Humble Beginnings

Melissa was born in 1959 and lived in a small Malaysian town called Mantin located in the state of Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia. Born into poverty at a very young age, Melissa learnt what it means to be responsible as she was eldest of her three siblings. When her father accumulated huge debts in his furniture business, Melissa saw the need to earn some money for her family. She began work as a child labourer at a neighbours’ vegetable farm to harvest vegetables and weave cane baskets. Despite earning additional income, Melissa would often go home with bruised swollen hands.

“I remember when I was eight years old, my father’s furniture business was going through a rough patch and I felt it was my duty as the eldest child in the family to help supplement income.” – Melissa

“I worked at a neighbour’s vegetable farm, harvesting greens to be sold at the market, and also wove cane baskets, which was extremely painful. I remember I used to go home with bruised and numb hands.” – Melissa

Despite her struggles, Melissa was determined to fight for a better life to give her family a future.

After completing her Higher School Certificate at the age of 19, Melissa had decided to enter the working world as an administration clerk in a financial institution. During her spare time, she earned additional income from the direct selling of skincare products by selling door-to-door. When she saw how women in her hometown were struggling with their beauty and occasionally feeling depressed over their fast aging appearance, she sought ways to help them regain their self-confidence. It was there that she discovered her passion for skincare.

“I used to think that women, especially those in small towns, stopped trying to look their best after they got married. Some were aging faster than their husbands after a few rounds of pregnancies. I thought that I could help them look better and boost their confidence.” – Melissa

“I believe woman deserve to look beautiful, it is our pride!” – Melissa

Melissa was eager to learn skincare. She worked hard on the job for 3 long years before barely saving just enough money to afford for her long-awaited beauty diploma course. Over the course of her study, Melissa has excelled in learning the basics of skincare.

“Understanding beauty concepts comes naturally to me, be it theory and practical, so I was able to complete my basic beauty courses in record time.” – Melissa

Upon discovering her talent in skincare, Melissa decided to leave her stable job to pursue business in beauty. However, she was quickly discouraged by her family and friends who were sceptical of the very idea of beauty at the time. With great courage and willpower, Melissa took a leap of faith and persisted to move forward with her plans, resiliently following her dreams of beauty.