SINGAPORE/HANOI (VNExpress): Chinese actress Fan Bingbing says Singaporean women strike her as highly disciplined and in better shape than their Chinese counterparts.

"Compared with Chinese women, they’re healthier. They go to the gym more and eat more cleanly," she tells The Straits Times on Saturday, after greeting fans at Jewel Changi Airport during the launch of her beauty label, Fan Beauty Diary, at health and beauty retailer Watsons.

The 44-year-old star is a regular visitor to South-East Asia. She serves as a tourism ambassador for Melaka, an ancient town in Malaysia. She also enjoys spending holidays and meeting friends in Singapore, she says in Mandarin.

"I usually go shopping because the shops here are made up so beautifully and, especially during Christmas and New Year, Orchard Road becomes even prettier. Every time I’m here, it really feels like a vacation and everyone’s happy."

Singapore is the second overseas market, after Malaysia, where Fan Beauty Diary has a physical retail presence. The move followed the brand’s success in Malaysia and was a natural progression.

"Singapore and Malaysia are so close and there are also a lot of Chinese people here, whether as tourists or residents," Fan says.

"In Singapore, you’ll feel everything is so expensive, even a bun. But its quality is very good and the food is very good. It’s a garden city so everywhere you go, it shows up well in pictures," she says.

Addressing beauty routines in the tropics, Fan says she adjusts her skincare to suit Southeast Asia’s heat and humidity. Sunscreen, she notes, is always essential for her.

Even if Singaporean girls do not care about getting tanned, they should consider sun repair skincare routine such as using face masks, she adds.

Beyond regional differences in beauty ideals, Chinese beauty products – known as C-beauty – are gaining traction globally. Brands such as Judydoll and Joocyee opened their first standalone stores in Singapore in 2025.

While Korean beauty (K-beauty) has long dominated the market, she says there are now more high-quality Chinese alternatives.

She attributes K-beauty’s strength to its packaging and visual appeal, while C-beauty focuses more on ingredients and formulations.

"Whether it’s in the Singapore or the Southeast Asian market, C-beauty has a good chance of taking off," she says.

Fan founded Fan Beauty Diary in 2018, joining a growing list of celebrities such as Rihanna and Kylie Jenner who have expanded into the beauty industry.

Although she has not appeared in a mainstream Chinese production since her 2018 tax scandal, she has returned to acting and won the Golden Horse award for Best Actress in November 2025 for her role in Malaysian film Mother Bhumi (2025).

Balancing acting and entrepreneurship, she says, comes down to managing time.

"When I’m not filming, I’m usually working on my brand. I’ll be thinking of products, testing them and promoting them, so I do spend quite a bit of time on my brand." -- VNExpress