ALL OR NOTHING

It has been a big year for KIM LIM. The billionaire heiress and It Girl is evolving as an entrepreneur and tells Annabel Tan about her rapidly growing beauty empire and priorities in this new phase of her life.

- Annabel Tan

She walks in with an Hermès towel draped around her shoulders under her freshly washed hair and cheerfully announces, “Hello! I’m here!” If the slew of publicity in local malls featuring her visage to advertise her beauty brands were not indication enough, Kim Lim always makes her presence known. After all, “go big or go home” is her ethos, especially when it comes to running her business. The daughter of billionaire tycoon Peter Lim has her sights set on building an empire and is determined to succeed.

Kim started out with the establishment of hair-loss treatment centre Papilla Haircare in 2019 and has not stopped working towards her goal since. Over the last three years, she has added more brands under her holding company, KLHealth, including medispa Illumia Therapeutics, aesthetics clinic Illumia Medical and skincare line Illumiaskin by Kim Lim.

The 31-year-old has been expanding her empire with new outlets – most recently a one-stop beauty destination at i12 Katong that houses Illumia Therapeutics, Illumia Medical and Papilla Haircare under one roof. “The east is a strategic location because a large number of our customers reside there,” she remarks. “We are bringing our signature beauty experience to those who live in the east and don’t like to travel out of that area.”

Just like other founders on the entrepreneurial journey, Kim not only knows the inner workings of her business but takes pride in being very hands-on across functions. A beauty fiend herself, all her treatments are “Kim-approved”, and she fronts the brands as the face and ambassador.