32 june 19 – july 2, 2015
health & beauty
Epoch Times
all photos by epoch times
A Beauty Queen’s Secret to Staying Slim— By Won Xue Li Epoch Times Staff
T
eo Ser Lee is a familiar face to many Singaporeans. Having won the titles Ms Singapore / International ’86, Ms Singapore / World ’88 and Ms Singapore / Globe ’89 among many others, on top of being an actress at Channel 8 and the founder and director of a leading local etiquette academy, Protocol Academy Pte Ltd, she is an extremely decorated lady to say the least. Being a former beauty queen, a certified etiquette trainer by The Protocol School of Washington and a qualified Colour & Make-up Artist as well as Personal Stylist and Image Consultant, she has many insights to share about staying healthy and beautiful inside and out. “You feel good, you look good. We all know that. It is a cliché, but it is true,” she says with a smile. Ser Lee shares with us her health and beauty secrets in this exclusive interview.
Q: You’ve won many beauty pageants in the past. What does it take to be a beauty queen? A: Okay, that was eons ago. Obviously, you need to have good physical attributes, in terms of your height, figure and so on— that goes without saying. But apart from physical appearances, I think what’s also important is that you must be able to handle questions and answer on the spot. You need to be eloquent, be able to think on your
Ms Teo Ser Lee.
You feel good, you look good. We all know that. It is a cliché, but it is true. Ms Teo Ser Lee Ms Teo Ser Lee with Epoch Times staff.
feet depending on the questions that they pose to you. A lot has to do with your stage presence and the aura around you; your confidence level. I think it’s basically everything and not just one particular thing. Q: What has your experience in the beauty pageants you’ve participated in taught you about the etiquette that you are teaching right now? A: At that time, I did not have any formal training in etiquette, protocol and even in dressing. It was very ad hoc as we were put through very minimal training after I had won. It was more like physical training, like the gym and all that. I learnt most of it overseas when I was an ambassador for Singapore—when I was left to sink or swim, and I basically sunk. (laughs) I wasn’t very familiar with a lot of the basic business, social and dining etiquette. So I had to “look-see” and kind of see what other people were doing. It was a lot of monkey-see-monkeydo. It made me realise
how important it was to know basic etiquette, and that is probably what spurred me on to go to the States to take up (etiquette) training, which is what I teach now. Q: What are some of the things that you do to keep slim, healthy and beautiful? A: Okay, I’m not sure about the last one (laughs). As for keeping slim, I’m still trying very hard. I think a lot has to do with diet—input and output. So that will be the input, and your exercise regimen would be your output. A beauty regimen is very important. We need to know the steps to take to cleanse make-up off, tone and moisturize, and you cannot afford to slacken in that. You can’t just sleep in your make up and cleanse off when you wake up. You need to be very disciplined in that and you have to do it twice to three times a day. Apart from that, I really have to watch what I eat, and exercise, which you also cannot slacken off on. Q: Amidst busy lives of Singaporeans, what health and beauty tips would you share with our readers? A: I think most importantly, people Continued on the next page