Advertorial: Ever been French Kissed?

In case you didn't know it, today is French Kiss' 1st birthday! :D

So let's say it all together now...
Happy Birthday, French Kiss!

Picture credit to Rocknrollpsychic

From the people who brought you the Awesome Possum Bazaar ...
... the people whose gorgeous photographs make your eyes Pop!
... and the people who are just so super pleasant and friendly ...


Q&A with Jean
Co-owner of French Kiss

• YSK: Happy Birthday to French Kiss! When did you first start French Kiss?
• Jean: Exactly a year ago, which is 15th of July 2008. :)

• YSK: What inspired it all? What's the story behind French Kiss?
• Jean: French Kiss was initially started by me and my college mate - although we eventually went our separate ways end of last year. I remember browsing through loads of e-boutiques with her back in June '08 and decided that we should start one as well, mainly because we wanted to keep some of the clothes for ourselves! ;p So that was the general picture of how French Kiss was started. What really inspired me to continue French Kiss is actually the fact that; after being with French Kiss for about a year, I have definitely broadened my knowledge in entrepreneurship, fashion, branding, marketing and a little in modelling too. To be honest, starting an e-boutique is really simple, as everything you need to start a business is very accessible nowadays. But it is about nurturing and building it into a brand that is difficult - it is not as simple as it looks. A lot of time and effort is put into creating an identity and the consistency of the brand name.

• YSK: Speaking of names, what's the story behind the name "French Kiss"? ;)
• Jean: We just wanted something everyone is familiar with and something that everyone enjoyed. ;p Just kidding... To be honest, I wouldn't say we don't have a reason behind the name but neither do we have a reason as well. It's more of a brand - an identity that is familiar and has a ring to its name. So voila: "French Kiss".
  

• YSK: Who are the people behind French Kiss? Tell us about yourselves. :)
• Jean: As I've mentioned earlier, it was initially started by me and my college mate. But right now, it is just me with the help of my boyfriend - who mainly does the photography. I would essentially take care of the business aspect of French Kiss. So, French Kiss is somewhat our baby girl, a reason for us to spend more quality time together, our little personal pet project. :)

• YSK: Aww, that's so sweet! So it's been a year since French Kiss first began. What were your dreams for it when you first started? Have you achieved those goals, or is there more we can look forward to? :D
• Jean: When we first started, one of our goals was to organize a bazaar - which we've just accomplised recently - Awesome Possum Bazaar (*Click here for photos!*). We also aim to bring in more clothes from overseas, to hand-pick our clothes from other sources rather than only the local ones. We're actually in the midst of realising our second goal as we'll be heading out of country next month (August) to look for an expansion of sources. French Kiss will be updating clothes from overseas in September or October, depending on our schedule. And yes, you've heard it here first on Your Shopping Kaki! :) We're also working towards opening our own physical boutique one day, as I'm sure many other e-boutique owners would dream the same. And by having an e-boutique right now, it's definitely a wonderful stepping stone to begin with.

• YSK: What kinda items or themes can a shopper expect to see in French Kiss?
• Jean: I would say most of our products are targeted for suburban girls. And when you talk about suburban fashion, it's definitely something tendy and yet conventional, something not too promiscuous, neither bland. I would say the key word here is balance - something with a tinge of style and substance.

• YSK: What's your most memorable French Kiss memory?
• Jean: One thing I'm sure that is a good selling point of French Kiss is our photography. We take pride in our photography's quality and consistency, as it is the only way our customers get to see and 'touch' our products. We put a lot of effort into every photo-session. And by a lot, we mean A LOT! We actually went all the way to Port Dickson and Pulau Pangkor on separate occasions, just to take pictures. And as you can see, every location in our photographs is never similar. That means, scouting for good location every single time. At one point we used to utilize a hotel as a location, until we got kicked out by the manager. :p And honestly, we’re kinda running out of locations nowadays. One photography session can take up to 6 hours, so we needed a more efficient method. And changing clothes is actually one of the most time consuming factor. Because of that, we invested in our own portable changing room, which we carry around for a photography session. And to be honest, it’s not exactly a changing room; it’s merely a cheapskate portable cloth wardrobe, which can barely fit me. :)
  

• YSK: LOL! You've organised the very successful Awesome Possum Bazaar recently, can we expect more bazaars from French Kiss in future?
• Jean: Haha.. Thank you. Honestly, we have no plans as of yet. But if given a chance in the future, we’ll definitely have another bazaar again. Awesome Possum Bazaar was organized during my semester break but classes just started a week ago, so probably we might have another one during my break again which is either November or December, no promises yet though :)

• YSK: Are you having a promo now? Is there anything special in store for YSK readers? :D
• Jean: We do have a very special promotion for all YSK readers. :) All YSK readers are entitled to 50% off on all items reviewed on this post. However, this promotion is only applicable for postage only :) Just provide us the password - French Kiss supports YSK! Valid from 15th July 2009 till 14th August 2009.

Oh my gosh! 50% discount?
I'll bet my hat that all of you can't wait to see what I'm reviewing in this post! ;D
But wait! Let's take a look at some customer feedback, shall we? :D

"Great selections of fashion. Like the way how the items are presented especially when they provide the closed-up photos to show the material of the items. Bought a few times and most of the quality are as promised or not better! Bravo and keep up the good job!" – Jennifer Low

"Photographs of clothes taken under good lighting gives buyer greater confidence in their purchase esp when blog shopping from French Kiss. Keep up the good work n bring in more stocks ya. :p" – Lydia

"Dear French Kiss, It was a great pleasure shopping with you. The experience was pleasant and you where very helpful in assisting me through it. Keep up the good work. P/S: You have fantastic pictures. Hats off to your Photography Team!" Best wishes, Melissa

"Happy Birthday French Kiss :) I have been ordering stuff from this lil' online store all the way from Australia for the past few months, and they have been great--the clothes and the store owners :) !! Keep up with the goodwork updating your collections, and also keep the goodies coming my way! :) ~xx" – Reshme Nair

"Jean from French Kiss is such a sweet girl. One of the nicest sellers i've meet. The 1st time i bought from her was a shirt for my mum. She replied my email so quickly and we COD and close the deal within 24hours. Super fast right? And during the Awesome Possum bazaar I saw something that I like and told her. Eventhough she was super busy and stress, she remembered. And after deciding not to open her store the next day, to give more space to other sellers; she brought the dress especially for me and even gave me a discount on top of it. All I can say is, thumbs up! I'll definately be coming back for more and her gorgeous stuff are an added plus point for me ;p" - Esther from LovePieces

Without further ado ... here come the reviews!
*Prices stated below are BEFORE the discount - just divide all prices by two!*

Adonare RM43 | Vodka RM38

Aye, so sweet the pink! Bare that midriff with a pair of trusty denim jeans -
or go bazaar-hopping with a pair of shorts, or go semi-formal with a high-waisted skirt!
It looks relaxed and effortless (and these photos are mind-blowing!) -
and speaking of semi-formal, how 'bout that dual-toned, high-waisted dress? :D

Collier RM39 | Pinot Noir RM45

This 50% discount thing is really starting to make my heart beat faster!
Collier comes in crisp white, pink, green and yellow -
and at RM19.50, I'm prolly gonna get one for myself!
And that mother of LBDs with the gorgeous bust is going at only RM22.50?
Who'll be their lucky owners? :D The details are stunning!



Chequer RM42 | Scottish Plaid RM43

Not your average boyfriend tee! Comes in three colours, with blitzy checkered colours.
Wear it as outerwear or cinch it with your favourite belt. Only these 3 pieces are going at RM21!
And plaid dresses are too cute. So which will all ye checkered lovers go for: collared or cute? ;)

Cuilte RM42 | Queens RM45

Bright-coloured weaved bags! Lovee!
More colours available for Culite, just *click here*!
Casual and fun, suitable for shopping, bazaar-hopping, campus or the beach...
Btw, I don't know why I'm even posting up the lovely yellow bag here,
because I'm probably going to go buy it the moment I press Publish Post! :P

I know I love these goodies -
The only question that remains is...
Do You?

*Click here if you want those 50% bargains today!*

Happy Shopping!
Your Shopping Kaki :)