IMMACULATELY dressed in a cream-coloured chiffon top, black cropped pants and matching heels, Ms Elaine Low is a picture of class — a far cry from what she was five years ago.
Then, she was clueless about personal grooming.
“I didn’t put on makeup and thought that it was vain to do so,” says the 35-year-old.
Her skincare regime was haphazard and consisted of random recommendations from friends.
However, things took a turn when she joined Japanese beauty brand Fancl as a trainer.
Sent to Japan for training, Ms Low learnt the finer art of personal grooming. Her perspective on the world of beauty was renewed when her one-and-a-half-month overseas stint was over.
“Makeup is not just to make someone beautiful,” she says. “It is applied as a form of respect to the people you meet so that they will feel good looking at you.”
A radiant face is more appealing than one that is tired and haggard, she explains.
Each month, for two weeks, Ms Low trains a class of new beauty advisers who join the brand.
She provides grooming lessons and educates them on the various Fancl products available in the market. Most importantly, she equips them with customer service skills.
“Serving customers must come from the heart. Beauty advisers need to know how to understand customers’ wants.
“It’s not just about making sales,” she says.
Handling a class of 12 students takes skill, flexibility and sensitivity. The most challenging part of the job, she says, is to help students understand what she is teaching.
“In a class, there are people with different learning levels, so you have to adjust your teaching style to meet their needs,” she says.
For example, some students may struggle with understanding beauty terminology in the training notes, she explains.
To help students, she spices up her lessons by getting her students to participate in learning games or role-playing exercises.
Interactive classes are more effective than those that are structured in a traditional lecture style, says Ms Low, who also develops Fancl’s local training curriculum.
Students remember more, and they have fun in class, she adds.
“I’m very happy when students appreciate and enjoy the classes,” she says, recalling a moment when her students presented her with a surprise gift.
“One day, my students asked me the year I was born in. Thinking that they wanted to know my age, I told them,” she says with a light laugh.
During graduation, the class presented her with a bunny made of Swarovski crystals, as Ms Low was born in the year of the rabbit.
“I was very touched.”
Ms Low’s training classes are not limited to new beauty advisers alone. She is now developing a specialist training programme for senior beauty advisers to further hone their skills.
Her relationships with her trainees last beyond graduation. Once a week, she visits the various Fancl stores to see how they are doing.
Apart from training beauty advisers, Ms Low’s portfolio also includes developing Fancl’s marketability in Singapore.
When new products arrive from Japan, Ms Low and her colleagues brainstorm innovative ways of marketing these products to local customers.
She also plays a part in planning the layout of beauty brochures such that customers find them easy to understand.
To keep herself updated on the latest in the beauty industry, Ms Low, who is proficient in Japanese, reads Japanese skincare and cosmetics books in her free time.
Her pursuit for education is a trait she has had since childhood. “The more you know, the more you want to know,” she says. “And I feel happy when I share my knowledge with others.”
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