From The Straits Times    |

The Zika virus outbreak has lit the creative spark for one young Singapore entrepreneur who has come up with an innovative mozzie repellent. Self-taught jewellery maker Trixie Khong, 27, has designed a line of jade necklaces and bracelets featuring filigree lockets that contain beads filled with citronella – a natural oil that repels mosquitoes.

Singapore zika natural repellent citronella jewellery trixie khong BRACELLET
Singapore zika natural repellent citronella jewellery trixie khong NECKLACE
Images: By Invite Only

The beads can keep mosquitoes away for up to seven days, said Ms Khong, who launched the four designs in the Yu Ahn collection on her e-commerce website By Invite Only in June. “We found that people do not really take insect repellent out with them and we thought to fuse the two – fashion and the concept of safety,” she added.

Singapore zika natural repellent citronella jewellery trixie khong REPLACE BEADS
Singapore zika natural repellent citronella jewellery trixie khong BEADS
Images: By Invite Only

The items, which cost between $48 and $65 each, sold out quickly after the first locally transmitted case of Zika was reported on August 27, however she is making more.

Shop the By Invite Only Yu Ahn collection with citronella beads at http://www.byinviteonly.info/collections/yu-ahn-collection. Products are currently sold out but you can pre-order the items. Delivery is expected from September 10, 2016.

Want more suggestions on how to deal with Zika? Read our stories Everything you need to know about Zika; 5 best mosquito repellents to protect against the Zika virus and Can you catch the Zika virus by having sex?

Part of this story was first published on www.straitstimes.com

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