Trendspotter: Caught in a liplock!

Merry Christmas, shopping kaki! :D

Just thought you might be looking for some entertainment while waiting for your curling iron to heat up so you can curl your hair before going to your Christmas party tonight :P Today, we present to you an interview I did with Cynthia of My Lip Stuff! :)

My Lip Stuff is an all-natural lip balm brand from the U.S., and My Lip Stuff Malaysia is their official Malaysian distributor. :D This is where I get my favourite lip balm, "Peace of Mind", from! It keeps my lips glossy, minty and moist all day long! :)

It's been a hugely popular trend in the online shopping community - even leading to a feature in CLEO magazine! - and it's no wonder why! They're affordable, cute, good for health, have funky names, and make fantastic gifts for friends, colleagues and loved ones. (:

Over 80 quirky flavours to choose from! Only RM12 per lip balm!

We've found that Cynthia has a real knack for niche markets - first with tank tops at a flat rate of RM5, establishing Tanks for 5 as a go-to blogshop for tanks. And now, she's the face behind My Lip Stuff Malaysia, another niche product: environmental-friendly lip balms. :)

Q&A with Cynthia
Owner of My Lip Stuff Malaysia

• YSK: Tell us about how you got started on My Lip Stuff lip balms!
• Cynthia: I used to work a 9-5 job, so was constantly exposed to the rigors of air conditioning. Not only did I suffer from horrendously dry skin, but I had very chapped and painful lips! I was on the search for a good, moisturizing lip balm, and noticed alot of the ones sold locally were all very boring flavours - mostly Strawberry and Cherry ones! I loved Body Shop ones, but I don't like lip balms in pots, as I think it's really unhygienic to dip your fingers in the balm. I then researched for ages for balms in tubes, that come in many different flavours, and came across My Lip Stuff! I went crazy and bought at least 36 different flavours. I tried them, and immediately fell in love! The balms were so super moisturizing, and they smell fantastic! I contacted the owner of MLS, and asked whether they currently had a distributor in Malaysia; they did not. So I took the opportunity to request that I bring in these balms to share with everyone out there who faced the same dilemma as I did!

• YSK: So you're an MLS convert! ;) Which flavours are your personal favourites?
• Cynthia: Yes I do! I use no other brand now! :) 100% converted. They are so moisturizing, and on top of that they give a nice, glossy sheen so I don't even need lip gloss now! And the scents are amazing! I have so many favourites, and my favourites change according to my mood or cravings for the day!
• If I had to choose:
• Cat Pee - I don't usually like citrus scents, as some tend to come off a bit like disinfectant or something similar,but this one is just so super yummy! The scent is very invigorating and refreshing. I would say this one is my all time favourite!
• Dog Poop / Peppermint Latte - I am a huge coffee lover, and honestly this is a cheap and calorie free caffeine fix! It's probably psychological, but it really does keep me awake, and always reminds me of my fave Starbucks drink! AND I love peppermint too, so that's a plus!
• Peace of Mind - This is my current night time balm! I use this every night before I sleep, and I love the tingly feeling, and yes, it does promote peace of mind, which is great for a good night's sleep. The scent is so very calming.
• Blueberry Muffin / Spank - These two are pretty similar, but when I'm in a fruity mood, I absolutely love these! They're really fun and gosh, I so love berries!
• Coconut Cream Pie - I don't usually like coconut either, but this balm is so super yummy, it's so hard to resist! The coconut scent goes really well with the cream pie!
• Pink Cake - Another super yummy cake scent, it has a bit of strawberry and lemon, it's sweetened, and well, it helps with my sugar cravings!
• Red Velvet Cake - The actual Red Velvet cake is possibly my favourite cakey dessert, so there's no surprise that I'd list this as one of my favourites :)
• Apple Smoothie - The apple scent of this one is really, really delicious, I'm always skeptical of apple scents as well, but this one is amazing!
• Peach Belini - I love peaches! And this one is infused with a slight champagne scent to it, which I think makes the scent perfect!
• Those are if I really had to choose favourites, but they're all really yummy!

• YSK: Why do you think we should use MLS lip balms instead of normal ones?
• Cynthia: 1) They're available in sooooo many flavours! MLS has more than 500 flavours and they're always adding new ones to their list! I take all their best sellers and ones with good scents :) So if you're like me, you can use a different balm according to your mood, and you'll definitely find one that you like.
• 2) They are so super moisturizing. I've tried many different balms available locally, but in terms of a balm that really moisturizes, MLS wins hands down. Chapped lips? Apply this, the dry skin on your lips come off easily and painlessly. No need for buffing! The plus side is they're quite glossy too, so they can actually be applied instead of lip gloss, without the sticky feeling some glosses have.
• 3) They are all natural and hand made - the owner of MLS is vegan, so rest assured there are no animal by products in them (except Beeswax), they do not contain preservatives, no sugar, no alcohol, no gluten, no dairy, no caffeine, no chemicals. They're not tested on animals either, so all in all, skin, earth, and animal friendly products!

• YSK: How long does one lip balm last, and do they expire?
• Cynthia: A balm can last about 3 months with constant application, according to my personal usage. It's best to use them within 1 year, as they don't contain preservatives.

• YSK: Tell us a bit about yourself :D
• Cynthia: I'm Cynthia, currently running Tanks For 5 and MLS Malaysia full time after leaving my 9-5 job about a year and a half ago. I run a shop in SS15 Subang Jaya which was solely for our (my bf and I) other business which is selling Melbourne Shuffle merchandise, but now has transformed into the COD location for our tank tops and balms. We sold the tank tops in another shop we had in Times Square, which did really well. In October 2009, we decided to sell the tank tops online (at RM5 each) to give online shoppers an affordable way to purchase items which would complement the items they already have in their wardrobe! Best of all, we thought that at RM5, buyers wouldn't really need to think twice about purchasing, or whether they could afford it.
• In April 2010, I bought my first batch of MLS balms, and since they weren't available locally, decided to take the opportunity to sell them here. The response for them were amazing, and I received loads of good feedback for the product (they even caught the attention of Cleo Magazine in Malaysia; they were featured in their November and December 2010 issue). And things just worked out from there, I take more and more flavours with each batch, and do cross promotions with the tank tops and the balms!

• YSK: Last but not least, do you have any promotions for YSK readers for MLS? ;)
• Cynthia: Submit an order with the caption "I love YSK!" and you'll be entitled to a free random tank top with purchases of at least two MLS lip balm (limited to 1 tank top per customer) Promo ends 15th Jan 2011 ;)

Click HERE to visit My Lip Stuff Malaysia now! ;)
And in case you ever forget their link, no worries -
their banner is on our sidebar as well, as one of YSK's sponsors! :D

Happy Shopping!
Your Shopping Kaki :)