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We’re all for finding out more beauty tips to help us keep our skin in tip top shape, but just imagine how much more excited we were to have the opportunity to hear the beauty secrets of Jeanette Aw!

Jeanette requires little to no introduction here since most of us have watched her drama serials on television. We sat down with this top local celebrity, actress, and now director to find out more about the way she approaches beauty.

1. Keep your environment in mind

Being in a hot and humid country like Singapore, many of us may be so busy battling perspiration and oil that we forget the importance of moisturising, especially when we travel overseas.

You’re not alone here. As an actress, Jeanette travels even more extensively than most of us, and for longer periods of time. “I realised that skincare should not only cater to skin type, but to weather and seasons as well.”

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Source: ClearSK®

Like many of us, the harshness of cold and dry weather caught Jeanette off guard. “I’ve been to countries where my skin starts peeling after one to two days, my lips crack and even my hands feel dry.”

Keeping your environment in mind when you think about skincare is vital for beauty, especially if you are a frequent traveler. Jeanette emphasised that it’s important to watch your skin.

“It’s also about being very attentive and aware of how your skin reacts to the environment and skincare products.”

2. Her travel beauty essentials

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Source: Toggle

For such a frequent traveler as Jeanette, how does she prepare her skincare before a long work trip? We were keen to find out more travel beauty tips from the jetsetting celebrity.

“Check on the weather and prepare skincare suitable for that holiday destination,” Jeanette says. While many of us may opt to pack the usual skincare that we use here in Singapore, they may or may not work the best on your skin overseas.

“I always stock up on masks as well, to keep my skin well hydrated always,” Jeanette advises. We can imagine some of those sheet masks will be a huge relief in the super-dry environment of long-haul flights.

Jeanette completes her list of travel essentials, emphasising, “Lip balm, no matter the weather. Sunblock.”

3. She doesn’t wear makeup even when filming

When asked about her beauty philosophy, Jeanette immediately answered, “Less is more.”

At the press conference where she was unveiled as the newest ambassador for ClearSK, Jeanette shared that she wears minimal makeup, or even none at all, when she’s filming. It started during her Holland V days, when the director told her not to wear any makeup.

She had been at first very anxious about how she was going to look, but when she saw herself on TV, she realised that her anxiety about her appearance had been unnecessary. From then on, she began requesting not to wear makeup, if possible, for shoots.

Yes, this means that when you watch Jeanette on television, it’s more than likely that she isn’t even wearing foundation or powder – her skin really is that good. We certainly couldn’t tell that she was 37 years old!

Jeanette says that not wearing makeup has actually been helpful for her work, as her momentum is no longer interrupted with touch-ups by makeup artists. She shares that this was especially important in all her crying scenes!

4. Beauty starts from the inside

We asked Jeanette how she approaches beauty, and we were charmed by her answer. “I’ve always believed that being confident and happy makes one beautiful, and makes one stand apart from the others.”

It makes a lot of sense as well – with happiness comes less stress, and less stress also means a healthier body overall, which would certainly reflect in the way your skin looks. Small wonder that newlyweds and new mothers often get the compliment that they’re “glowing” with happiness.

Jeanette continues, “At the end of the day, you want to be able to project your most natural self to others, and not be someone else.”

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Source: ClearSK®; ClearSK Chief Medical Advisor Dr. Shiau Ee Leng welcoming Jeanette Aw into the ClearSK family

This philosophy also applies to her approach to skincare, and the brands that she chooses. Jeanette has been recently unveiled as the new ambassador for homegrown, doctor-driven brand ClearSK®.

“ClearSK® believes in achieving results in the most natural ways, and this resonates with me. I feel that women need to embrace who they are, and what they stand for. Be comfortable and confident being who they are and how they look like.”

5. For younger girls just starting out on skincare, she has this piece of advice

Looking at her skin now, you may be wondering if Jeanette had actually been religiously doing her skincare from a young age. This is actually not the case, and is one of the skincare mistakes that she confesses to be guilty of.

“I started skincare really late. I only paid attention to skincare when a skin allergy happened. That was when I thought I should really start to care for my skin,” Jeanette told Daily Vanity.

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Source: ClearSK®

The skin allergy only happened after she began using makeup when she entered the acting industry, and had been the motivating factor for her to really find out what her skin needs.

“Always use products suitable for skin type and age,” advises Jeanette. “”For young girls starting out, I feel sunblock and gentle products are sufficient. You don’t want to use products that are too oily, because they may not be suitable for young skin.”

6. But the best advice comes from your own skin

The bad case of skin allergy that Jeanette experienced also meant that she started getting a lot of advice and recommendations from the people around her.

“I tried them all, and I observed my skin after using each product. Some worked initially and then turned out too oily for use in the long run, while others didn’t even have any effects.”

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Source: ClearSK®

That was when Jeanette realised that the best advisor is really your own skin. Everyone’s skin is different, so products are bound to work differently from one person to the next.

“The thing that I learned from this experience is really to be aware of your own skin because it’s unique and we all react differently to products. Something that may work for someone else may not work for you. So right now, I only ‘listen’ to what my skin says.”

When trying out new skincare, Jeanette always errs on the side of caution. “I’m always very careful with new skincare, and will observe how my skin takes to products,” she explains. If it doesn’t feel right on your skin, it probably isn’t working out for you.

Thankfully, she has found a brand that she’s been able to get behind. “ClearSK has chosen treatments that cater for my sensitive skin, so each treatment is gentle, with no down time. The most important thing is that I find my skin glowing immediately after each session, and I enjoy clear radiant skin just the way I like it.”

7. Always make informed purchases, and don’t settle

‘fess up, how many of us have been guilty of making impulse buys in the skincare section, without even properly understanding what it is we’re buying, or finding out whether it’s suitable for our skin type?

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Source: ClearSK®

Jeanette believes it’s important to be well-informed about the skincare you’re using and purchasing. “For me, if I’m buying products over the counter and the staff there can’t answer the many queries I have, or don’t seem to have enough product knowledge, I move on until I know exactly what I’m buying.”

While it sounds harsh, but this piece of advice really makes a lot of sense. After all, the product is going on no one else’s skin but yours, and you’ll have to deal with the way your skin reacts to it.

8. However tired you feel, always cleanse

So how does a top celebrity take care of her skin? You may imagine Jeanette would drag herself to her vanity to do her skincare every night, no matter what kind of day she has had or how late she gets back home.

We were pleased to find out that Jeanette’s habits are actually similar to the rest of us. Her skincare regime ranges from four to eight steps. If it’s a day with less to no makeup, she also goes easy on her skincare.

“But if I have an event or photoshoot and I have had heavy full makeup on the entire day, the skincare routine becomes more thorough. I guess it’s about how much stress I feel my skin has gone through.”

She laughs and says, “This is probably not the best piece of advice, I should just religiously do the full eight steps everyday.”

But no matter what the circumstances, the one step that Jeanette would religiously do is cleansing her face. “Cleansing ranks top of the priority list for me,” she states.

We know this emphasis on cleansing is also echoed by many other celebrities and aesthetic doctors, so we’re definitely taking note.