With a tailor-made skincare routine and quality products, Kiehl’s is confident that customers will see healthier skin in 28 days, writes Nadia Badarudin
WHEN it comes to quality skin and hair care, New York-based Kiehl’s is all about a long tradition of personalised services, Try Before You Buy philosophy and. Mr Bones.
Founded as a classic European-style pharmacy by John Kiehl, the brand quickly developed a reputation for supplying New York’s eclectic citizenry with customised fragrant blends such as the Money Drawing Oil, Attraction Oil, Purity Oil and Original Musk Oil or Love Oil (as it is famously known) which some customers believed were capable of bringing luck or enhancing charisma.
The Love Oil is still in store today (and is a part of the Smithsonian Museum’s permanent collection of American pharmacological products) and so is Mr Bones.
The original and official skeleton figure was brought to the flagship store by Aaron Morse (a herbologist who was Kiehl’s apprentice) to educate customers about how Kiehl’s remedies improve health.
Replicas of the iconic Mr Bones now “live” in each of Kiehl’s stores around the world.
LET US CHANGE YOUR SKIN
“It’s a bit imprecise to call Kiehl’s a drugstore. ‘Pharmacy’ is the word its owners prefer. Other people might think apothecary is more accurate but more often, I just call it Kiehl’s because it seems to me that any business that has survived for this long deserves to be addressed by its proper name,” says Kiehl’s vice-president of global education and customer experience Cammie Cannella.
Kiehl’s continuously strives to offer personalised experiences for its customers. To this day, the brand deeply believes in the “Try Before You Buy” philosophy and regularly offers five free samples with five minutes’ consultation at its stores, adds Cannella.
“Every decision we make from store operation to product selection is based on whether it enhances the Kiehl’s experience for customers.
“Testimonials and valuable inputs from Kiehl’s Customer Representatives (KCR) around the world have inspired us to come up with the Let Us Change Your Skin campaign which kickstarted globally in 2013,” says Cannella, who was a KCR at the flagship store for over two decades before being tasked to oversee the educational curriculum for KCRs, sales force and corporate employees.
The continuous campaign is a call to customers that the brand is confident that they will see healthier skin in 28 days by using a personalised Kiehl’s skincare routine and quality products.
“Most of our KCRs started as customers too. And that has made it easier for us to understand and educate our customers as well as share tips and tricks to make the routine easy and practical for them.
“It’s a commitment for us to make customers see great results and ensure they are highly satisfied. We would like them to have their own reason to love the brand and share their experience with others.”
GOOD SKIN BOOSTS CONFIDENCE
Cannella has also been the Face of Kiehl’s for the past 15 years. Having good skin, she says, is important for a person’s physical and emotional well-being.
“Good skin can help boost confidence and self-esteem. But you have to make skincare routine part of your lifestyle.
“What matters most is how committed you are in taking care of your skin,” she says.
SKINCARE TIPS
KIEHL’S vice-president of global education and customer experience Cammie Cannella has the following advice:
SUNSCREEN
It is the most important product to maintain good skin. Sunscreen should be applied daily, indoors or outdoors. Apply the product on dry skin and not otherwise for better absorption.
Re-apply the product every hour if you stay in the sun for long periods. Be generous when using it every time.
MOISTURISER
Use a lightweight moisturiser so it doesn’t clog the skin. Drinking plenty of water and having enough sleep also helps maintain skin health.
SERUM
Serum contains active ingredients that can improve skin appearance by penetrating deep into it. Serum, followed by moisturiser is good as the effect is like applying a double dose of skincare ingredients to skin. Moisturiser seals in the serum and increases the benefits that you can get from both products.