A sentence that became a shadow

Close your eyes for a moment. Think of a sentence that wounded you — a doubt that never left your bones, a part of you you learned to hide. I carried that weight too.

Long before Leo’s Style and SILERINÀ existed, I was a small village girl from Johor. My curved spine, uneven teeth, and dark moles on my face made me feel “different” — and when I overheard a comment about my looks, it planted a belief I didn’t know how to shake.

To an adult, it may have sounded casual. To a little girl, it felt like a verdict. I began to see myself through that lens: flawed, less than, undeserving of being seen. So I learned to hide — behind loose clothing, lowered gazes, and the quiet art of making myself small.

The long shadow of insecurity

As other girls blossomed into their beauty, I folded myself into shadows. Scoliosis shaped my body; shame shaped my self-worth. Insecurity didn’t arrive overnight — it layered itself gently across the years, until it felt normal to doubt my reflection.

But life, in its painful grace, kept whispering the same message: Rise. Not loudly. Not dramatically. Just — rise.

When my heart broke, my awakening began

At 21, I experienced my first great love — and my first great heartbreak. It shattered me in a way that made me think I would never feel whole again. But pain is strange: it breaks you, and it breaks you open.

With trembling bravery, I started my first business — a tiny café. It closed soon after, but it left me with a new knowing: I can rebuild my life.

So at 26, I left my hometown and moved to Singapore alone. Not with certainty — but with a stubborn hope that life still had more for me.

The quiet work of becoming

By day, I worked a modest admin job. By night, I devoured books on healing, confidence, and self-worth. I didn’t know it then, but I was starting the hardest, holiest journey of my life: unlearning self-hate and re-learning how to love myself.

I enrolled in beauty night school — not to chase glamour, but to mend my relationship with my body. At first, it was deeply personal. Then it grew into something bigger: I realised what I was learning could help other women feel beautiful again too.

Later, I opened a beauty salon with a friend and kept learning — skin, posture, wellness, body language, presence. Looking back, I understand now: I wasn’t just helping others. I was reconstructing myself.

The crown that returned my voice

In 2016, I made a decision that scared me: to enter the Mrs Singapore International Pageant. I was 44 — a woman who used to hide — and yet something within me insisted: Go.

When the crown of Mrs Singapore Asia Pacific was placed on my head, I didn’t just win a title. I reclaimed the narrative of my life. The old sentence that haunted my childhood lost its power. I was no longer the girl who hid. I was a woman who had walked through the dark and found her own light.

Life will test you again

After that peak came valleys: business pressure, financial struggles, two years spent repaying every dollar in silence. In 2017, I walked through depression and anxiety. In 2019, a health check discovered a breast tumour. It was found early — and I went through surgeries and radiotherapy.

When the world stopped, my purpose awakened

During the pandemic, the world froze — but my calling did not. I started livestreaming and hosted 100+ interview shows. Each conversation reminded me: I was no longer afraid to be seen — I had become a woman who helps others be seen.

That’s the heart behind Leo’s Style today: not just fashion or beauty — but a space where women can return to themselves, feel supported, and remember they’re allowed to glow again.

SILERINÀ — where a woman’s awakening begins within

SILERINÀ was born from a truth I learned the hard way: transformation doesn’t begin on the face. It begins deep within — in the parts of ourselves we’ve silenced, hidden, or forgotten.

It is more than feminine care. It is a ritual of return — a gentle spark that reminds you: You are worthy. You are powerful. You can glow again.