Founded by Zoen Tay and Joshua Tan, Zyu Skincare has made its mark on the beauty industry despite being relatively new. The brand managed to soar up against the unpredictable situation of the pandemic and thrive as the local brand that you should keep an eye on. It is certain that Zyu Skincare has caused a stir in the local beauty scene with its impeccable formulations and efficacy. So, how did they succeed in building the brand just a few months before the pandemic hit? Beauty Insider gets up close and personal with the power couple behind Zyu Skincare, Zoen Tay and Joshua Tan as they share their aspirations, challenges and new product launches (Pssst, it’s called Texture Aid!).

Tell us how your brand began? What did you want to achieve when you first started it? 

When we first started Zyu, our intention was to create a skincare line with products we felt were lacking in the market. This explains why we chose to come up with an all encompassing leave-on night mask that targets common skincare problems that many users face, while at the same time, avoiding typical problems other skincare products may come with. For example our night mask targets a variety of skincare issues in just a single step. Our Antioxidant Night Mask is a light water-based cream that aids anti-ageing, prevention of acne, healing of acne and acne scars and hydration of the skin. It also negates common issues, including thick masks that may cause the clogging of pores, slow absorption of the product, and a greasy finish that causes pillow stains. This is crucial to us because we found that many were skipping their skincare routine because of the various issues they were facing from everyday product usage. 

This philosophy guides our brand and we’ve created the rest of the range with this in mind – including a sunblock that evens out the complexion, protects against UV rays and blue light, all with a multitude of skincare benefits without white cast or greasiness. 

Zyu launched officially in December 2019. It is a skincare line with pure extracts and no nasties, focusing on real and effective solutions to skin issues.

How did you come up with the name of the brand and what’s the meaning behind it?

Pronounced as “z-you”, Zyu is derived from the Chinese word 珠 (zhu), which translates to pearl. Rare and unique, pearls are known for their subtle yet luminous glow. Embodying the pearl-luster glow quality in pearls, we hope to bring you healthy and radiant skin that Zyu users will be proud to flaunt.

As Zyu Skincare was founded a few months before the pandemic outbreak, what are the greatest challenges that you’ve experienced?

Some of the greatest challenges we faced include:

Delayed production due to logistical issues – consumers nowadays are used to instant gratification and as a new brand, it was extremely frustrating to constantly face delayed shipments and the slow fulfillment of orders – basically demand was outstripping supply (how quickly we could restock due to COVID’s disruption in our supply chain when it first hit Singapore in January 2020, 1 month after we launched); we feel directly responsible for our customers’ satisfaction and not being able to give them what they wanted immediately was very disheartening. However, after the situation stabilized and Singapore emerged from the first circuit breaker we managed to quickly overcome our supply issues and expanded our reserves to avoid being OOS for an extended period of time. 

Living up to our own expectations – Our rapid expansion has also heightened our customers’ expectations of us, and we want to give our customers only the best.  We spend an inordinate amount of time formulating and perfecting our products – We pride ourselves on having our entire team incorporating our new formulas into our everyday skincare routines long before launching it, to ensure our products “walk the talk”. The skincare market is saturated enough and we want to justify our existence by offering products that are worth being obsessed over.

Who has been your biggest mentor when you started out this business empire? 

Zoen: Definitely my parents. They are entrepreneurs as well and started from scratch in the beauty industry. Growing up, they taught me all things skincare and the importance of it. I saw how grateful and appreciative their customers have been over the years, having their skin issues solved and I realised that I too can help people around me by sharing my skincare knowledge and skincare products. Zyu is the combination of their years of wisdom and our hard work!

What’s it like starting out business with your partner? 

Zoen: I wouldn’t say it’s as tough as others expect. It’s actually kind of fun and intimate knowing that we are in this together. We know each other well, are open and honest with each other and work well together so it’s like working with my best friend! We also have very different strengths which help the business a lot. All in all, I encourage it!

Josh: I never would have embarked on this entrepreneurship journey without Zoen. She is my muse, my inspiration, my drive and unfortunately sometimes, my lack of sleep (haha). I don’t do well with conflict, which is inevitable over time especially when it comes to running a business. This journey with Zyu has taught me so much and helped me grow immensely as a partner. I think if anything, Zyu has helped solidify our relationship. 

Among the products that you launched is Glow-It-Yourself Kit, why did you decide to create the kit?

We launched it during circuit breaker when beauty salons had to close and our friends were fretting over their skin treatments (which had to be put on hold indefinitely). We wanted to create something that can replicate the effects of a salon treatment, but done at the convenience and privacy of your own space. This was challenging because salon treatments require a high degree of professional knowledge and execution, hence we had to formulate a home-friendly solution that was effective yet safe. We decided to go with chemical exfoliants of a lower percentage to ensure its ease of application and safe usage, and put together a set that included cleansers, serum, mask and gel to achieve the efficacy that is akin to professional skin treatment.

Describe your brand in 5 words

Authentic, effective, relentless, grounded and indispensable.

If you’re only allowed to pick 2 products from your brand, which products would you choose and why?

This is extremely difficult because every product is special to us but if we had to choose, it would have to be our Antioxidant Night Mask because it’s the first product we created. It’s an amazing product that is perfect for all skin types and for every season. Our nightmask helps future proof and keep skin in its best condition! 

We’ll also pick our Complexion Perfector because sunblock is a must and the benefits that this small bottle provides are endless! We could go on and on about it but we’re not sure how many pages you have for us.

What’s next for Zyu Skincare? Are there any upcoming launches that you want to share with our readers? 

Yes! We have a new product that we are gearing up for launch, called Texture Aid. It’s a therapeutic cream that eradicates and prevents all types of blemishes. As usual, we test all our products for a prolonged period of time (hence the huge gap in the previous launch and this upcoming one) and we’ve finally perfected this formula and it’s currently in production. From our frequent QNAs, we noticed many users are extremely interested in a product that can effectively clear their complexion but does not dry their skin out, hence we decided to launch this product. As you may know, many acne creams in the market now have an extremely drying effect on the skin, and sometimes the risks do outweigh the benefits. We believe in this formula, which contains an abundance of rare and powerful extracts that will radically transform the skin of its users and their skincare routines. We are super excited to finally be able to unveil it!