Kim Robinson @ Takashimaya Ngee Ann City

4(5 reviews)
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Be prepared to spend $138 onwards
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Overview

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How Much Do They Cost

Loves

  • One of the most awarded hair salons in Singapore
  • Stylish Celebrity-worthy Haircuts
  • Exquisitely attentive service (includes free touch-up within 2 weeks)
  • Classy luxurious ambience made unique by Kim Robinson's own paintings
  • Heavenly head massage
  • No hardselling
  • Delicious beverages and snacks

Not-So-Happy-With

  • The only drawback is the HUGE pricetag

What Other People Say

Loving It
2
Happy
1
So-so
2
Discontented
Disappointed

Kei

December 19, 2018

Not what I asked for

Decided to try out KR after getting highlights and the previous salon failed to balance out the back of my haircut. Am impressed with the service - timely service of tea, no waiting around, courteous staff. But that should be a given for a salon that charges $168 for a haircut. The hair wash was good, though not the best - the assistants hand reeked of cigarette smoke which is very distracting and unpleasant when you’re up close and personal with those hands! Pales in comparison to the hair wash at Kizuki+Lim though. Was a tad too rough; I was concerned about hair breakage. On to the cut: am a full believer in dry cuts - I’ve never understood why hair is always cut wet. How can you tell how the strands are going to fall when dry??? My hairstylist was Ivan. He’d cut the length off before the wash which i had no qualms about. But after that he’d begun trimming the upper layers at the back of my head like nobody’s business but left the length at the bottom. There’s this strange disconnect in layers at the back of my head which I’m really beginning to abhor. For context, the picture that I provided is attached. It’s completely different! It’s one thing not to understand a verbal description it’s quite another to disregard a visual example.

Review approved by Beauty Undercover

This review represents the subjective opinion of the Beauty Undercover reviewer and not of Beauty Undercover.

Blog Review

February 04, 2014

I never knew this about the hair industry in Singapore!

I had a hair cut (after winning a HerWorld Singapore promo voucher) with hair stylist Marcus Jiang of Kim Robinson yesterday morning (3 Feb – 4th day of Chinese New Year).

The last time I had a hair cut was probably two years ago! I decided to grow out my hair because I wanted to donate it towards those people who need hair for wigs. Eventually though, as my hair grew to the longest ever, I’ve grown quite fond of my mane, and begun feeling more feminine.

I learned a lot about the hair industry from chatting with Marcus (from China) and the shampoo boy Alex (from Singapore). At one point, I had both of them fiddling with my hair. Nice!

Conversation in Mandarin (recalling from memory):

Me: How long have you been doing this?

Marcus Jiang: Cutting hair three years.

Me: And before that?

Marcus: Five years from the bottom – shampooing, drying, colouring…

Me: Wow… that’s a long time.

Marcus: Yeah.

Me: And all along here?

Marcus: Yeah.

Me: It must have been hard on you… and away from home. (Looking around while he trims my hair).What’s the most difficult part of your work?

(Spoke very briefly about handling challenging clients)

Me: And physically? On your feet all day?

Marcus: Don’t you know all of us tend to suffer from neck and shoulder pain?

Me: Oh yeah.. the repetitive motions… What have you tried to do about the pain though? Massage?

Marcus: In the beginning, I used to go for weekly shoulder massage. It helped. But I stopped after a while. The pain is only relieved temporarily.

Me: (Omg!) Does the pain get better as you get used to it though?

Marcus: Not really. Having a good support pillow helps me. If I have a well-rested sleep, it does go away. But it comes back. Even my seniors have the same problem.

—————————————————————————————————————————–

With shampoo boy Alex (while washing my hair):

Me: How long have you been working here?

Alex: 3 months.

Me: Do you want to be a hairstylist like Marcus?

Alex: Yeah.

Me: It took him five years! Can you wait five years? Or maybe you will succeed sooner?

Summarising what Alex said: I could speed it up by going for classes.(On asking where he would go)… But there is no point in deciding now where is the best place to go when without the experience, I’d still find it difficult to understand what the teacher is saying. There are still lots more that I need to learn. For instance, it’s not easy to cut in a straight line.

Me: Yeah. I can’t even draw in a straight line!

Alex: Use ruler.

Me: I meant without ruler.

Alex: Come to think of it, I can’t draw in a straight line too! How does one draw a straight line?

Me: Quickly.

Alex: Yeah. Cannot think. Just do. Must be decisive. Need to practice. (Couldn’t hear the rest… he really got into the whole thing about drawing straight lines)

Me: How much would it cost to study to be a hairstylist?

Alex: The wig we practice on is already $50. And it has to be 80% natural hair.

Me: That’s not too bad.

Alex: The stand is $100. Tell you the truth. I got one wig for myself.

Me: Wow, the stand is more expensive than the wig!

Alex: There are lots we can learn from a wig – from washing, blowing, highlighting, to cutting. You cannot go to cutting straight away though. Once you cut, you can only cut shorter. And you might end up with nothing to cut.

Me: (Laughing inside) Yeah.

Alex: How come you’re asking so many questions? You want to be a hairstylist too?

Me: It’s just that I’m learning today things I never learned before about your industry! That you guys suffer neck and shoulder pain all the time. Marcus started from the bottom like you.

Alex: We also have to buy our scissors.

Me: What? Doesn’t the company pay for them? How much do they cost?

Alex: They start from $300. There are even those that are $1,000.

Me: What?! (Going crazy thinking what a huge financial burden this must be on them)

Alex: No. You use it. You buy your own.

Me: How many pairs does one need?

Alex: Minimum two. There are those who have six.

Me: (Speechless!)

—————————————————————————————————————————–

Later when blow-drying my hair:

Me: How many pairs of scissors do you have?

Marcus: Four.

(Chatted about other subjects)

Marcus: … we have to buy our own scissors.

Me: Yeah I know. Alex told me.

Marcus: Is that why you were asking me how many pairs I have?

Me: Yeah.

Marcus: They can cost as much as $3k.

Me: Huh?! How long do they last?

Marcus: Up to 10 years. But if you drop them… (shakes his head)… it can be very serious.

Me: 10 years. That’s $300 a year! So unfair right?

Marcus: Swordsmen have their own swords. Assassins have their own guns.

Me: (Jaw dropped as I was amazed by the beauty of his analogies)

Marcus: Look at the extension and hairdryer. We have to buy our own too.

Me: What?! (Can anything else shock me now?)

Marcus: It’s not just here. It’s an industry practice.

Me: He wants to be like you.

Marcus: Who?

Me: Alex.

Marcus: He’s new. Just came out of N.S.

Me: Oh. He’s Singaporean.

Marcus: The problem is that a lot of people come and go. High turnover.

Me: Why? They are impatient?

Marcus: That and they have options.

Me: Yeah they are not bonded ‘cos they don’t need a pass (work permit).

Marcus usually works 11a.m. to 9p.m. (with his last client being at 8p.m.) He’s personable, and kind. If you are looking for a hair stylist, do consider Marcus Jiang.

The moral of the story… the point of my post, is this: You never know what you don’t know. Be open. Ask questions. But most importantly, be kind. You never know what other people are really going through. There is so much artistry, heart and pride (and downright hard work) involved in the hair industry and what had to happen for a hair stylist to be one – much less a great one. Respect.

I gained more than a haircut yesterday. I learned appreciatation, gratitude, respect, humility, and humanity.

 

Review obtained from http://www.eroscoaching.com/2014/02/i-never-knew-this-about-the-hair-industry-in-singapore/

This review represents the subjective opinion of the Beauty Undercover reviewer and not of Beauty Undercover.

Blog Review

April 04, 2013

Overall, it looked a little unbalanced

Freshest report as of now. Unique review of these 2 hair salons. This post is best viewed with a computer/laptop, not mobile phone.

The same printout of a haircut (6 color photos on 1 sheet) of Lee Min Ho’s best hairstyle during his Beijing concert “My Everything” was shown to these 2 hair salons.

Kim Robinson Versus La Coco

Date of haircut: 7 Feb 2013 4 Apr 2013
Time: 5.30 pm 4.30 pm

Price: $138 Price: $53.50

Stylist: Eric Lim Stylist: Soo Bin
Haircutting Skill: Definitely knows hair Haircutting Skill: Not so good

Wet Cut Dry Cut

Hairwasher (Male smoker): Bad (+reeked of smoke) Hairwasher (Female): Weak
Massage service: Super Bad Massage service: None

Service on haircutting floor: Flawless Service on haircutting floor: Good

Front desk service: Newbie-ish. Front desk Korean man: Unfriendly, proud

Drinks offered: Yes Drinks offered: No
Snacks offered: No Snacks offered: No

Waiting time: Immediate 1st time, walk-in
2nd time free touch up 15~20 mins waiting, with appt Immediate, walk-in

Number of visits: Twice (2nd time free touch-up) Number of visits: 1

Stylists were randomly assigned to me.

————
Results:

First of all, it’s only common sense that all salons should do dry cuts. In the past, I used to wonder why salons cut hair when wet. As a child, my mom used to cut my hair dry and she said wet hair clumps and is difficult to cut properly.

Wet hair will become a shorter length when dried. Stylists have to take note and make allowance for the length differences and design deviation when doing wet cuts, otherwise the result during wet cut will become inaccurate.

Kim Robinson: The back end was the smoothest cut I have ever had. Eric really knows how to cut following the natural lay of the hair in that area. The hair lies down smoothly at the back end.

He also knows when to stop cutting.

However. I had wanted the back end to be shaped towards a V at the center, and he was not able to achieve that. Instead, the back end looked undecided, but he said it would “grow” into a V. It didn’t.

He was also unable to create the “waves” along the hair at the front like in the printout photos. He said it was a styling effect, even though it looked not merely a styling effect but a method of cutting.

He was unable to produce the different lengths of hair at the front. Neither could he create cuts that would enhance volume.

At the start, he had suggested I perm my hair, but didn’t give me a reason. I declined since I know from reviews that perms take much more cash than imagined and I don’t want my already fine hair to be ruined.

The return visit was 10 days later. This was a free touch-up. Reason was the back end looked very undecided and the front part looked too long without any bounce or different lengths.

There was about 20 mins waiting time as Eric was attending to a long-haired woman.

The result = the touch-up made the front part a little too short and still without the different lengths that would give it some definition and volume. The back was untouched as he didn’t see any problem there, even though that’s the part I came to get fixed because it didn’t look like what I wanted. Overall, it looked a little unbalanced.

Will I be going back? $138 that lasts just 2~3 weeks, and not perfectly satisfied. No.
If it were less steep, I might consider trying their other stylists.

———————–

Results:

La Coco: Soo Bin provided attentive service. But she started to panic and hurry when another customer waiting for her showed up a few minutes into my haircut.

Before this, at the start, when she saw the printout I showed her, she suggested that I perm my hair to create the volume and waves. The perm would cost $120 on top of $50 for the haircut. A hair treatment would be added in if I took the perm because the perm is “chemicals” that would damage the hair.

At first I said I only brought $60, because that’s what the front desk man said when I called to ask. But she didn’t understand and waited for me to consider getting a perm. So I said “next time” after she mentioned chemicals and needing treatment.

She looked disappointed and said without a perm, creating volume would be difficult.

I was thinking, if she’s good, she would be able to create volume without resorting to perm. I know this because I have watched Celia at Reds salon do this for me (amazing just watching her).

I told Soo Bin to try creating the look without perm, prepared that if it was bad, I would just go to QB to get it fixed.

At first, she tried making conversation but was inadequate in expressing herself in English. Neither could I speak Korean.

My recommendation for customers who don’t know Korean = learn a few words essential to conveying what you want done.

Despite her care in trying to understand what I wanted, she still misunderstood.

I had wanted different lengths to the front part, and gestured with scissoring my fingers but she still lifted my hair in her fingers and cut straight across.

At QB, the stylists know this style of cutting different lengths. So, I am surprised Soo Bin and Eric don’t know this technique. I think stylists should pick up techniques from one another across different salons, rather than just study at a school or work at a few salons.

Certain stylists have their own special technique and it would be good if other stylists also know it, although it would not be beneficial to the stylist who came up with it (no longer unique or his/her trademark).

For the sides, I said “thinner” and gestured the pointed sharp look. But Soo Bin must have thought it’s “shorter” and cut the sides too short.

The back end, she understood that cutting too short would produce a stick-up effect on my hair. An observation also made by Eric. But even then, she cut the back end rather too short. It sticks up now.

For the back upper portion, she succeeded Eric in creating volume, simply by cutting the bottom end flatter and layering upwards in shorter lengths so that the upper part now has a fuller form. This is what I have been trying to get Eric to do, but he didn’t get what I mean.

While I am pleased with the back volume, the front and sides and back end are too short. Although I had requested shorter hair and supervised it, the outcome was an expected disappointment.

Will I be going back? No. Not satisfied.

There was a reviewer who said he switched to other salons because of communication problems with La Coco’s stylists.

———————————

At first, I actually wanted to try the $20 salon at Basement of Marine Square. It’s something like QB but they do washing and styling. Can’t recall the name.

Then I was considering Kenaris and Jiwon.

With the negative reviews for Kenaris, I haven’t been able to bring myself to try, although I stood outside their salon recently. I remember the reviewer who said the result was very bad compared to a previous time even though it was the same stylist.

For Jiwon… maybe next time.

 

Credits: This is a review reproduced with permission from a blog.

Read the original blog article here.

This review represents the subjective opinion of the Beauty Undercover reviewer and not of Beauty Undercover.

Blog Review

December 29, 2010

Review: Kim Robinson Follow-Up

Made my first visit to Kim Robinson last Sunday, my hair artist was Sha-sha, I just did a minor hair cut… a bit disappointed, though the curling skills was good. Was there using complimentary vouchers and hence couldn’t shake the feeling that they were recommending me to dye/perm my hair to earn more money…

I took advantage of the L’Officiel Magazine promotion and went to Kim Robinson, the most atas place I’ll ever go to for a haircut sometime back (here.) However, upon going home and washing out the styling/curls, I decided that it was still too long. Luckily, they gave me a card that promised a free touch-up within 14 days, so I decided to go back and try my luck.

Surprisingly, they were willing to extend the ‘touch-up’ to a full cut – I got a totally different cut. They also styled it very nicely!

But lazy bum me who don’t even own a blow-dryer or hair tongs can never get this back on my own. The other recommendation was to go for “volume-rebonding” to get this effect permanently (well, more like, 4-6 months), but doing it at KR costs $400 plus and I’m not ready to spend this amount on my hair.

So… I’ll just deal with it for now and aim to find somewhere that does similar soft rebonding for about a hundred bucks. Any recommendations?

 

Credits: This is a review obtained from a blog.

Read the original blog article here.

This review represents the subjective opinion of the Beauty Undercover reviewer and not of Beauty Undercover.

Blog Review

August 02, 2009

More pampering please

on the second floor of taka, near the escalator that leads to LV & chanel. kim robinson's the spanking new version of le salon (which i loved to death). its pretty pricey, but i must say the head massages they give when washing your hair is TO DIE FOR. bloody orgasmic i tell you. hahaha. so be it a special treat to yourself when you're stressed, or a present for someone, their wash & blow packages are fantastic pampering sessions. i hear they now have a hair spa too. haha. so you can check it out (: mms, they do pretty good hair-styling too, so if you have a night out.. why not? i usually ask for sophia. she's edgier than the other stylists.. who can get abit erh, flouncy for my liking sometimes. she gets what i like, and so i never end up with a hairstyle that looks as though it belongs to a 60 year old taitai :p so yes. ask for her!

 

Credits: This is a review obtained from a blog.

Read the original blog article here.

This review represents the subjective opinion of the Beauty Undercover reviewer and not of Beauty Undercover.