Note: This interview was conducted in 2017.
If you don’t know who Jamie Chua is, you probably need to get out and around more. She is one of Singapore’s most famous socialites, and also creator of local skincare brand, Luminous1 by Jamie Chua. Jamie first rose to prominence after her marriage to wealthy Indonesian tycoon Nurdian Cuaca, whom she met during her stint as SIA cabin crew.
15 years and two kids later, the couple separated in a high-profile divorce case, but Jamie’s fame and social status only went from strength to strength as she attained an alimony arrangement of SGD 450,000 a month from her former husband. (She now owns the world’s largest Hermes bag collection)
Jamie is now 42 years old, but her pictures on Instagram betray nothing of her age. How does someone with such financial resources like Jamie perceive beauty? In an exclusive interview with Daily Vanity, we ask her more about her beauty philosophy, and what everyone is secretly curious about – her beauty expenditure.
- 1. She believes good skin is achievable at any age
- 2. She started her beauty rituals very young
- 3. She doesn’t spend that much money on skincare anymore?!
- 4. Her beauty regime was just like the rest of us at first
- 5. She doesn’t have a complicated skincare routine
- 6. She doesn’t miss any old beauty products – for the most part
- 7. She bought a face mask for SGD 2,700 and regretted it
- 8. Her holy grail primer has been discontinued
- 9. She layers her holy grail makeup every day
- 10. She uses a SGD 1.50 eyebrow pencil
1. She believes good skin is achievable at any age
You may think someone who looks like Jamie does would rely heavily on makeup, but in fact, she invests her time and money into maintaining her skin instead.
“I believe that good skin is the very foundation to beauty, and it’s achievable at any age,” she says. “All it takes is discipline, consistence and determination.”
2. She started her beauty rituals very young
All right, we know that most of us would have only started really taking skincare seriously in our late teens, or even well into our 20s or 30s. Jamie has us all beat by starting her skincare rituals at the age of 10 and having never stopped a single day since.
“You are never too young to start taking care of your appearance,” she says. We repent!
3. She doesn’t spend that much money on skincare anymore?!
This may be shocking to most of us, but it actually made sense once we found out why.
Since Jamie prioritises the quality of her skincare so much, she naturally began her own skincare line which would only use the best ingredients that she approved of.
This provided her not only with a source of income, but also a way to get the skincare she wanted at a fraction of the cost.
As for the rest? “My facials, body, and hair treatments are now taken care of by my various endorsements,” Jamie explains. “I also have a lovely friend who makes me the best cleansers and facial products using only pure essential oils. Therefore, I don’t actually spend that much money on beauty anymore.”
Now, that really makes us jealous.
4. Her beauty regime was just like the rest of us at first
When she first started taking skincare seriously at the young age of 10, the beauty products that Jamie used were probably the same as the rest of us.
“I was using drugstore products, and even stuff sold in provision stores,” she recalls. For some reason, we have a hard time imagining even a young Jamie Chua shopping in a void deck mama shop for her skincare products. “The very first beauty product that I bought for myself was called Emeron face wash.”
“I was very conscientious in doing my beauty routine twice a day, every day.”
It’s not hard to see that Jamie must have had a really firm grasp on the importance of beauty if she was able to religiously do her skincare from the age of 10!
Drugstore beauty products faded out of her life once she began working, and was able to afford more luxury skincare. “I remember my flight attendant days – I would fly to Paris, and just splurge on La Prairie Skin Caviar products.”
5. She doesn’t have a complicated skincare routine
You might think that someone like Jamie would have 10, or even 20, steps in her twice-a-day beauty routine, especially when most people would think she has a lot of time on her hands.
However, we’re happy to note that that’s not true. “My regime is always simple: cleanser, toner, serum, eye cream, face cream,” Jamie lists.
It doesn’t sound that much different from what the rest of us are doing, so perhaps it really does boil down to the quality of products, as well as how disciplined you are in doing your skincare every single day.
6. She doesn’t miss any old beauty products – for the most part
Some of us may find ourselves wishing that a certain skincare or makeup product that we used when we were younger was still being produced. Not Jamie, however.
“I don’t miss any products at all because we have evolved so much since then,” Jamie says.
“However, I do wish I still had this Yves Saint Laurent lip colour, which has now been discontinued for years,” she reminisces. “It was a nude colour I would wear every day. I just love the scent of YSL lip products!”
7. She bought a face mask for SGD 2,700 and regretted it
We asked Jamie what was the single most outrageous item she has bought for the sake of beauty, and Jamie’s answer did not disappoint.
“I once bought a 5ml face mask for SGD 2,700. I think I got conned,” Jamie laughs candidly. “It was amazing, and the results were so good when they demonstrated that I thought I could not live without buying it!”
To prevent herself from getting scammed again, she took matters into her own hands. “I developed The Mini Facelift for Luminous1 which replicated the effect I got from that SGD 2,700 spend.”
Aside from that, Jamie also uses products from Cle de Peau Beaute. “I have used some very pricey products from their Synactif line for many years!”
Cle de Peau Beauty Synactif products range from SGD 148 to SGD 1,800 (for a 40ml cream) at Tangs.
8. Her holy grail primer has been discontinued
“I cannot believe they discontinued the Diorskin Radiant Base!” Jamie exclaims, clearly upset by the loss. “I have it stocked up now, but one day, I’m going to be crying when I run out.”
There’s only so much that money can buy, after all!
9. She layers her holy grail makeup every day
“I’m always repurchasing the Dior Flash Luminizer Radiance Booster Pen, the YSL Touche Eclat highlighter, and the Charlotte Tilbury Mini Miracle Eye Wand.”
All three of these products seem to be very similar, so we asked why all three made it to her holy grail list. “It may be hard to believe, but I actually use all three products during my daily makeup routine, layering them on top of one another.”
Layering Dior, YSL, and Charlotte Tilbury under your eyes every single day? We are beginning to appreciate why Jamie looks the way she does.
When asked about the costs of these products, Jamie says that she’s not sure. “I don’t really keep track unless it’s a SGD 2,700 item.” Same here, Jamie.
10. She uses a SGD 1.50 eyebrow pencil
Just because she’s living the high life now doesn’t mean that Jamie shuns drugstore beauty products. “I think there are many great products in the drugstores. I buy my mascara and eyeliners from places like Watsons.”
Jamie even goes so far as to say that she believes that the best eye products, like mascara and eyeliner, are sold in drugstores. “I use a SGD 1.50 eyebrow pencil to fill in my brows when my eyebrow embroidery is just due for touch-ups.”
Once again, we find it difficult to imagine Jamie shopping in drugstores, or even using a SGD 1.50 eyebrow pencil. But hey, we’re still glad that a homegrown socialite acknowledges that good quality doesn’t always come with crazy price tags.
