How Malay bridal entrepreneur Yumi Ayummi became a hit among millennial and Gen Z newlyweds-to-be

It was only a little more than a decade ago that Yumi Ayummi, 39, decided she wanted to pursue a career in makeup. Today, not only is she a highly sought-after makeup artist in Singapore, Yumi is also an in-demand Malay bridalwear specialist – famed mainly for her signature minimalist aesthetic.

She also became one of the first bridal makeup artists in Singapore to launch her own makeup line.

How did she do it?

At the age of 29, Yumi was a human resources executive working in the banking industry.

“I would leave home at dawn and return only at dusk – I barely saw daylight. I did this from Monday to Friday and on alternate Saturdays,” she told CNA Women.

Yumi took a sabbatical and it was during this period that she realised she enjoyed doing makeup, having helped her friends and relatives get dolled up for special occasions, using only the products she had and her intuition on what would look best on her “clients”.

She eventually returned to work but at the back of her mind, she knew she needed something else that was not only fulfilling, but allowed her the flexibility she needed to make time for herself and her family.

She sought advice from her parents, particularly her father, on whether makeup was something worth pursuing.

“When I realised I really enjoyed experimenting with makeup, I asked my dad if I should pursue professional training and certification as a makeup artist at Cosmoprof Academy or try to directly get a job as a makeup artist in the bridal industry instead,” she said.

“My dad, who is a lecturer, simply asked: ‘Which of these would make you more money?’” She chose the latter. 

So while still working at the bank, Yumi took short courses related to makeup and personal grooming. One of these was at Chantique the Bridal Gallery, today still a big name in the industry.

After completing the course, she started working part-time as a junior makeup artist for another bridal company.

“But the hours were gruelling. I’d be committing to my day job during the week and would take on three to four makeup jobs every month,” she told CNA Women at her showroom, a 2,200-sq ft space in Serangoon North.  

Yumi had gotten married by then and had given birth to her first child.

Two years after juggling her full-time job in the banking industry and part-timing as a makeup artist, Yumi came home after a hard day’s work, and that’s when it dawned on her that not only was she burnt out, her household was not getting the attention it needed.

“My husband was a senior engineer in the oil and gas industry back then and was travelling a lot. By this time we’d already had two kids, with whom we were barely spending any time with. So I took a leap of faith and quit my job. It was risky because we were also planning to buy a house,” she said.

“My husband was initially reluctant but thankfully, he agreed to support me.”

After some calculations, Yumi was expecting to earn perhaps S$500 a month taking on makeup assignments. But she found herself getting an overwhelming number of requests and her income went from “enough to buy my essentials” to “not bad”.

As with many entrepreneurs, she vividly remembers her first client.

“She was a former schoolmate and a close friend. I’m not sure why she hired me but I was honoured that she trusted me enough to be her makeup artist. I wasn’t even telling people I was a makeup artist then. I still considered myself a student. But I did my best and I believe I did a good job.

“Until today, whenever we talk about my journey, she tells me how proud she is to have been my first client,” said Yumi.

Yumi also credited her early success to a trip to South Korea she took in 2012 with a tour group. She spoke to some of her fellow travellers about her desire to pursue makeup. They remained in contact and in one conversation, one of the members of the tour group reminded her of her dream and encouraged her to put herself out there.

“My bookings reached an all-time high and my supervisors from my former day job were also encouraging – we still keep in touch. I had good support from my family, friends and mentors. I will always be grateful for that,” she said.

In 2014, Yumi felt called to explore producing her own line of bridalwear.

“I finally left the corporate world that year but I was not in a rush to get things done. Back then, Malay bridal outfits were mostly ‘super bling’ and my aesthetic is more minimalist. I took my time to source for the looks that I liked and brought them to Singapore.

“It took me eight months to put together my first collection, which I thought was ‘just okay’”. I didn’t even have a photo shoot. I kept the outfits I had sourced in my wardrobe and it was not until I had sourced a second batch about six months later that I was finally satisfied with my collection.

“I organised a photo shoot with Sheiryn Aisiqa and Nabila (known only by her first name) as my models, and everything was going well until I started feeling dizzy and nauseous.

“I found out I was pregnant again – two weeks before we were supposed to launch,” said Yumi, adding that this made her decide to put off the launch of her bridalwear line.

“All my pregnancies had been challenging. My nausea would last from the moment I woke up right up until bedtime. Just focusing on my makeup assignments was hard – I would be throwing up regularly while on the job.”

It was only when she felt better, sometime in February 2015, that she finally launched her bridalwear collection. Even then, she “took it slow”. She showcased her bridalwear on Facebook and Instagram but never really pushed her full packages, which typically includes makeup, bridalwear rental and doula-like support on the big day.  

Her bridal makeup clients hardly knew about her outfits.

“When clients came to discuss their makeup for their wedding day, I would occasionally ask if they wanted to see my outfits. Sometimes, I wouldn’t even ask – I’d wait for them to ask.

“After seeing what I had, some of them would be quite peeved,” she said laughing. “They’d say ‘why didn’t you say you had clothes too?’”

Yumi reiterated that she “didn’t want to rush”– after all, she only had fewer than 10 outfits to rent out and didn’t think that was enough to show people, much less talk to them about.  

She also didn’t think she knew enough about Malay bridalwear to market herself in this way.

“This industry values time-honoured quality. Even with passion, if you’ve barely worked in the industry, you would experience what Malays describe as ‘terjun botol’ (throwing yourself into the deep end) – you have to learn by experience.

“For example, I might like a certain silhouette. I would be confident that I could make the silhouette work on every body type. But then I would conduct fittings and realise I was just fighting a losing battle.

“It takes time and experience to learn that you can’t assume what you like will be embraced by all or will apply to everyone.”

“As time passed, I worked on growing my range so there was a variety of options to pick from, while keeping it aligned to my signature branding; basically making it my own,” she added.

LESS IS MORE

While she was drawn to soft shades of pink in her earlier days, Yumi’s aesthetic, now represented in her branding and an expanded collection of bridalwear, has shifted towards a more elegant, neutral palette.

Looking around her brand new showroom, opened just a few months ago at the S9 Building in Serangoon North, you’d immediately notice her affinity for colours like champagne gold, concrete grey and muted silver.

Her decision to move her office from Chai Chee, which was closer to where her parents lived, came from a sense of compassion for her team, who spent the most time at the showroom while she travelled all over Singapore to do makeup and attend meetings.

“Many of them lived in the northern part of Singapore. It took them something like one-and-a-half hours to get to work each time. I didn’t want them to tire themselves just from commuting. So when the end of the lease for my previous showroom approached, I started looking for new places,” she said.

In true Yumi-style, she took her time looking for the perfect place.

“It took nearly six months to find this location because I prefer not to rush into things – I’d rather things be smooth-sailing,” she said.

As luck would have it, the “perfect place” was in the same building as her husband’s car detailing business. 

The unit, despite its floor-to-ceiling windows, was almost completely bare, its previous tenants likely Shopee sellers who were only using the space as storage, Yumi said.

It required a massive overhaul to turn it into a showroom worthy of hosting to-be newlyweds.

When CNA Women visited last November, the With Love Yumi showroom, with its high ceiling, custom-made arches framing the floor-to-ceiling windows, was so bright and well-curated it practically sparkled.

Admittedly, it took a lot to turn what was a basic, despondent-looking space into the haven it is today.

“I used to be what you’d call a ‘safe investor’. I always took a long time to make a big decision, repeatedly weighing the pros and cons. But after 14 years of working for myself, I learned you must be willing to take risks. ‘Throw money to make money, you know?’”

Yumi had wanted to launch her own makeup line back in 2016. But at the time, she wasn’t ready to take on the full responsibility. She partnered with a friend, who was meant to take on the research and development aspect of the project, which Yumi funded. But as her friend was busy with her own businesses, the project took much longer than expected and did not meet the Hari Raya launch deadline.

It was only during the COVID-19 pandemic that Yumi and her team finally took on the project on their own, and even then it took nine cycles of testing before her brand Yumi Basics, which includes makeup sponges and brushes, a two-in-one foundation and concealer product, as well as fake eyelashes with endearing names like Be Mine and Honey, was launched in 2022.  

Last year, at the CelebFest mega fair in December, Yumi also fulfilled her dream of launching her own lipstick range, Yumi Basics' Hydrating Lipmatte.

“For years, my older customers would ask me ‘do you have any lipsticks?’. Older people don’t wear foundation or fake lashes – they’re only interested in lipstick. The older members of my family would buy my products to support me but they likely never used them,” she said, chuckling.

“Lipstick is essential to any makeup brand and I’m glad I finally made it happen, even if took a while to get here," said Yumi, adding that it took a lot of research to make sure the formulation offered a matte look, but kept the lips sufficiently moisturised.

LEARNING HOW TO PAY IT FORWARD – WITHIN LIMITS

“I believe in giving people opportunities, even if they’re completely new. Once, I took in a graduate from a local design school but her lack of experience meant it took her six months or so to create something and submit a first draft to me. That took too much time.

“It wasn’t a successful collaboration but I still believe in giving opportunities to newbies – as long as they have both passion and skill. Because baju pengantin (Malay bridalwear) is a totally different thing.

“I learned to be selective. I started asking to see applicants’ portfolios to see if they had the potential to do intricate work. I learned that time costs money and you can’t just hire anyone who asks,” said Yumi.

“Additionally, I tended to give opportunities to people I got along with easily. Now, I’m more specific about the kind of people I’m looking for. I ask myself questions like: ‘Does their vision align with ours? Are they inclined to our branding? Are they willing to do what it takes to succeed?’”

There would be some applicants, said Yumi, who would come in with the mindset that they only wanted to do certain things.

“For me, that shows you don’t have an open mind and are not open to exploring new ideas and skills. If you’re narrow-minded right from the start, it would be hard to work with you,” she said.

“The qualities I look for, even until today, are initiative, enthusiasm and curiosity. These suggest the possibility of a long-term commitment.”

A LONELY JOURNEY

“No matter how strong your support system, ultimately, as an entrepreneur, you’re the one who’s accountable for everything. You have to be strong – physically, mentally and emotionally,” Yumi, now a mother of four, said.

“I’m what you would call an ambivert. I can connect with others but I need time to shut down and just do nothing. These days, being able to have downtime is a luxury but I choose to see it as a blessing. I believe God doesn’t give you tests just to make you suffer – they’re meant to be make you stronger,” she said.

“When COVID-19 happened, there were systems that had to be implemented that were so unfamiliar to everyone, including businesses. It hit everyone hard. But you have to take such challenges as motivation to create something better, as well as to identify your weaknesses and work on them.

“For example, as a bridal company, in the initial days of the pandemic, we had no choice but to issue refunds for pre-booked packages. But as time went on, we learn to put together agreements that protected both parties – our business as well as our customers,” she added.

She was also candid about the issues women face that are often overlooked by society, such as their monthly cycles.

“There will be periods when you’ll feel down or simply don’t have the capacity to juggle many things at once. That’s when a supportive partner, family and friends come in. But as a whole, you’re the point-person – you’re the one responsible.

“Of course there were times when I wanted to quit. But how could I? I had overheads and my intention for starting this business had always been to provide for my family and my team.

“And ultimately, I started off thinking I was a ‘weak’ person. Looking back on everything I’ve had to go through and everything I’ve overcome, I see myself differently now.”