Being in the spotlight for as long as she can remember, beauty mogul Kim Lim has had enough of preconceived notions. Here, she reintroduces herself on her terms.

Socialite Kim Lim has built quite an empire over the years, with her holding company KLHealth Group being home to beauty brands, salons and clinics: Papilla Haircare, ILLUMIASKIN, Illumia Therapeutics and Illumia Medical, which have been growing steadily due to her impressive work ethic and drive.&nbsp;
On top of juggling these, she has important roles in her family &mdash; she&rsquo;s a daughter to&nbsp; billionaire, Peter Lim, and a mother to her six-year-old son, Kyden. With all these titles, it&rsquo;s easy for outsiders to look in and say she has it all, disregarding the journey she has taken to get to where she is today.
&ldquo;I would say I am someone who always gives my 100 per cent &mdash; even more so if it is something that I believe in,&rdquo; says the entrepreneur. &ldquo;There are many things that have shaped me to be who I am today &mdash; my family and upbringing, the people around me growing up, past relationships, and the opportunities that I&rsquo;ve had. And I still have to go all out to achieve my dreams and passions."

What would you say is the most fulfilling part of this&nbsp; journey with beauty for you?
The most fulfilling part is to see my vision and all of my hard work come to life. There are a lot of things that go on behind the scenes to ensure that we deliver what we promise as a brand. These include trying out different beauty treatments around the world in search of the next big thing (with me as the experimental subject), endless back-to-back meetings, and non-stop ideation and content creation. I dedicate all of my time and effort to this business, so it&rsquo;s really rewarding to look back and see how we&rsquo;ve grown.&nbsp;
What have you learned about yourself over the course of the year since we last spoke?
I&rsquo;ve realised that I am a lot more patient and forgiving than I think I am. Recently, I&rsquo;ve been reflecting on the things that have happened in the past year and it struck me that my capacity to tolerate things has increased exponentially. The younger me would never have been able to put up with any of this, but the current me has learned to take a step back, break down and analyse situations before I come to a conclusion and take action.&nbsp;
Also, I know this sounds like a clich&eacute; but what doesn&rsquo;t kill you really makes you stronger. Life is filled with adversities, and it&rsquo;s about coming out of each situation wiser and with more resilience. Sometimes, when I look back and reflect, I realise that things weren&rsquo;t all that bad and I&rsquo;m proud of myself for surviving those downs. Now that I am here in the present, I&rsquo;ve learned to cherish the people and things that truly matter to me even more, and I&rsquo;m all set to take on new challenges.&nbsp;

What are three qualities that you appreciate most about yourself ? And is there anything you&rsquo;d like to change about yourself?
I am focused, fun and fearless. I work hard and play harder. And no matter what I do, be it for work or to have fun, I go all out. I can be strong-headed, so maybe I need to learn to let go.&nbsp;
Do you think any parts of your identity are determined for you by those around you or by society?
For sure. Some parts of my identity are shaped by my family, loved ones and the people I grew up with. People are usually more familiar with the glamorous side of me, and yes, while that part exists, there&rsquo;s also a big chunk of me that the public is not privy to. I was concerned with how people viewed me in the past, and I needed to always put on my best face. But now, I&rsquo;m a lot more confident in my skin and I&rsquo;m able to show signs of vulnerability.

What do you have lined up for the rest of the year?
It&rsquo;s really exciting in terms of both treatments and products. I have a lot of travel plans and meetings lined up to learn and try out the latest technologies and techniques in the market. When I set out on this entrepreneurial journey, it was my motto to search for different beauty and aesthetic treatments and bring the best quality at the most reasonable prices to Singapore so that everyone has the opportunity to look and feel their best. Three years later, I am still living up to this promise: To ensure that what we offer is the best, yet accessible to the majority.&nbsp;
Treatments aside, this brand promise also comes to life with our products. When it comes to skincare and scalp care, what sets us apart lies in our proprietary ingredients and unique formulations. I am also constantly trying out different products and am in search of the best quality, while at the same time, keeping them affordable. We don&rsquo;t want to just rave about how amazing our products are. We want to let those who are interested have a chance to try the products for themselves too.&nbsp;
That being said, there is going to be a huge launch for ILLUMIASKIN &mdash; two new and full ranges. One is for ultra-glowy skin and one is for anti-ageing. We are also bringing back our crowd-favourite Metabolic Boost coffee and introducing three new Metabolic Boost products.
There is also a whole revamp for ILLUMIASKINMD, our medical range of skincare products. The ingredients are potent and the formulation is revolutionary, so that is exciting as well. We are expecting two new dietary supplements for hair growth under Papilla Haircare too.&nbsp;
On top of that, there are also plans for overseas expansion. All of these will roll out in phases, so do stay tuned!

&ldquo;I've learned to cherish the people and things that truly matter to me, and I'm all set to take on new challenges."

Besides expanding your brands, what else are you focusing most of your time and efforts on now?
I am in talks with a few non-profit organisations to plan ways in which I and my company can give back to society. As my business continues to grow, I want to collaborate on more long-term and sustainable projects so that I can do more as well. Since I&rsquo;m mostly based in Thailand now, I have had a lot more opportunities to interact with the locals. In the less developed areas, a lot of them don&rsquo;t have the means to meet daily basic needs, so I am looking to put in more effort there. I also try to spend more quality time with my loved ones. It&rsquo;s all about cherishing the present and having those who matter close to heart.&nbsp;
Do you still prioritise comfort and simplicity in your fashion choices and beauty regime?&nbsp;
Yes, comfort still comes first. Being stretched for time makes me appreciate things that are simple and straightforward. And I carry this mindset into my beauty regime. My skincare&nbsp; and scalp care routines are minimal, which means that all my products work hard to ensure that my skin and scalp still get what they need to look good and feel good. This concept&nbsp; extends to my facials and aesthetic treatments. It&rsquo;s about delivering maximum results with minimal effort.&nbsp;

What are your hopes for the rest of the year?
I hope to do better, both as an individual and as a business entity. I&rsquo;ve been working doubly hard and I really wish that all my effort will come to fruition.

Editor-in-Chief IAN LEE Words MELISSA MAE Photography JOEL LOW Art Direction &amp; Styling TOK WEI LUN Hair RYAN YAP / PASSION HAIR SALON Makeup SHAUN LEE using GUCCI BEAUTY Manicure QQUIRKY NAILS Botanicals FRIDAY&rsquo;S GARDEN Set Design TOK WEI LUN Photography assistant EDDIE TEO Styling assistants CRYSTAL LIM and CHAN JIAN HONG

Cover Story: Beauty Mogul Kim Lim is A Rose By Any Other Name

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