KOH Experience Shop: The Consultation


For all my KOH nail polish swatches: Brand: KOH

If ever there was a nail polish heaven, I think this would be it for me.


I had meant to write about this in December, so apologies for this little delay. There is quite a bit that I would like to share with you, so I’ve decided to spread this feature over two posts.

I must first explain how it all came to be. In November, Dutch-based KOH published an advertisement about a month-long promotion in a promo magazine of de Bijenkorf, a posh Dutch department store. All one had to do was bring along the magazine to the KOH Experience Shop at de Bijenkorf in Amsterdam to receive a free nail care consultation and at the end of it, the visitor receives a full-sized KOH nail polish in a colour of her choice. Free. Now, tell me, how can you resist such an enticing offer?

So off I went with an eager heart and soon found myself in nail polish heaven! However, I couldn’t oggle at the nail polishes first as the friendly consultant who greeted me wasted little time in showing me to the long manicure table (right). I was asked to place my hands on the KOH hand cushions so that she could inspect my nails. For a moment, memories of my school years among strict Catholic nuns and teachers came flooding back.

Fortunately, my nails were given a clean bill of health. I confessed to the lady that I was quite clueless about manicure ‘protocols’ (did I just hear you gasp?). She advised me against using nailclippers as they damage the nail plates. Funny she should say that. I’ve always used nailclippers and I’ve never had any major nail problems before. [shrug]

Anyway, the following were the KOH products that she used on my nails/hands during the consultation:

KOH Crystal Nail File
She proceeded to show me how to file my nails – in a single direction from the side to the middle – so as not to split the nail plates.

KOH Natural, Glossy Nail Buffer Set
Then, she demonstrated the use of a nail buffer set on one of my bare nails. In three steps – KOH calls it Equalise, Clean, Beautify – she got my nail from looking ordinary to looking very glossy! Nothing new to most of you, I'm sure, but it was this late bloomer's moment of enlightenment.....

KOH Calcium Nail Whitener
She applied this on the nail that had been buffed just to show me what it was. My nail was certainly glossier. It has calcium in the formula and is meant for discoloured nails. It’s supposed to revitalise nails by intensifying the natural nail colour, ie making the nail tips whiter and the nail bed pinker. How that is logically possible with one single formula, I have yet to figure out.

KOH Nourishing Cuticle Brush
Next, my cuticles. While I may not have had much problems with my nails, I do occasionally have dry cuticles. She applied the emulsion of essential oils from this brush on my cuticles. It’s meant to help with the dryness.

KOH Purifying Polish Remover
She didn’t use this on me as I didn’t have any polish on my nails. She did recommend though that I use this mild remover as not only is it acetone-free, but it also contains nourishing oils like castor oil, almond oil and Vitamin E.

KOH Sensational Silk Experience
On one hand, she applied this SPF 15 hand gel that contains extracts from the Purple Orchid and has an anti-aging formula.

KOH Essential Hand Nourisher
On my other hand, she applied this SPF 15 hand cream enriched with Blue Lotus extracts and Vitamin E. This is also an anti-aging cream.

The product images above are owned by KOH Cosmetics.

At the end of the consultation, I was given a personalised product sheet on which she ticked which KOH products were suitable for me. Then, she showed me to the huge wall of KOH Colourful (I prefer to call it the Wall of Joyful Colours) and asked me to pick one colour to take home. Oh my, I felt like a little girl in a candy shop trying to choose the sweetest, prettiest and yummiest candy. It was a tough decision. This little girl chose KOH's basic red shade simply called KOH Red. I believe this particular shade is one of KOH’s pioneer nail colours when they first branched out from offering only nail care products.

All in all, the consultation was a very pleasant experience. The purpose of this promotion was obviously for people to get acquainted with its product range. I did wonder if they might be pushy and try to persuade me to purchase their products. On the contrary, actually. Anyway, I did buy a few small items on my own accord – KOH Crystal Nail File To Go and two cute mini versions of its body care products from the KOH Body Sensations line.

I picked up a card which shows the services offered at the KOH Experience Shop. The charges range from €20.00 for a basic manicure without nail polish to €45.00 for a complete 45-minute manicure treatment.

In my next post, I will show you the interior of the KOH Experience Shop.

Further reading:
All my features on KOH nail polishes.

22 comments:

LipGlossGossip said...

That wall of nail polishes looks so pretty! Sounds like you had a great manicure! I wish we had that over here! :-)

DinaXYYan said...

it sounds nice to get all those treatments but it would make me buy those stuffs too :D

Himi said...

oh my goodness. i would not be able to contain my excitement > < lucky~~

Shop N' Chomp said...

Total nail polish heaven!! What an awesome promotion that was. Wish we had something like that here. Love the KOH Red shade you chose. :D

Anonymous said...

I love the sound of "The Wall of Joyful Colours". I would really love to see it for myself! Is this nail polish heaven? You bet! I would die just to see this ;) Great post! I am green with envy :) I think you made the perfect selection <3 xxx

Nicola said...

That sounds like a fun day!! I LOVE all those colours! xoxo

Cynthia Z said...

Oh *WOW* this really is nail polish heaven! The stuff look amazing. First time I'm hearing about this brand KOH. Haha.."protocols":D
♥XX♥

lavender said...

wow...so envious of you. Next post, can u pls show us your manicured nail? Never heard of this brand in Malaysia.

xSplendidStar said...

Wow!!! Looks like a nail supply shop! Hehe very heavenly :D The products look so professional too XD~

I am so lazy with my nails these days, I chopped them all off, coz it's very irritating when my nails get stuck under a key on the keyboard, one of these days the keys are really going to come off =_= looooooooool so for now I guess I'm going to have to live with short nails. Though I keep having to chop them off every week! A bummer as well >_<

Can't wait for your next post :D

xxx

twinsouls888 said...

Whoah that is one nail polish haven. As for Koh nail items, the packaging is sooo cute and professional, looks very expensive though :). And the color looks so pretty and pigmented ^_^

Kim Axani said...

Cool post! too bad we couldn't get that brand over here in Canada .. maybe one day!

ectini said...

Thanks for your comment & for following!<3 OMG this really is nailpolish heaven!!! I wish there was a place like that here :( Pretty shade you picked! In addition to lipstick, I am also intimidated by red nailpolish haha but I want to try some XD Happy 2010!

Witoxicity said...

@LipGlossGossip
It wasn't quite a manicure, actually. It was really more for KOH to showcase their range of products. :)

@Dina
Yeah, I was indeed tempted to buy all those lovely products! :D

@hitomi
It was like being in fantasy land! :D

@Shop N'Chomp
This promotion was certainly too good to miss. I will feature KOH Red in another post later. :)

@The Diva's Polish
Ha ha! It's good that The Diva's Polish agrees with me about this being nail polish heaven! And I'm glad you approve of this red shade. It was so hard to choose! I was contemplating between a classic shade and a nouveau funky one. I went for a safe, classic one in the end! :D

@Carrsky
That visit was certainly a fun and interesting experience for me. :)

@Cynthia
Glad you like this! KOH is a Dutch brand. I wrote about it back in November, if you're interested. :)

@lavender
I'm afraid I didn't get a manicure during this visit. It was just a consultation and a demonstration of how to use the KOH products. At the moment, KOH is available only in some countries in Europe. :)

@xSplendidStar
Nail supply shop? Then it must be a pretty classy one! Ha ha! However, it doesn't sell false nails and nail art supplies. Not yet anyway. :)

Hey, having short nails can have its charms! :)

@twinsouls888
I'm pleased you like this nail polish heaven. I find KOH unique because it contains topaz and every nail polish bottle comes with a classy case. Fyi, the nail polish retails for €14.95. :)

@e.motion in motion
Thanks for dropping by. It's funny...somehow, I find red nail polish more wearable than red lipstick. I would recommend that you try such a colour one day. :)

Witoxicity said...

@kimber doll
Who knows! Maybe one day KOH will decide to spread its market reach! :)

Jae said...

Love Koh's packaging!!!

Mz. More said...

OMG @ the wall of polish. I would have been so excited. Sounds like you had a great experience. Can't wait for pt. 2 and I'd love to see a review of the crystal file :)

Panda Eyes said...

That really looks like the NAILPOLISH HEAVEN!!!

Ceecile ~Priscilla Clara~ ^^ said...

I really love the nail glossy set.. they're all so pretty and make my beautyholic eyes drooling.. muahahaha.. ^^

and look at all the colors at that shelf! Colorwonderland to me! ^^

The Beautifier said...

Oh gosh! I've never seen such a huge wall full of joyful colours (nail polishes) in my entire life!
Girl, you are lucky to have seen all this in real!
Betcha, you must have had a great manicure!
The colour you chose will go perfect with your Ellis Faas Red lippy! xoxo

CherriesinSyrup said...

Yay, definitely a wonderful experience, I would have gone totally crazy seeing all those things to take good care of my weak nails (lol....) All women would have loved to have that experience. Really nice post and a happy new year !! xoxo from Brazil!

Witoxicity said...

@Jae
KOH's packaging certainly attracts attention, doesn't it? :)

@Mz. More
Yeah, it was pure joy to see all those nail polish bottles! Sure, I will feature the Crystal Nail File in a later post. :)

@Realistic Dreamer
Ha ha! It's always great to see enthusiastic reactions like this. :D

@Ceecile
I think the packaging is so cool that sometimes I don't know if I'm buying the product for the packaging or for the product itself! :D

@The Beautifier
It was indeed exciting to see that! I must say though that it actually wasn't a long wall (I will show you more in my next post). Sadly, the consultation didn't actually include a manicure. She was only demonstrating how to use some of the KOH products.

As for the KOH Red, you're right! It would certainly go well with the red of the ELLIS FAAS lipstick. Unfortunately, the ELLIS FAAS lippie that I have is a coral red shade. :)

@CHERRIES IN SYRUP
Every woman needs some hand and nail pampering sometimes.

Thanks for dropping by and Happy New Year to you too! :)

Anonymous said...

Wow... sounds like a fantastic experience!! I use nail clippers too.. but I don't think I can give up how much time it saves me compared to filing my nails haha. But really, wow, you're making me want some of those things! And I'm not into nail stuff!!
And that wall of nail polish?? I was like woahhh.
All the KOH products look exquisite, I especially like the KOH Calsium Nail Whitener.