Then we’ll usually go to the grocery store, look at all the fruits and vegetables, and Kyden will always say something super random and crack me up.”

She believes she is more of a “chill mum” to Kyden, but is firm about not spoiling him. “You can have all the riches and the highest of education, but if you are fundamentally a bad person, then there’s no point to anything . It’s about inculcating moral values ​​and raising a kind person with a good heart. Things don’t just fall from the sky and this is what Kyden is learning. We use a reward model at home, and he only gets a gift when he is on really good behaviour or if he did some chores.”

As our crew reviews a photo of Kim in-between shots, she takes the opportunity to pose for a few more on her phone in a Gucci outfit – with her eyes locked on the lens and fingers outstretched in a playfully menacing way. “Send that to Kyden!” she calls out as she walks back on set. He is always on her mind.

Header image: Shirt with tulle overlay, Comme des Garçons

FASHION DIRECTION JOHNNY KHOO | ART DIRECTION AUDREY CHAN | PHOTOGRAPHY WEE KHIM | FASHION STYLING JACQUIE ANG | HAIR LOUIS LIM/ PASSION HAIR SALON | MAKE-UP SHAUN LEE, USING CHANEL BEAUTY | PHOTOGRAPHY ASSISTANCE IVAN TEO | FASHION ASSISTANCE KEVIN TEW