Does the power of three set you free and help you sell a lot of products? The photogenic founders of three local fledgling brands sure hope so.

Enter Toh Ziling, 29, the COO of Re:erth, a skincare brand with made-in-Japan products and nature-derived ingredients which promotes mindful beauty; Christabel Chua, aka @bellyjellywelly, 28, a top Singapore lifestyle influencer and the founder of Kai, a pouch label; and Eugenia Ye-Yeo, a 33-year-old mum of two whose nail wrap label, Nodspark, is creating waves of excitement among the nail-obsessed.

The three ladies met at various pop-ups and local markets, loved one another’s brands and thought, hey, why not a collab? And that’s how Re:erth x Kai x Nodspark was born. It’s a travel kit which contains travel-sized mini versions of Re:erth’s best-loved products and specially-designed nail wraps by Nodspark, contained in a cute travel pouch by Kai.

We caught up with Christabel, Ziling and Eugenia ahead of the collab’s launch to have a quick chat about skincare, nails, teamwork and travel.

No competition, only love, hugs and sharing with these three young entrepreneurs, who see this collab as a way of supporting one another while introducing their brands to new audiences and giving fans of their brands something new and fun.

The adorable travel pouch has a see-through design on one side with goldfish swimming on it and boasts a different opaque design on the other side. It comes with Re:erth's Starter Kit, which is four of their best products in mini sizes, and a set of nail wraps from Nodspark bearing the same specially-designed goldfish motif.

The goldfish design was inspired by Re:erth's Japanese origins (their star ingredient is the Japanese White Turmeric) and the idea of playing goldfish-catching games at Japanese Summer Festivals. Ziling tells 8days.sg, Goldfish promote a kind of mindfulness, as you watch them swimming around, and they're very relaxing to look at. We thought it would be a good idea to put it on a travel pouch, as travel can get hectic and stressful. Adds Eugenia, As you rush around, carrying something that can give you happiness and provide a calming effect is great!

In case you haven't heard of or tried nail wraps, they're basically nail stickers which are odour-free and need no drying time. Pick a size, stick on your nail, use a nail file to file off the excess, and voila! Nodspark has been around for just a year-and-a-half, but is gaining in popularity and now boasts over 80 designs.

One of Singapore's top lifestyle influencers with 242K followers at @bellyjellywelly on Instagram, and who also has a blog and a YouTube channel, Christabel's bubbly personality is infectious. She tells us more about her pouch label, Kai. I like quirky pouches, and I saw that no one was really doing pouches here, so I thought, 'Why don't I create my own?' Kai is a brand inspired to create a shift in mood, to move your mood in a more positive direction. You feel better when you experience our products. We had an exciting collab with Starbucks and now, there's this collab with Re:erth and Nodspark.

The ever-cheery COO of up-and-coming local skincare brand Re:erth braved an attack of hives to still look cute for our 8days shoot, and tells us her next dream travel destination is Switzerland, where she may or may not — gasp — go sky-diving in the mountains. And if you travel with her, you can always expect a bathroom filled with Re:erth's beautiful rose-gold products. When I travel with my girlfriends, they tell me I make the bathroom look so nice, she laughs. A nice hotel bathroom makes you feel happy! She adds: Our collaboration travel kit is really very good value. It’s $99, which is already the price of our Re:erth Starter Kit, but you also get the nail wraps and a cute pouch too!

Says the 33-year-old nail wrap entrepreneur on her collab with Re:erth and Kai: Our three brands are functional and have good quality, and cross linking them would make us all stronger and create new customers. As for whether Singaporeans should support local brands, she says, A lot of the time, customers identify with you as a quality brand, and when they find out you're a local brand, it's like, 'Oh, that's even better!' They're not buying just 'cos you're local. They like the brand first, then being local is a bonus. This way, it's more organic and has lasting impact. We're not like, 'Oh we’re local, please support us.'

This sweet, pastel geometric design is the other side of the pouch, and evokes a different, more mellow feeling from the fresh, swimming goldfish. Which side you choose to show all depends on your mood!

Christabel: It's helpful if you organise everything into pouches. An electronics pouch, a skincare pouch, a pouch on the flight, a bag for your garments, shoes, and underwear. It makes things easy to pack and to find. Bring a multi-plug electrical socket board for your multiple devices, instead of many different travel adapters. And nowadays, because of how much people use social media, you want to at least look presentable when you travel, but people want to do it in the shortest amount of time in the most fuss-free way.

Ziling: For skincare, go with the products you’ve already used before, so that even when there is a change in climate, you don’t experience skin sensitivity. Sometimes, people like to try new products [or travel-sized freebies] when they’re overseas, and these may not always work for you. Bring your faves with you, like Re:erth!

Eugenia: If you're on a longer holiday, like one to two weeks, your gelish nails or polish will start chipping, so bring a pack or two of Nodspark with you, so you can quickly replace the chipped nail. It usually takes about 15 minutes to put on a full set of nail wraps, but I can do it in under 10. To remove the nail wraps, use normal nail polish remover or soak it in warm water. It's nice to look good when you're travelling, but there's no need for additional stress.

The three ladies are collaborating to bring more value-add to their brands and to make things more fun for everyone, themselves included. The Re:erth x kāi x Nodspark Travel Set is open for pre-orders for $99 at www.reerth.com, www.iamkai.co, www.nodspark.com from July 4.



Profile photos by Alvin Teo