By Lorna Tan, Senior Correspondent

Dr Georgia Lee, founder of aesthetics clinic TLC Medical Centre, is set to expand her decade-long business.

In May, the aesthetics doctor soft-launched a new skincare range under her own name on the Internet.

Last month, she opened a 500 sq ft concept retail store, dr georgialee, in Biopolis, carrying her range of skincare products. They will be available in retail stores here and in the region next year.

'I hope to grow my skincare range into a regional brand and to eventually have my products carried by our very famous Singapore brand, SIA,' said the 40-year-old.

Her new skincare products use mainly gingko nut leaf extract, which boasts an antioxidant level 50 times that of vitamin C, she said. It took six years of planning and a 'high six-figure' investment so far to get her project going.

During this time, she made trips to Japan, where the products are manufactured, to meet the chemist and for product testing and packaging.

Meanwhile, besides health screenings, her Holland Village clinic offers services like Botox fillers, IPL (Intense Pulsed Light) treatments and ultrasound facelifts.

She said she upgrades her medical devices every year to stay on top of the game. She spends $300,000 to $500,000 annually on such devices alone.

Dr Lee received her medical degree from the National University of Singapore in 1993, after which she served her five-year bond at Singapore General Hospital and National University Hospital.

She then plunged into the increasingly popular aesthetics business. She had taken a diploma course in dermatology while serving out her bond.

She is married to anaesthetist Pierre Christian Ipyam, 50, a Mauritian-born Chinese. They have two sons, Georges Christophe, 13, and Pierre Gregory, 10.