Kiehl's

A thought that has been kneading its way into the Dreams and Ambitions department of my heart: I want to work for Kiehl’s someday.

For the sake of the cosmetically unenthusiastic: Kiehl’s is a multibillion international cosmetics store established in 1851. My usage of the term “cosmetics store” here probably undervalues what it truly is – which is an apothecary (in modern words: a pharmacy) whose prime agenda is to dispense drugs for the skin. Effective drugs, at it too. I should know first-hand because I’ve been patronizing their products since they came to MOA (which is actually relatively recent). 

And speaking of their franchise on MOA: The decorum of the staff is redolent of, well, pharmacy — as they are clad in custom-made lab gowns and the proclivity to answer your pharmaceutical questions openly. I consider it a more polished, posh version of pharmacists. The shop per se is ornated with colored solutions, beakers, test tubes, and other laboratory what-nots, and its bulletin is dense with recommendations from stars such as Jake Gyllenhaal, Julianne Moore, and Britney Spears. 

What you can expect from Kiehl’s though, aside from (and because of) the efficacy of its products, is its steep pricing. L’Occitane, Body Shop, Face Shop, and Skin Food pale in comparison when it comes to expensiveness. 

Perhaps because of its stature and pedestal, I see Kiehl’s as a an avenue where I could foster my love for learning and intellectual pleasure. It’s not a completely industrialized/commercialized company like the ones I try to avoid and maybe because of its being an apothecary, I sense that it creates its products not to earn money but to create for the sake of creation… which is the noblest task there is. In fact, I can imagine the scientists and pharmacists behind Kiehl’s exchanging chemical info over a cup of ginger tea — relaxedly and void of the pressures of commercialism. 

Suddenly, my stay in the College of Pharmacy has gained even more profound meaning.  

More about Kiehl’s here. 

Working at the college of pharmacy is doing nothing to keep me from being terrified that I’m going to get some sort of disease from touching a doorknob.
Seriously though, one of the professors was like “I’m trying to patent a doorknob made out of stuff to kill germs because blah blah germs you’re going to get the flu and die.”
My suggestion was that he replace the doorknobs in my dorm first.
I DON’T WANT TO GET THE FLU AND DIE I’VE USED SO MUCH HAND SANITIZER THIS PAST WEEK IT’S NOT EVEN FUNNY ANYMORE