Beauty Is Only Skin Deep

The inception of MTM Skincare may have been established on the premise of perfecting physical beauty, but Managing Director Kelly Keak has continued her family’s legacy with a higher purpose, discovers Crystal Lee.

- Crystal Lee

As the beauty industry – and the world broadly – makes positive moves towards greater diversity and inclusivity, it’s more attuned to the fact that not everyone has the same skin type, colour, concerns, and goals. There are now more foundation shades in the market than ever before, and the number of brands offering custom products have grown by leaps and bounds, especially in the last five years. But long before customisation became a buzzword in the beauty world, one company was already championing the term “bespoke”. Its name is MTM Skincare.

Launched in Japan in 1991, MTM Skincare specialises in detailed skin analysis and custom blended products that address specific complexion needs. More than a decade later, Dr. Susan Teng brought the brand, literally unknown outside of its home grounds at the time, into Singapore. “We had zero customers when we first started MTM in 2003,” recalls daughter Kelly Keak, Managing Director of MTM Skincare Singapore. “No one knew us. We had to build the company from scratch.”