Celebrity blogger and model Peggy Heng went shopping on her first trip to Seoul in South Korea on Sunday - just a day after she had cosmetic surgery.
And she is blithely unconcerned that her face was covered in bandages.
Hours before she flew to Seoul just after midnight last Friday, she had told The New Paper: "It's quite common to see people with surgical bandages on their eyes or nose in the shopping streets of Seoul."
Which is to say that cosmetic surgery is so common over there that people hardly bat an eyelid, or perhaps a double eyelid, at passers-by swathed in bandages.
Beneath the bandages is one happy Singaporean - Miss Heng has just fulfilled both her dreams at one go.
The first is the trip to Seoul - a birthday present from a friend. Miss Heng turned 23 in May. The second is a fully-sponsored procedure on her face by Item Clinic, a top cosmetic surgery clinic in Seoul.
Among its clients are aspiring Korean stars and popular girl bands, but Item Clinic's regional marketing manager, Miss Elaine Teo, declined to name them because of doctor-patient confidentiality.
For Miss Heng, having the cosmetic surgery is a boost to her confidence.
She said: "Knowing their track record and given that this surgery is sponsored, I'm sure they'd do a good job since I am going to be their ambassador."
Miss Teo, 37, who handles marketing and consultation for the clinic in Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia, said Miss Heng had clinched the deal after she approached the Singapore office. She added: "We wanted a virgin face, someone who is natural.
"Peggy is a very good candidate because except for fillers done on her nose, which is an aesthetic procedure, she has not gone under the knife."
The estimated cost of sponsorship for the operation is about 16 million won (S$17,500). (See report below.)
As Item Clinic's ambassador, Miss Heng is expected to blog about her experience and share any updates for the next five years.
But why go public?
She said: "Plastic surgery is really very common these days even though not everyone will be happy to announce it.
"Many tend to pretend that they went off for a holiday and suddenly they come back looking good and refreshed.
"It's human nature to constantly seek perfection. I have one life only.
"Most importantly, I want to live for myself - to do this for my own happiness. And that means I will not be affected by what others think, or say, of me."
The six-hour procedure took place last Saturday, hours after she touched down in Seoul.
By 8pm, she had sent this reporter a message: "Hello hello. I power. Done."
And she was already making plans to have dinner and go shopping.
Read the full story here.
