From contestant to judge

SINGAPORE - The New Paper New Face 2013 will be crowned on Thursday and the winner will be picked by a panel of six judges.

The modelling competition, now in its 21st year, is presented by Subaru MotorImage and is co-sponsored by Levi's and New Look.

The judging panel this year has a strong online presence.

Influencers form half the panel, with New Face alumni-turned-celebrity bloggers Peggy Chang and Sophie Willocq and beauty and lifestyle influencer Moonberry. They will be joined by Her World editor Genevieve Jiang, The New Paper entertainment editor Jeanmarie Tan and Tan Chong International's executive director Glenn Tan.

Two of the judges speak to The New Paper.

Peggy Chang

Since Chang came in third in The New Paper New Face 2006, things have been moving only upwards and forward for her.

The 28-year-old said: "Joining New Face did help increase my (blog's) popularity."

And after the competition, she landed modelling jobs for StarHub and Sony.

She was also placed in the top five of Miss Singapore Universe a year later and attributed New Face for helping her be more assured.

She has fond memories of her New Face experience, saying: "I was lucky to have a great batch of girls (in my year). We were quite young and everyone was real, there was no backstabbing and such."

These days, Chang, better known as sixpegs in the blogosphere, has become a social media star.

Her blog, which offers her views on beauty, lifestyle and fashion, garners about 120,000 views per month, she said. She started blogging in 2007.

However, there is a new milestone in Chang's life: She is going to be the owner of a cafe called The Tiramisu Hero.

What started as a little housewarming gift for her aunt last August turned into something more special for Chang and co-owner Aileen Koh, 27, a former financial analyst.

When they received positive feedback for their tiramisu, the pair decided to set up an online shop selling customised tiramisu.

"Some said it was too sweet, or that it was too wet, so we decided to do customisation," she said.

You can also indicate your packaging and flavour preferences as well as the alcohol level in your own creation.

Five days ago, their dream of opening a physical cafe came true. The Tiramisu Hero, located at 121, Tyrwhitt Road, near Jalan Besar, cost slightly over $100,000 to set up. It will be officially opened tomorrow.

Said Chang, a civil engineering graduate from Nanyang Technological University: "There's only so much we can do online. We want to do more.

"We've always wanted to have a cafe, it's always been a dream."

The recent opening has made her schedule "very hectic", especially because neither she nor Miss Koh and are trained in F&B.

Chang also helps out at the bar, making coffee and mocktails. The cafe doesn't serve alcohol, but they are looking into doing so in the near future.

Next Thursday, she will put aside her cafe duties to take on judge duty for The New Paper New Face 2013.

She said: "It's really cool to be a judge for a competition I came from."

She added: "I'm looking for a fresh face, one that when I see it, will make me want to find out more."

Personality will figure into her final score, too.

Being bubbly and vivacious are two of the factors she will be looking out for in the girls as well.

Get The New Paper for more stories.