Natural & organic nook at Chinatown
It may have been two years since I last stepped foot in Dragon Dors Cosmetics at People’s Park Complex in Chinatown. This is the store I first got hold of Burt’s Bees products and perhaps the one that got me more interested in natural and organic skin care products. The store is like your neighborhood shop and is owned by a mother and son team, Anna and Sunny, the latter who reminded me so much of one of the members of Mayday (五月天), Taiwan’s no. 1 rock group with his long tresses and tatoos.
The shop is still the same and in fact, most of the brands I saw two years ago are still around. Half of the store is dedicated to selling natural and organic skin care plus food products, while the other half is dedicated to selling popular commercial brands. The only difference I noticed was the words “Certificate Organics” at the shop facade. I’m not sure if that’s a typo as I have no idea what they’re trying to convey with that.
EO organic bath & body range
My favorite items from the store has always been the bath and body products from EO. I recalled that when I was first at the shop in 2007, I was so impressed with the demonstrated benefit of its organic shower gel on the wrinkled arm of an old lady. Since then, I’ll always grab a bottle from the store whenever I can as besides online resources, I am not aware of this brand being sold elsewhere in Singapore. Besides bath and body range, the store also carries EO hair care products as well as essential oils.
Jason natural skin care & hair care range
Dragon D’or Cosmetics also carries an extensive range of skin care products under the Jason brand – from skin care, hair care, sun care, oral care to baby & kids. In fact, this was where I purchased the Jason Sunbrella sunblock and the Esther-C facial products. I was told that this brand is their best selling under the natural/organic category.
Burt’s Bees, Badger & Earth’s Best range
And of course this is where I got my first Burt’s Bees and Badger fix. In fact, I still have the Badger balms I bought from this store in my drawer now! However, I found Burt’s Bees to be cheaper online and so I’ve since not purchased anymore items from the brand at this store. Plus, I find the products at Sephora looking somehow more attractive?
Cult brands like Queen Helenee
I remember Zia and the papaya enzyme mask I bought there but I was quite surprised to find the entire range of products from Nature’s Gate at the store. Maybe my memory failed me, but I didn’t remember seeing so many back then. Another surprise was to find Queen Helene, a brand that has a rather strong cult following for its Mint Julep Mask and now has a natural category to its family.
Experienced and knowledgeable team
Don’t ask me about the prices because I didn’t really bother to take notes or make comparisons. The listed prices are higher than what you’ll find elsewhere but with the 10 – 20% discount given for all purchases, I believe the prices are more or less comparable. I also noted that there is a bit of bad mouthing going round about the company but personally, I have found their service to be good. As a matter of fact, both mother and son are very knowledgeable about organic skin care and I’ve picked up some valuable information from them in the past. And if I’m not wrong, Sunny’s wife runs an outlet at Changi Hospital.
Location & website
So the next time you head down to Chinatown, you might want to check out Dragon D’or Cosmetics, which is located at 32 Market Street #03-1126 People’s Park Complex. They also have a website under Wing Long Trading if you’re interested to know what other products they carry.
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I love chinatown!! Is it possible to bargain down to more than 20% discount?
I can’t say but I did read comments in the past that some received 30% discount. I never tried bargaining but I supposed if you purchase more and frequent, perhaps… They’ll usually also throw in one or two sample products for me.
wow. nice to know that there is such a dedicated organic products store around. I don’t go to Chinatown often… Definitely will go and take a look the next time I am there.
Chinatown Dragon Dors e last i stepped in is year 2007 and the items i like is Burt’s Bees but nw i bought at Sephora… and some orgainc items indeed hardly seem in sg… n i got to noe sunny and his wife etc though my relative… seldcom stepped in liao.. bt overall is a stall which sells orgainc goods.. those who like can go n take alook…
bt i rem my relative bought the organic conditioner which cost alot frm other the organic outlet.. so we need to compare prices 1st in order to buy it…
Yes, it’s a nice find. I was very pleasantly surprised when I first spotted it too.
Ya, I get my Burt’s Bees fix from Sephora now too.
That sounds like a great little store! Nice find. #k8SjZc9Dxk__#k8SjZc9Dxk
Wow, they certainly seem to have an impressive range of products – sometimes it’s nice not to have to wait for a spree to get my hands on brands like Queen Helene and Jason – now a trip to Chinatown is definitely in the works.
Thanks very much. Was planning to spree some stuff. But might make my way down to Chinatown instead. =)
Yeah, it’s quite a treasure trove…except got to pay for them…haha…
The store is quite jam packed with products. But I don’t know if the prices are a lot more attractive compared to your spree prices. Maybe you can call up to check if you don’t want to make a wasted trip.
Hopefully, the prices are attractive enough. I didn’t really check them.
Wow! I know I would go crazy in this shop. So quaint looking ya – typical of Chinatown. Thanks for the insight into this shop. My next trip to Singapore will definitely try to make it there. Unless I am mistaken, their online store did not state the prices.
i didnt know that i can find queen helene in s’pore! by the way, do you know how much on average does queen helene sells in the shop?
You mentioned briefly about EO and its effects on the wrinkled skin of an old lady. Care to share more? d= sounds intriguing!
It’s an odd shop but very interesting for me. Do visit it the next time you come. ? Anyway, there are lots of things to do at Chinatown too.
I’m sorry…I didn’t get the prices. Was slightly overwhelmed with the many products so I just ignored the listed prices.
Well, Sunny cleanse the old lady’s arms to show me the goodness of the shower gel. Her arms were wrinkled and dark but by the time he finished cleansing, it was so much brighter and less wrinkled! The effects are temporary I believe but it was amazing. But I have no such luck on myself after using this…
Hey loveless: it’s great to get another perspective about the shop. Actually, I like their level of service. Sunny is the straight talk guy and he’s very knowledgeable so I trusted him quite a bit. I don’t know if you’re aware but about two years back, he was suddenly struck with a stroke. When I saw him then, he just recovered and was visibly weak. But he told me he wants to nurse himself back to health and was experimenting with some alkaline water (I think) and when I saw him again, it was like he was never ill.
He also advised me against buying the Badger sunscreen (even though he sells it) cos it’s too greasy. So to convince me, he passed me a sample to try. LOL. Never come across sales people like that.
Yeah despite the bad-mouthing of this store, I think Anna is rally friendly and services good. I stay there forever just browsing their products. Love the Nature’s Gate Chamomile and aloe shampoo and conditioner and I have to say prices there are better compared to Guardian, for this range. Nice reviews by way in this post by you. Tempted to try EO!
Hey Lydia: just occurred to me that you can also check some of the prices at whoopeekiddies.com which carries Queen Helene. The prices would be a good indication cos they get their supplies from Dragon D’or. But some of the items seem cheaper online.
Thanks! ?
heh bummer about that EO thing then. but at least you can be grateful that you don’t have wrinkled skin to begin with! d=
Oh I hadn’t realized that the prices are better than Guardian. I wanted to try the Nature’s Gate shampoo but Anna told me the EO one might suit me better cos of the essential oils.
is people’s park complex near to chinatown station? i dont really know chinatown well.. was afraid i cant find the place haha.
definitely interested to get an organic shampoo there..and trying the highly raved queen helene deep cleansing mask!
Haha…that’s true. ?
Yes, opposite. The one next to OG. The 2nd level of People’s Park Complex are mostly stores selling garments or fabric.
dear sesame,
yes i’m aware tt sunny had a stroke. he told me about it once when i told him that i have some health problems myself.
hmmm… next time i’m going to ask him for the “alkaline water”
on a side note, i can understand why some people expect hand on toes services when they have been pampered by the shopping centres. the first time I went to my current hairstylist, to my surprise he never hard-sell any of the hair pdts the salon uses/sells. if i asked him if he has any recommendations for my oil scalp, he said tt some of the cheaper shampoos outside can do the same job. i was pleasantly surprised and since he does a great job for my hair (i think his price is reasonable, but others don’t), i’m sticking to him.
but my point is, when you get used to “bad” service (including services tt cost you, but really isn’t necessary), you’ve come to expect it and make a fuss if you don’t.
as much as there are bad service staff, there are also bad customers.
sorry, some corrections,
i meant, to ask sunny abt his “alkaline water”, not “for”
i also meant to say tt, you can come to expect “bad” service and make a fuss when you don’t receive it.
another pt, my hairstylist is not for everyone. i recommended him to some friends, but they didn’t like the cuts he gave. it happens that the style tt he is adept with, suits my taste and his techniques are good.
I think it was alkaline water he was talking about cos he said it originated from Japan. But definitely something to do with water. He told me he was interested on the health benefits and studying about it. The guy, as I know him in the past, was always on a quest for information. However, he doesn’t seem to remember me now cos I haven’t been to the shop for ages.
Anyway, alkaline water is interesting. The facial salon I go to use that to cleanse our face and at higher pH level to purge out the impurities.
Actually about the bad mouthing, I suspect it’s the competitors who are doing it and not the customers. I had a number of readers stating they like their service too so they are pretty consistent.
hi
can i know how comparable the price of the burt’s bees products sold at this shop compared to sephora??i’m always looking for cheaper alternatives!!
Thanks!!
Can’t quite remember…the prices are pretty comparable I think.
Sry I think i am Abit off topic..speaking of skin care.. I always have pimples on my chest Nd some behind my back.. but do anyone know h to prevent maintain or treat them? I always get so frustrated when it keep getting worse at times.. scars thereafter.. that makes me even more irritated cos I can’t wear low cuts… Anyone?
Hi!
Which site do you buy your burt’s bees products from? (you said that you buy it online cause it’s cheaper)
Where are you based?
Yay!! I love hearing stories about organic products and foods showing up in new and unlikely places. Next time I’m in Chinatown I’ll keep my eyes peeled!
It’s an interesting shop but I haven’t been there for a long time.
I am a regular customer of Anna & sunny. Both of them are really nice people. They are definitely not rude people and I must say when I talk to Anna, I find her motherly. She suggested me different ways of eating to help in Bone growth when I told her my mum broke her arms. I was told they have an eccomerce website and they provide free delivery for purchase above certain amount. Price wise: not all are cheaper than outside, but some products have good discounts like 30% and sometimes they give an overall discount too.
They have a Facebook page too.
http://www.dragondorganics.com and fb: http://www.facebook.com/dragondorganics/