Personal observation
Date: Friday, 3rd February 2014
10.30am Chris woke up late into the afternoon as she took a long and arduous hike the day before. She seemed to be in a good mood today probably because she had enough rest and we were going to meet our childhood piano teacher, Miss Low. Chris has not seen Miss Low for years.
11.30am We were both getting ready to leave the house to meet our piano teacher in town. However, she took a longer time to prepare – choosing between wearing flats or pumps to match her harem printed pants. She also wore makeup from YSL, Clarins and Make Up For Ever. She put on her favourite Thomas Sabo necklace with a bird charm, which she wears almost everywhere she goes. She also carried her one-month old Marc by Marc Jacobs bag. We both headed out to take a bus to town.
12pm Our piano teacher was late, as she was caught in the traffic jam. Since we haven’t had breakfast, we headed to a small bakery within Ion Orchard to get a small croissant for a quick bite. We then headed back to the meeting point to wait for Miss Low’s arrival. Chris expressed her discontentment with waiting and continued using her phone to pass time until Miss Low’s arrival 15 minutes later.
12.30pm Miss Low and Chris had a hearty conversation about Chris’s job promotion and her job scope over lunch at Imperial Treasure in Ion Orchard. Chris ate her usual sliced fish porridge while Miss Low and I ate the wanton noodles. We also shared some fried dim sum. Throughout the lunch, the three of us were reminiscing about the memories we shared together, from my anger fits to Chris’s performance as a wedding pianist in my other sister’s wedding. The atmosphere was nostalgic and pleasant.
2pm We bade goodbye to Miss Low, as she had to teach her second piano lesson in the east. Chris told me that she wanted to introduce a café in the Tanjong Pagar district that she frequents with her colleagues, as we both share the same interests in cafés. We took a bus down to the café.
2.30pm Upon being seated in the Plain café, she pointed to me the boss of the café and explained the history and reputation of the café. She then ordered an iced mocha for herself, a hot mocha for me and twister fries for. She told me she liked the smell of coffee. I noticed that she has a habit of looking at the pastries that others were eating. She then drifted into her Instagram mode as she checked uploaded photos her friends have posted today.
4pm After footing the bill with her HSBC card, we decided to head to the supermarket near our house to buy some more food for our steamboat dinner. As we sat on the bus, she started to complain to me that her feet were aching from wearing the heels the whole day.
4.45pm In Anchor Point’s Cold Storage, she chose to buy organic vegetables instead of the more affordable non-organic vegetables for fear of pesticides. She was also against poultry imported from China, as they were not safe and dubious to eat. She decided to buy a famous soup stock from China called Xiao Fei Yang, as she has tried the product before with her friends. She guaranteed the soup stock contained very little MSG.
5.30pm We reached home with a few bags of groceries and started preparing the food for our steamboat dinner. She told me that her feet felt more liberated now that she has taken off her heels. While I cut the vegetables and marinated the meat, Chris prepared the soup stock with leeks and garlic according to the instructions stated at the back of the Xiao Fei Yang soup stock product.
6pm Dinner officially started after Chris took an aerial shot of our steamboat platter. She sent the picture to our family’s wadsapp chat group since the rest of our family members were not in Singapore. She ate very slowly and spent more time drinking the soup than eating the meat and vegetables.
8pm Chris did the washing up of the steamboat, as she liked the kitchen to be in an orderly mess. She used the Dettol dish detergent to clean the dishes and threw me a cloth towel to help wipe the wet dishes.
9pm Chris came out from the shower, complaining to me that the water was not hot enough and that her feet is still aching from a day of walking. She let out a happy sigh, saying “What a fun day! Glad we finally met Miss Low after so many years. Why does time pass so fast? I’m not in the mood to good to work tomorrow!” She then disappeared into her room to complete her work on her laptop.
“The world is my playground. I love travelling and shopping for brands that make my life better and more fulfilling.”
Chris Tan, female, 27
Marketing Specialist
Brand user: Kotex
Do you track your period?
Not religiously. But my period is fairly regular.
What is your experience with Kotex like?
Kotex cotton pads are very comfortable and safe. I am skeptical about the new non-cotton technologies that Kotex and the other brands have introduced, as I read that the some of the products can cause cancer. Plus it is not comfortable for me to get the drier pads that are ultra thin as I remember I have developed a rash from the material before.
Do you use different brands for day and night? What are the brands?
I use the same brand for both night and day. Kotex.
Do you have a regime during your menstrual cycle?
I avoid cold drinks and soya bean related products during the first two days of period, when there is heavy flow. I hear that being active helps to reduce the cramps. But I can never motivate myself to put in my 100 percent when my body is not feeling in its tiptop form. Usually, I will start with the Kotex regular flow pads for the first day in the daytime. At night, I would use the overnight flow pad. On the second day onwards, I would use the overnight pads whether it is night or day. On the day that the blood flow is little, I would revert to the regular flow pads for both night and day. Then I would eventually use the panty liners when the period is almost over.
Who usually buys sanitary pads for you?
I usually buy them myself as I am living alone in my apartment. Sometimes, I might receive free samples from roadshows when I am out having lunch with my colleagues.
I usually choose Kotex for its smooth cotton texture.
Chris is a career women as well as a fairly athletic person. She does yoga twice a week for an hour and enjoys going on field trips with her colleagues and friends to nearby islands to trek. The types of sanitary brands she has used are Kotex and Whisper. Her favourite brands include: Lululemon for its comfortable fabric for sports and clothes for keeping warm, Celine for its sleek and luxurious design, Toby’s Estate coffee for the gourmet tasting coffee. She is currently single and is staying by herself in an apartment in downtown. She comes from a family of four children, with her being the second child. She is closer to her younger sister who is third in the family than the other two children, as they have many things in common, including the love for café hopping, travelling and shopping.
Can you briefly recall and describe your first period?
When I woke in the morning to prepare for school, I was shocked when I first saw blood in my underwear. I thought I was going to die from internal bleeding. I consulted my mother and she explained to me about the menstrual cycle and how to use a pad.
What are the things you would do to prevent leakage (day/night)?
I would put a layer of tissue at the back of the pad just in case it leaks from the back. I try not to fidget too much when I sleep to minimize leakage.
Brand Profile
Active Lifestyle
Chris leads an active lifestyle by doing yoga twice a week and going on fairly regular hiking trips with her colleagues and friends. Despite her busy work schedule, she also hangs out with friends and colleagues after work and during the weekends. She enjoys going on shopping trips and playing sports with her family and friends.
Variety-seeking
She chooses brands that make her life more comfortable. For example, Chris finds Lululemon a worthy investment for her yoga and sports attire as Lululemon apparel is of high quality, comfort and durability. She also invests in good quality and fashionably designed duvet and furniture covers with the Finnish designer label, Marimekko. Hence, she is willing to pay more for comfort and quality.
Chris does not trust certain brands for its negative country of origins and dubious brand reputation. She sticks to brands that are well known or recognized by her friends. For example, she does not choose poultry coming from China as there are now increasing cases of bird flu Instead, she chooses to buy meat from Brazil, a safer alternative.
Brand Relationship
Best Friendships
Chris favours pure cotton sanitary pads that are soft and smooth in texture, given her preference for comfort and high quality, and her active lifestyle. The Kotex cotton pads are able to fulfill her requirements. Hence, she has grown to trust the brand for its delivery of promises and reliability, and has established a close friendship with the Kotex brand. This relationship is categorized as Best Friendships, according to Fournier’s Consumer-Brand Relationship Forms.
