The Last Word

Beautiful.

Fri, 25 Nov 2011 03:51:34 -0500

Beautiful.

The Versace for H&M commercial fascinates me - it’s...

Sat, 19 Nov 2011 00:21:00 -0500

The Versace for H&M commercial fascinates me - it’s freaky, ironic and witty. Fall in line, ladies.

Got friends in Milan?

Fri, 18 Nov 2011 23:48:00 -0500

It’s going to be a hectic two weeks. I need to finish some stories before heading to Tokyo end Nov for an assignment. I’m back early December, with just six days to complete the remainder of my stories before I’m flying again - this time to Italy for a travel story. I’m looking for people who have Milanese friends that I can touch base with when I’m there. Anyone out there?

Hell, yeah!

Tue, 15 Nov 2011 20:04:23 -0500

Hell, yeah!

3 skills budding writers need - before and after the interview

Mon, 14 Nov 2011 10:50:00 -0500

I’ll let you in on a secret: I never thought I’d land a job as a writer.

My interview was mortifying. My future boss asked if I had any samples of my writing and I actually stuttered: “No - I don’t have any on me right now!” I sounded like a complete dork!

I was hired. But if I could turn back time, here are three things I wish I’d known from the start.

#1. BEFORE THE INTERVIEW: BE A “WRITING WHORE”

I once asked a celebrity photographer how he got a foothold in the business. He immediately said: “I was a photo slut in University”.

What he meant was, as a photography student in an arts college, he always volunteered to take photos for his classmates’ advertising projects. They needed original images, he wanted experience. It was also a great networking exercise - his classmates remembered him and when they landed jobs in the advertising industry, he was the first photographer they’d call for commercial assignments!

The same principle applies to writing. While you’re still in school, write as much as you can, even if it isn’t for your first-choice publication. Your aim is to get exposure and connect with editors and other industry people whom you can tap on for advice and referrals.

In my final semester of Uni, I interned at a small publishing house - non-existent pay and I had to cut paper frieze patterns for a photoshoot (yes, it was all DIY). But I got my first taste of what it’d be like to be a writer and I loved every moment of it.

My only regret: I wish I’d started writing much earlier, like in my freshmen year, so I could’ve built up a better portfolio. I would’ve been able to talk more confidently about my experiences during the interview as well - AND have proper writing samples to show!

#2. DURING THE INTERVIEW: KNOW YOUR STRENGTHS

When I applied for my job, I had minimal experience but wanted to sound like a wildly-versatile writer.

So, I breezily told my interviewer that I could write just about “anything”. You name it. Fashion, skincare, the latest makeup trends (though I didn’t even own eye liner). She stared at me and said: “No offence, but you don’t look like a ‘fashion person’ to me.” Ouch!

She later explained that if my heart wasn’t in the subject, I would soon find the writing tiresome and “frivolous”. I didn’t listen.

Later on, I was assigned to cover a topic I didn’t quite understand or enjoy. The interviewer’s words came back to haunt me. While I could perform the functional aspects of the job (writing, chasing newsmakers, filing stories on time), I wasn’t enjoying it immensely.

I later switched to features writing, which I found was more my cup of tea. I love it and haven’t looked back.

I’m not saying you should limit yourself by insisting that you can only write about subject X - at the start of your career, you should be open-minded and adaptable. But I feel it’s important to have a sense of where your strengths and interests lie and to package yourself accordingly instead of being a wishy-washy, “anything-goes” writer.

#3. AFTER THE INTERVIEW: READ. A LOT.

Getting the job is only the beginning. As a new writer, I struggled for a while to come up with story ideas that I didn’t think were poor, bland or predictable.

The turning point came when my editor told me - “Read beyond the genre you write for.” Why? You want to be different from your competitors. You don’t want to be chasing the same ideas, stories and angles.

I used to only read titles like Cosmo, Glamour and Marie Claire - because I wrote for a women’s magazine. The problem was the ideas I pitched sounded exactly like something straight from Cosmo, Glamour and MC! Yawn.

Now, I supplement my women’s glossies with Wired, Fast Company, GQ, Esquire and Psychology Today. They give such a different, refreshing perspective on things and they’ve inspired some good, slightly-kooky ideas.

As a writer, it never hurts to have broad interests and to follow trends outside your field - I dare say you’ll sound smarter and more well-informed too.

Now, who doesn’t want that?

Writing sex stories isn't that sexy

Mon, 14 Nov 2011 08:51:00 -0500

Editor: Do you have a minute? I need to run through the copy for your sex story. *Reads very loudly* "Facing a 45-degree angle, slip your leg between his. It's supposed to stimulate the clitoris." Okay, I don't get that sentence. What is 'it' referring to? His leg? Your leg?
Me: No, it's the position itself. The angle your body is at when he penetrates.
Editor: Ah, so it should say: "At this angle, his penis is supposed to stimulate your clitoris..."
Me: Yea that's much clearer.
Editor: And your description for the reverse-cowgirl... "Get him to fondle your breasts". Is it better if I say, "leaning back further makes it easier for him to fondle your breasts?"
Colleague: *Looks up from work* Wow. This is so weird.
Editor: What?
Colleague: I can't believe you're talking about breasts and dicks with such a straight face!
Editor: Tsk. Oh c'mon, we have to be rational about this!

So true. Writer’s block is a myth - procrastination is the...

Mon, 14 Nov 2011 08:17:21 -0500

So true. Writer’s block is a myth - procrastination is the real enemy.

10 reasons why being a magazine journalist rocks

Sun, 13 Nov 2011 06:18:00 -0500

It’s one of those days when I’m filled with new love for my career. In that spirit, here’s a post dedicated to all things great about working in a magazine!

1. You’re a girl-about-town I love being out and about. My restless nature suits the job perfectly because as a journalist, you get wind of cool events, new trends and product launches before anyone else. Last month, I attended an exclusive showcase of Dita von Teese’s famous “Martini glass” dance in Singapore. Too. Cool!

2. You’ll never get bored Every assignment is different and I never know who I’ll meet. Will I interview a CEO? Stake out a seedy bar? Undergo laser skin resurfacing? For the record, I’ve done all.

3. You’re always buzzing with ideas Every conversation and encounter becomes a possible story. You start to unconsciously think about angles and package the entire article in your head. The mental rush is exciting.

4. You’ll see people at their most vulnerable…I once wrote a story on nightlife in Singapore and had to interview a man (anonymously) on his not-so-honorable nocturnal activities. It was the first time we’d met and we spoke for two hours. I asked why he felt comfortable sharing so much with me. He said: “Well that’s the beauty of it, isn’t it? Pouring out all your secrets to a stranger.” You’ll be surprised at how some people aren’t willing to confide in their friends, but share their darkest secrets with a third-party. You listen and learn.

5. …And when they relive awe-inspiring moments There are many unassuming people who do awesome things. For instance, I met three women who mentored a group of youth who wanted to raise funds for tsunami victims. Everyday heroes can be hard to find, but when you do, it’s the most awesome feeling knowing that you can share their story with others - and hope it inspires someone else.

6. You travel the world I’m very grateful to have flown to Tokyo and Hong Kong for press events. Right now, I’m researching attractions in Milan to prepare for an upcoming story. Email me if you have any tips on what to do there!

7. You’ll have lots of “coffee catch-ups” I get my best story ideas just talking to people over a good cuppa. Being out of the office, they’re relaxed, chattier and likely to share interesting anecdotes. So during lull periods, I try to meet someone new every other day. This past week, I’ve had tea with an airline stewardess-turned-career coach, feminist author and pastry chef who, incidentally, makes the best mango tarts in Singapore.

8. You create something new…every issue I always feel a rush of pride when proof-reading the colour layouts of my stories. This is when my text is brought to life with snazzy fonts, illustrations and beautiful photographs - basically, how the story will look like when it goes into print. And yes, I still get a thrill seeing my byline.

9. You’ll hate cliches I’ve struck the terms “whopping”, “at the end of the day” and “you can have it all” from my vocabulary - boring, overused and redundant. You learn how to express ideas in engaging and refreshing ways - and that includes all kinds of writing outside of work. Like my resume. It’s been purged of hackneyed phrases like “team-player” and “problem-solver”.

10. You flip through magazines for work What more can I say?

New look!

Sun, 13 Nov 2011 04:36:47 -0500

I love tinkling around with Tumblr to see which “look” works best for this blog. I’ve ditched the old one (photostack) in favour of this which I think supports text-heavy entries better. Let me know what you think!

Sighted, Inspired: Tip box big enough for my face. Drips bakery...

Sun, 06 Nov 2011 02:05:11 -0500

Sighted, Inspired: Tip box big enough for my face. Drips bakery cafe, Tiong Poh road (Taken with instagram)

"Wow, you write for a magazine? So does that mean you erh, write stuff? Like you write the stories?"

Sun, 06 Nov 2011 01:12:24 -0400

“Wow, you write for a magazine? So does that mean you erh, write stuff? Like you write the stories?”

- Wins the award for dumbest question ever. Sadly, I get it with alarming frequency!

Sighted, Inspired: A candy tree at Resorts World Sentosa,...

Sat, 05 Nov 2011 12:28:00 -0400

Sighted, Inspired: A candy tree at Resorts World Sentosa, Singapore (Taken with instagram)

Tom Ford’s Cadeaux editorial with French Vogue (Dec...

Sat, 05 Nov 2011 12:07:00 -0400

Tom Ford’s Cadeaux editorial with French Vogue (Dec ‘10/Jan’ 11).

I was reminded of Tom Ford’s controversial photos when I attended a modelling contest last week. Strutting down the catwalk that night were girls as young as 14, still blessed with enviable metabolic rates (non-existent tummies! Defined waists!).

But I gotta admit, it’s disturbing when grown men around you start gushing about the prepubescent figures up onstage - jesus, some of them had barely bloomed!

“She’s pretty, but she’s got too long a torso and stumpy legs,” I overheard a woman say of one of the girls. She wasn’t being catty, just matter-of-fact. But I’m always unnerved by how easily people objectify models and feel entitled to make unforgiving comments about them that they’d never say of non-models. It’s sad, but these girls will have to brace themselves for such remarks in the future. I couldn’t have dealt with it at 14 when I barely had enough self-confidence to fill a tea cup. Though I did have a waist, but hey that’s beside the point. It’s a tough world and I wish them the best.

The interview I never forgot

Sat, 05 Nov 2011 11:08:00 -0400

She was a gorgeous Japanese lady who mysteriously vanished after her story was published three months later.

The only proof I’d met her? Her collection of prized cosmetics still lies untouched on my desk.

It was November 2010 and I was preparing for my first ever “real woman” shoot - that is, a photoshoot-cum-interview involving regular women. Ie: not celebrities.

This was for a story about expatriate women in Singapore and their beauty regimens. It was one of those nosy, “oh-where-does-she-get-her-hair-done”-type stories. Sounds simple. The catch was I had to photograph my interviewees.

Here’s a secret: while I adore looking at beautiful photo spreads in magazines, these are precisely the stories I fear doing the most because the coordination is a nightmare. Once you’ve convinced someone to be photographed for a national magazine (tough, especially with camera-shy Singaporeans!), there’s the whole rigmarole of scheduling the shoot and finding a venue that will host you - for free.

For this shoot, I had to regrettably turn down a renowned five-star hotel. Why? Because they insisted that we include their restaurant’s high-tea menu in the photograph! Can you imagine? In the photo, there’d be a cheerful-looking woman reclining on a sofa, presumably chatting about the best spas she’s been to - and bam! Mini crumpets and macarons in the foreground. Um, no thanks.

So anyway. I’d gotten all my interviews settled, but there was a last minute glitch. One of the women was dropped from the story and I had to find a replacement within three days. This was the first time I was coordinating a photo-shoot involving four women over two days so needless to say, I hyperventilated.

I made frantic cold calls, trying to convince expat women I’d never met to tell me where they shopped for body masks. Yes, it was weird. But eventually one of them agreed to meet me at a hotel restaurant for a chat.

She turned out to be a dream interviewee. Not that it matters greatly (okay, it does somewhat), but she was beautiful. A former air stewardess, she strode into the hotel wearing a smart-looking cream sheath dress and nude pumps. She was two-months pregnant and while the bump wasn’t visible, I’m betting it accounted for her glow. I looked at her and thought: “Wow, she’s our opening picture”.

More importantly, she had a fabulous personality, cheerful, patient and helpful to a fault. Before our meet-up, I’d told her to prepare a list of all the beauty products and services she used. She didn’t just do that - she went the whole damn hog.

As she greeted me carrying only a tiny purse, I joked about what a light traveller she was. At this, she smiled, snapped her fingers at the bell-boy and told him to bring over her “luggage”. He promptly wheeled over a Samsonite which unzipped to reveal bottles upon bottles of her beauty products! Lancome, Guerlain, Sisley, Cle de peau beaute…you name it. She meticulously laid them all out on the table, while I watched slack-jawed, and proceeded to give a lecture on her nightly skincare ritual. I wanted to kiss her there and then.

At one point, she actually pressed some of her expensive creams into my hands, urging me to photograph them in my studio if I needed to - it was incredible. I’d never met an interviewee who was so eager and not in an irritating, self-promoting way.

I didn’t take the products but went back with 75-minutes worth of dialogue (she had a very detailed regimen) and a stack of name cards containing the numbers of her facialist, masseuse and hairdresser.

A week later at the photoshoot, she handed me a paper bag containing brand new face creams, a lip balm and blotting paper. They were all from a traditional beauty brand sold only in Japan. I was stunned by her generosity.

The story was published three months later and of the four women I’d interviewed, my art team selected her photograph as the opening picture. She looked amazing. I immediately called her up to tell her the magazine was out, but she never picked up her phone. I texted and emailed her several times over the next few weeks, asking if she would like me to send her a copy of the magazine. No response. She’d disappeared.

A year later, I haven’t heard from her. I still have her bag of stuff which remains untouched. It’s gathering dust on my desk but I refuse to junk it. I’m treating it as if it’s “on loan”, and I intend to return it to her once she shows up again.

It sounds corny but sometimes I think she’s an angel who appeared just when I needed her most. I met her at a stressful period when I was still relatively “raw” as a writer, and everything was one huge, confusing blur at work.

At times like that, you’re grateful for people who believe in your stories and show such support. I still remember wringing her hand, thanking her profusely after the interview. She waved it off, smiling and said: “I know your job isn’t easy so I just wanted to make things a little easier for you.”

So Haruka, if you’re out there, from the bottom of my heart, thank you once more.

Inspired: Fantasy Halloween costume made out of yarn. By Max...

Tue, 01 Nov 2011 12:32:00 -0400

Inspired: Fantasy Halloween costume made out of yarn. By Max Osterweis and Erin Beatty of Suno for T magazine.

Full story here.

"I couldn’t get any work in Japan because I was too tall, tanned and my features were too..."

Mon, 31 Oct 2011 12:58:00 -0400

“I couldn’t get any work in Japan because I was too tall, tanned and my features were too “Caucasian”. A casting agent once told me, “Well you’d get work…if they were doing a remake of Godzilla…””

- An English model I spoke to, blessed with a wonderful sense of humour.

The Secret World of Haute Couture (2007), directed by Margy...

Mon, 31 Oct 2011 12:49:00 -0400

The Secret World of Haute Couture (2007), directed by Margy Kinmonth. A great documentary I recently discovered. The title says it all.

Where's my fantasy storeroom?

Mon, 31 Oct 2011 12:22:00 -0400

The most common question I get about my job is: “So is there a storeroom full of awesome clothes and shoes?”

They’ve obviously watched The Devil Wears Prada - y’know the scene where Stanley Tucci leads Anne Hathaway through this super-sized walk-in closet, flings some Dior at her before muttering “Mmm…Chanel, you’re in desperate need of Chanel.”

I’ve always found this funny because as a junior beauty writer, I used to spend weeks in one such storeroom, itemising the hundreds of products we receive at the magazine. It was pretty humdrum work, and I used to put the radio from my iPhone on speaker while working. The storeroom’s located at the back of the office. You literally could get lost in there and no one would know until they opened the door and found your body impaled on a stray clothes hanger or something.

So, yes, there is a storeroom. And sometimes you’ll find a rack of designer labels in there. But that’s where the similarities end and Hollywood embellishment begins.

Firstly, ours actually resembles a real storeroom. A pokey space with cluttered shelves and an odd assortment of items - nearly-expired face creams, a mess of shopping bags and dusty champagne bottles from God-knows-which-photoshoot. Certainly not a gleaming, well-curated fashion library where you can breezily check out a pair of Louboutins.

Do we get to keep the clothes? No. If they’re for a photoshoot, they’re on loan. Once the model’s stripped off the last piece of garment, they’re packed up and returned to the boutiques - and if there’s a stain or tear, we foot the bill.

The only free piece of clothing I’ve gotten was a plain black t-shirt from an indie Haji Lane outlet. The owner was in a generous mood. (I still have the tee. It’s very comfy).

But people still look skeptical after I’ve explained this - “Really? You don’t get to keep anything? Or even ‘borrow’ it for a party?” Listening to them, you’d think brands were throwing Chanel purses at us left, right and centre.

I put it down to two things: one, people give the industry more glam brownie points than it deserves - sure, there’s the glam, but there’s also the mundane as with any job.

Two, people really just want to believe that somewhere out there, a fantasy walk-in wardrobe really exists - a portal to a happy, shiny world of make-believe and dress up. Where the people are photoshop beautiful and Madonna’s “Vogue” plays in the background.

Didn’t you cry when you found out Santa Claus wasn’t real?

"And that scene where Meryl Streep’s character throws her coat and handbag on the table? A real..."

Sun, 30 Oct 2011 12:59:00 -0400

““And that scene where Meryl Streep’s character throws her coat and handbag on the table? A real editor wouldn’t do that - she wouldn’t have any stuff to throw.””

- A real editor. Who shall remain anonymous.

At eight, I fell in love with the glossy, shiny pages of my...

Sun, 30 Oct 2011 12:35:00 -0400

At eight, I fell in love with the glossy, shiny pages of my mother’s magazines. I devoured all the stories and beautiful photographs printed on the faintly scented paper (yes, it had a distinct scent!).

I even carefully teared out the colourful ads and filed them away. Just to admire.

But I never imagined I’d write for one such magazine, almost 14 years later.