73 330
RECOMMENDATIONS
73
November14
Photography by Michael Bernabe
Not only does the glamorous CAROLINE CHIN GEYLER
head up interior styling and decorating company
Arete
Culture
,
but she has also just opened the doors to her
first retail space in Bukit Batok. Here, she gives us her
recommendations, from the best upholsterer to the perfect
smoky eye makeup.
1
With makeup, I’m quite OTT.
For smoky
eyes I always use MAC, and for soft, pale,
shiny lips I love Estée Lauder. I team this look
with big hair, a stylish, fitted, short cocktail
dress or a long, flowing evening dress worn
with four-inch stilettos. Every occasion should
be a celebration, that’s my mantra.
2
I don’t have a favourite clothes shop
in Singapore;
to be honest, I haven’t
shopped here for the past 13 years. I spend
so much time on buying trips, and have
discovered many hidden gems where I just
can’t help picking up beautiful pieces and
fashion buys.
Having dresses custom-fit is my ultimate fix,
and I have a fabulous seamstress called Mrs
Kwan, who’s based in Malaysia (+60 1 9555
1477). I buy 30 to 40 different materials and
give her the various designs for the dresses
that I love. I draw a lot of inspiration from my
travels, fashion magazines and catwalks, and
I put my twist on them.
3
Stilettos are essential;
the higher the
better – nothing less than four inches when
I’m out and about. When I work, I go barefoot.
Nothing beats going
au naturel
, especially if
I’m at a client’s home, either indoors or doing
a rooftop makeover. Otherwise, hotel slippers
come a very close second whenever I’m at the
showroom doing manual labour, which can
amount to up to six hours on my feet with a
lot of heavy lifting and moving wares around.
There’s no need to go to the gym after one of
those sessions!
4
I have two treasured possessions
in the showroom right now;
one is a
handcrafted, white mother-of-pearl mirror
(80cm by 180cm), and the other a smoky
“javin” shell mirror. They are just oh-so luxe
and would look amazing in almost any room.
Not far behind is the soft, cocooning, hand-
embroidered velvet and silk super-king duvet.
My Favourite
Things