The Malaysian Insider :: Features
The Malaysian Insider :: Features |
| The beauty of the beauty industry Posted: 14 Apr 2014 12:32 AM PDT It could also be the curvaceous K-pop idol curving (or curveting) on your television screen or the face of the plain Jane who had lost some kilos after a treatment at a slimming centre posted in your Facebook page. The truth is these days physical beauty is paraded and idolised. One cannot escape this yearning to appear immaculate, prompting a desperate desire in many, especially among the fairer sex, to pursue a beautiful face and the dream figure. Undeniably, this craving is what has been feeding and nurturing the ever flourishing beauty industry all over the world. The Beauty Company, a UK-based consultant company on brand and product strategy, concluded in its research that the beauty industry has been the most consistent throughout the economic downturn and recovery cycle. A local beauty industry practitioner Selina Goh, in concurring with this finding, said "it is an industry that is less affected by the economic cycle". The Glow Exhibition Management Project Director said beauty has become a necessity for most people to the extend that some women could not even leave their rooms without make up, and men too were actually grooming themselves. "In addition to that, nowadays people are living a hectic life and therefore massage and spa services are seen important in rejuvenating the body and looks. "The spa business is getting more and more competitive that one just need to walk through any row of shops nearby to find at least one, or two, spa or beauty salon," she said. Goh stressed that the industry, which is associated closely with health and wellness, is developing fast globally. In staying concurrent, local beauty professionals are urged to catch up in terms of latest developments in the industry and skills. Developing qualified beauty therapist The recent Beauty Trade Exhibition for beauty professionals, held from March 24-27 at the Putra World Trade Centre, focused on improving industry skills and quality of beauty therapists. This year about 200 companies including from South Korea, Taiwan and Singapore participated in the exhibition, attracting over 8,700 beauty professionals from all over the country and the region. As organiser of the event since 2012, Goh saw that there was much room for local beauty practitioners to refine their skills and upgrade their centres or products, particularly in conjunction with Visit Malaysia Year 2014. She also felt that the spa and beauty salon industry, which rely heavily on foreign workers, is in pressing demand to develop more local masseuses and practitioners, as well as shaping its own identity. "There are still many spas in Malaysia that promote Thai and Bali (concept) spa. Actually we also have traditional massage such as for women in confinement, those very traditional Malay massage. However, it is difficult to find these experts probably because no one takes the initiative to promote them," she told Bernama. Spa therapist training The Ministry of Tourism and Culture in its website stated that the spa industry generated RM20.7 million revenue in 2011 and was projected to contribute RM6.7 million for Malaysia's yearly income. The industry is estimated to spawn more than 6,000 jobs by 2020. Realising the importance of developing more quality spas and producing local therapists for the leisure and travel industry in the country, the government had started conducting a six month spa therapist training programme since 2012. Participant, Rusnija Ridwan, 28, explained that the training comprised of 3 months in class learning at a spa academy, followed by another 3-month practical training in any of the ministry's listed three to five star hotel's spa. Originally in the marketing line, Rusnija said the training is very beneficial for any keen Malaysians especially youngsters to build their careers as professional masseurs or beauty therapists. Upon completion of the course, trainees are given opportunity to gain experience working in an entrenched spa for 2 years. "Among other things, we learn how to do facial, manicure and pedicure, body massage and physiotherapy, spa receptions, and communicating in the English language. "I have been in the spa industry for five years and I believe that these skills can help me to go far in the industry," said Rusnija who is under training at the Energy Academy in Seri Kembangan. Currently only five spa academies throughout the country offered the free training programme. Local cosmetics Meanwhile, in the cosmetics department, Malaysians spend an estimated RM1.6 billion annually on cosmetics, with skin care products being the most purchased item. (Statistic provided by Asia-Pacific Cosmetics and Toiletries Market Overview 2010). Quoting the official portal of Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation (Matrade), the total market for cosmetics was valued at RM321.2 million with imports of cosmetics and toiletries accounting for 72.3% of the domestic consumption in 2012. Amid the large number of imported cosmetics and toiletry products circulating the local market, established brands from Europe and US emerge as favourites among Malaysians. However, Goh said local cosmetics brands have been steadily gaining the public's trust. She pointed out that many of Malaysian cosmetics manufacturers have been exporting their products to countries as far as Europe, Australia and China. "It shows that we do have manufacturers who are doing fairly well. Their brands have reached a standard that they can now compete with foreign products. "I'm sure if a product is very effective, plus with good packaging and branding, people would not mind buying even if it is a local product," she said. The beauty industry has a huge potential as a revenue earner and thus it is time for Malaysia to boost its participation in the sector. – Bernama, April 14, 2014. |
| For Mexico’s hottest drug balladeer, music has a cost Posted: 13 Apr 2014 09:42 PM PDT Wearing a black leather jacket and military fatigue pants, Alfredo Rios took his show to 5,500 people in Texcoco, in the state of Mexico, a region of 15 million people enduring a spike in murders this year. The man with the short-cropped hair and beard is among the most popular performers of "narco-corridos" – musical histories of the life and death of drug kingpins sung to a polka-like beat, driven by an accordion, guitar, drums and tuba. The genre has gained many fans among Hispanics who live across the border in the United States. Rios appeared in the US documentary "Narco Cultura," which describes the cross-border fascination with Mexico's drug culture. Lately, though, the thirty-something star has been less than popular with the authorities, especially in states that have struggled to tame violence. With songs like "100 Gunshots to the Armor," "The Executioner" and "New Mafia," Rios was slapped with a record 100,000-peso (RM24,800) fine last year following a concert in the northern state of Chihuahua, an epicentre of deadly cartel turf wars. More recently, he was banned from performing on Friday in another region beset by a surge in violence, the central state of Morelos south of Mexico City. Authorities accused him of promoting violence. Concert organizers canceled his May 1 show in the neighboring state of Puebla at the request of authorities. In an interview with AFP, Rios said his songs merely reflect the reality of drug violence in Mexico. "I sing party and fiesta songs. I'm not going to break the law. If they decide that I can't give a concert, I won't do it," he said. "I don't promote anybody. My music simply is music. My words don't come from space or Mars. It is what we Mexicans talk about," he told reporters. AK-47 rhythm On a recent Friday night at a Texcoco equestrian arena, El Komander's set list included a song about armored cars, AK-47 rifles and grenade launchers. His band wore red charro (Mexican cowboy) suits emblazoned with his stage name, with the letter K in the shape of an AK-47 assault rifle, known in Mexico as "cuerno de chivo," or ram's horn. "We are fans of corridos and I don't understand because they canceled El Komander's show. His lyrics are not threats. The threat is already in the streets," said Ivan Pimentel, a 31-year-old shopkeeper who attended the show with his 10-year-old son. As Rios performed, more than a dozen bodyguards watched the stage. Two stayed very close to him when fans approached the star. It can be a dangerous lifestyle. Some 50 narco-corrido performers have been murdered in Mexico since drug violence surged in 2006. No more Chapo Rios is part of the Movimiento Alterado, or Agitated Movement, which appeared in 2009 in the northern state of Sinaloa, home of jailed Sinaloa cartel boss Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman. The movement is known for singing the most graphic lyrics about the cartel life. One of the movement's most famous bands, Los Tigres del Norte, has had shows cancelled as well. In the music video for "New Mafia," Rios mimics a scene from the mob movie "Scarface," snorting from a mountain of cocaine on a desk with a pistol in hand. Rios has sung about Guzman, Mexico's most wanted man who was captured in February, and Knights Templar leader Nazario Moreno, who was killed by soldiers last month. But when asked whether he would compose a new song about El Chapo, Rios said: "The way things are right now, I don't think so." – AFP, April 14, 2014. |
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