Newsmakers

Amanda is a bundle of energy, with bright eyes and a sharp, witty tongue. A mother of four active kids and wife to Mark Chua from our first Style shoot, Amanda is also the managing director of Aptus Associates. Her life is driven by her work and the people around her, but she still has time to make sure she looks impeccable for the day. “My mom is quite inspiring, because till today she’s immaculately dressed.” This has inspired her to continue to dress up and make the effort to look good. “When you look good in the morning, you’ll feel good as well.” She’s a big family person. “I’ve always imagined having a big family… I need family around me. We’re a family that likes to celebrate everything.” There’s a party for every celebration possible in the year and sometimes they even have parties to recover from parties. “We had a party once and the next day we held a recovery party for everyone at that party.” Filling her home with life and laughter is especially important for Amanda. “I think what helps (with age) is being happy and surrounded by people. I was an introvert when I was younger but I’ve grown into an extrovert now.”

On ageing

“I don’t fear it,” she says with utter conviction. Age doesn’t faze Amanda at all. “I think I’m more confident now than I ever was in the past. At 48, I feel like I’m at my peak. I look back at my photos and back then, I was at a stage where I was nervous and insecure. I’ve reached a point where I feel the best at my age. I’m just enjoying this time.” Amanda is so comfortable in her skin, with her job and her kids and large family, she wouldn’t go back in time. Age has given her the time to find her footing. While some people would look back and dream of glory days, these are her glory days. In school and university, she was still finding herself, still exploring. “I feel like one should age gracefully and fully embrace their imperfections,” taking the reins of life with poise. Asians don’t raisin, the Asian equivalent of not ageing is trending on Twitter thanks to the recent 10-Year Challenge and Amanda concurs: “I think Asians have the benefit of ageing better than Europeans. I’m lucky, I think I got more of my mum’s genes.”

On other people ageing

“We have different sets of friends − our holiday family friends, party friends, work friends. Some have aged more than others… I like being with energetic, positive people all the time.” It’s not just the fact that she loves being around people but that good energy feeds more good energy. “I can tell you a lot of my friends are in their 50s and they’re all gorgeous. They maintain themselves so well… I have a friend that’s in her 50s and every Friday night is date night, they go trekking, their sons want to hang out with them, even their sons’ friends want to hang out with them.” It’s not just a way to stay young but also how they maintain a good relationship with their kids, making sure they’re safe by staying up to date with what the younger generation is doing.

Watch the full video of our March 2019 cover ladies dazzling in style

On men and age

“I think there are a lot more expectations for women. Men can go grey and wrinkled but still look good, like Sean Connery and George Clooney, these guys still look good. For women, there’s a lot more effort to look good. You have to make the effort to dress up and age gracefully. There’s a lot more work for us than those guys.” There’s a lot more forgiveness given to men ageing than there is for women. “My husband is six months younger than me but he looks older than me. So I’m fine,” she says with a laugh. “But for Mark, he’s grey now, but he’s hotter now than he was in his 30s. I just love the Clooney look. Men when they age, they’re actually more attractive and more marketable. It’s also a challenge for me to keep up with that.”

Where are you now

“Well, I had imagined my life to be the way it is, with kids, family and husband, the whole set-up. I never imagined that I would be running my own business. That was a huge step for me. It’s still around… we’ve survived the five-year mark… things worked out better than I had expected. I’m in a really good place now.”

Related: Cilla Foong’s Secret To Maintaining Her Youthful Looks