dellaram vreeland

Kimberly Teoh doesn’t recall much from her first moments in Australia, but what she does remember is quite vivid. She remembers the feeling of the crisp Australian air on her face as she disembarked the plane, the feeling of cold vapour escaping from her mouth, the feeling of profound joy as she began a new adventure.

“I never fully comprehended that I was leaving permanently as a young child,” the Malaysian-born woman says. “I was under the impression we were going on a really long holiday.

“I remember taking my teddy bear on the plane. My teddy bear’s name was Kiko. From memory, that was the only toy I got to bring.

“The most vivid memories I have are the ones where I am playing and am happy.”

Kim was eight years old when her family made the move to Australia. Initially living in Melbourne, they settled in Ballarat on Wadawurrung Country a couple of years later.

It’s been 20 years this year since they made the move from Malaysia, but Kim says it has only been in the last 18 months that she has started to really understand herself and develop a “keen sense of self-awareness”.

“I think finding your identity is a confusing journey regardless of your age, background, DNA, or socio-economic status, but the more variables you add to the equation, finding who you are at your core is all the more difficult.

“I know we are continuously growing and developing, so understanding oneself and defining who you are is forever changing. That’s why I no longer try to put myself in categories. And by that, I mean those categories that people use to define someone – ‘she’s a strong person’, ‘she’s generous’, ‘she’s stubborn’.

“I am simply what I need to be in that moment in time.”

Kim is the founder of KIMKO Beauty, a salon specialising in make-up, brow shaping and tinting, lash lifts and extensions. The name itself is an amalgam of her prized Teddy’s name, her own name, and her dog’s name – also called Kiko.

“KIMKO is me as a child, me as a teenager and now me as an adult,” she says.

Interested in beauty since she was a young girl, Kim says it’s the way in which make-up has encouraged her to be creative and lose herself to the world that always instilled her with a sense of calm.

“I love the intricacy and focus required in the beauty industry. Control is a big thing that you need to master when performing a treatment. Your breath, your steady hand – you cannot rush a treatment so it reminds you to be present.

“Clients can feel how you feel because some treatments require closeness and touch, so I enjoy how I have to be mindful with my energy.

“When life felt chaotic and unstable, I could at least control the outcome of my makeup.”

Kim’s services extend much further than aesthetic. She says by “nurturing external beauty”, the KIMKO experience instills confidence, lifts self-esteem and, ultimately, fosters connection between beautician and client – inspiring individuals to face their world.

“I have looked after people from all walks of life, each having their own story. Some heartbreaking and some heartwarming. I am a firm believer that If you look good, you will feel good, and I don’t mean that on a superficial level,” she says. “Taking some time out for yourself to get a beauty service done is not as basic as ‘getting your brows done’. It means: ‘I value myself, I take pride in myself, I allow myself some peace’.

“In a time where technology and an online presence is prevalent, so many of us seem to be missing meaningful connection in relationships, and especially after covid, most of us feel a sense of loneliness or detachment. I choose to be a listening ear, a shoulder to cry on, someone who’s more than just a ‘brow lady’. I am their brow lady!

“That’s how I contribute to the community, by being myself, a safe and open space where people around me feel like they too can be themselves.”

Discover how Kim is fostering connection and instilling confidence through her work: @kimkobeauty

Words: Dellaram Vreeland
Images: Supplied