Saffron Sharpe

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Saffron Sharpe is a Singaporean lifestyle social media influencer and YouTuber (YouTube channel). As of 2019, she has more than 170,000 followers on Instagram (Instagram profile) and more than 19,000 subscribers on her YouTube channel. She is also one of the four hosts for the YouTube talk show 'Real Talk' by Millennials of Singapore.

Saffron Sharpe
Saffron Sharpe profile.jpg
Born7 February 1997
Hong Kong
EducationCHIJ Toa Payoh (Secondary), Catholic Junior College, Goldsmiths, University of London (Bachelor of Media and Communications)
RelativesSerene Chiu (mother)
Websitehttp://saffronsharpe.co/
Saffron (right) and her mother, Serene Chiu, (left) who had raised her single-handedly from young. Photo from Saffron Sharpe.
The thumbnail for Saffron's travel vlog to Cebu, Philippines in partnership with CheapTickets.sg.
Saffron with Dee Kosh (left) and Keiji (right) during The Great Fiji Challenge. Photo from Tourism Fiji YouTube.

Background

Saffron's parents separated when she was one and a half years old and her mother, Serene Chiu, had raised her ever since.[1] At 15 years old, she set up a personal blog although she had since moved on to creating video content on YouTube. In a 2019 interview, Saffron and Serene recollected the struggles and successes that they had faced as an unconventional mother-daughter family nucleus.[2] As of March 2019, Saffron charges S$1,500 for an Instagram post and S$500 for an Instagram story, earning as much as S$80,000 to S$90,000 a year.[3]

Education

Saffron was from CHIJ Toa Payoh. After her 'O' Levels, she entered the Humanities stream at Catholic Junior College in 2014 where she was also a student councillor.[4] When she graduated in 2015, the college publicly commended her for her outstanding 'A' Level results on their website.[5] Before starting her university education, Saffron decided to take a gap year in 2016.[6]


She got accepted into Singapore Management University (SMU) where she studied business for a year.[7] In a '2018 recap' vlog (YouTube video), Saffron announced that she had withdrawn from SMU. She had been accepted into Goldsmiths, University of London, majoring in Media and Communications.[8]  

Career highlights

Real Talk (March 2018 - Present)

Saffron is one of the hosts for the YouTube series “Real Talk”. Working alongside her as co-stars are Jade Rasif, Johnathan Chua and Dew. ‘Real Talk’ covers issues ranging from smoking to unplanned pregnancy in an uncensored and transparent manner. In the show, the four hosts discuss these issues while providing their opinions and personal anecdotes.

YouTube (2014 - Present)

Saffron's first few videos on YouTube in 2014 and 2015 were mostly travel videos and beauty routines. She started uploading frequently in 2016 and expanded her channel to include fitness routines, lookbooks, makeup tutorials and personal vlogs (YouTube Channel). In May 2017, she uploaded '20 facts about me #saffvlogs | Saffron Sharpe' where she shared personal details of herself and her life with the audience (YouTube video). As of 2019, it is the highest viewed video on her channel with 115,000 views.[9]


Saffron has worked with many notable fashion, lifestyle and beauty brands such as L’Oreal, Grab, Uniqlo, Dove, Biore, Adidas, CheapTickets, Zalora and AirAsia.[10] In 2017, she was one of the three Singaporean YouTubers who had been sent to Fiji. In collaboration with Tourism Fiji, Saffron, Keiji Umehara and Dee Kosh participated in 'The Great Fiji Challenge' - a 6-episode series comprising of challenges such as creating cocktails,[11] stand-up paddling,[12] and sky-diving.[13]


In May 2018, she had been sent to Cebu, Philippines by CheapTickets to film a travel vlog.[14] The vlog featured her experiencing the itinerary planned by CheapTickets. Activities included canyoneering, engaging in outdoor adventure sports and savouring the local delicacies (YouTube video). As of April 2019, the video has received more than 24,000 views on YouTube and is also featured on the CheapTickets website.[15]


Saffron has also worked with other Singaporean YouTube personalities such as Eden Ang (YouTube video) and channels like ZULA, a female-centric sister site of TheSmartLocal. In February 2019, she collaborated with ZULA and was featured in the first episode of a new series called 'ZULA Beauty Profiles' (YouTube video).

TNP New Face 2013

At 16 years old, Saffron participated in the 2013 The New Paper New Face competition (official website). TNP New Face is an annual beauty pageant organised by The New Paper and presented by Subaru. Winners of the competition are awarded up to SGD$10,000 in cash.[16]


Saffron Sharpe had been shortlisted as a Top 20 finalist and was in the running for the pageant's 'Miss Popularity' title.[17] Other Singaporean influencers such as Jade Rasif and Nicole Choo have also had their own experiences in TNP New Face.

'Fashion police' video controversy (2016)

In June 2016, Saffron was featured in a promotional video for Toggle’s web series, 'Double Trouble'. In the video, the camera crew had secretly filmed passersby at Orchard Road while Saffron made critical remarks about their dressing. The faces of the passersby were censored to protect their identities.[18]


Saffron’s comments provoked backlash from netizens, causing the video to be removed by Toggle who also released an official apology.[19] In a statement given to The New Paper, Saffron commented that she had felt unsure and uncomfortable with the idea but chose to continue with the filming. She also mentioned that she had been directed by Miss Ang, founder of thinkBIG Communications, on whom to comment on and on what to say.[20]


However, a representative of thinkBIG Communications refuted Saffron's claims, claiming that everyone involved in the shoot had been informed of the content beforehand and they would not have continued filming if anyone had voiced out their discomfort.[21]

References / Citations

  1. Tan, Guan. "Meet Saffron Sharpe & Her Inspiring Single Mother, Serene Chiu". ELLE Singapore. March 15, 2019. Accessed on 22 April 2019. Retrieved from: https://www.elle.sg/meet-saffron-sharpe-her-inspiring-single-mother-serene-chiu/
  2. Tan, Guan. "Meet Saffron Sharpe & Her Inspiring Single Mother, Serene Chiu". ELLE Singapore. March 15, 2019. Accessed on 22 April 2019. Retrieved from: https://www.elle.sg/meet-saffron-sharpe-her-inspiring-single-mother-serene-chiu/
  3. Toh, Wen Li. "A day in life of an influencer: 'I don't want to be some irrelevant blogger still trying to make it in my late 20s'". The Straits Times. April 13, 2019. Accessed on 22 April 2019. Retrieved from: https://www.straitstimes.com/lifestyle/a-day-in-the-life-of-an-influencer-i-dont-want-to-be-some-irrelevant-blogger-still-trying
  4. Catholic Junior College. “2015 GCE ‘A’ Level Results. March 4, 2016. Accessed on 6 March 2019. Retrieved from: https://cjc.moe.edu.sg/cjc/news/2015-gce-a-level-results
  5. Catholic Junior College. “2015 GCE ‘A’ Level Results. March 4, 2016. Accessed on 6 March 2019. Retrieved from: https://cjc.moe.edu.sg/cjc/news/2015-gce-a-level-results
  6. Saffron Sharpe. “20 facts about me #saffvlogs | Saffron Sharpe”. May 31, 2017. Accessed on 6 March 2019. Youtube. Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PieFd0hR2OI
  7. Toh, Wen Li. "A day in life of an influencer: 'I don't want to be some irrelevant blogger still trying to make it in my late 20s'". The Straits Times. April 13, 2019. Accessed on 22 April 2019. Retrieved from: https://www.straitstimes.com/lifestyle/a-day-in-the-life-of-an-influencer-i-dont-want-to-be-some-irrelevant-blogger-still-trying
  8. Saffron Sharpe. “2018 recap”. YouTube. February 4, 2019. Accessed on 6 March 2019. Youtube. Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rnk3ho8XqB4
  9. Saffron Sharpe. “20 facts about me #saffvlogs | Saffron Sharpe”. YouTube. May 31, 2017. Accessed on 6 March 2019. Youtube. Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PieFd0hR2OI
  10. Tay, Vivienne. “Now following: Saffron Sharpe”. Marketing. June 22, 2017. Accessed on 7 March 2019. Retrieved from: https://www.marketing-interactive.com/now-following-saffron-sharpe/
  11. Tourism Fiji. “The Great Fiji Challenge - Episode #5 - Find the Flavours of Fiji”. November 3, 2017. Accessed on 7 March 2019. Youtube. Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aH04qpqvyec
  12. Tourism Fiji. “The Great Fiji Challenge - Episode #4 - Paddle to the Medal”. November 3, 2017. Accessed on 7 March 2019. Youtube. Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v_ny6C9ShzE
  13. Tourism Fiji. “The Great Fiji Challenge - Episode #6 - Jump into Happiness”. November 3, 2017. Accessed on 7 March 2019. Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=91h4OlOH3OE
  14. CheapTickets.sg. Accessed on 7 March 2019. Retrieved from: https://www.cheaptickets.sg/travel/philippines
  15. CheapTickets.sg. Accessed on 7 March 2019. Retrieved from: https://www.cheaptickets.sg/travel/philippines
  16. "About the competition". TNP New Face. Accessed on 15 February 2019.Retrieved from: https://www.imsph.sg/tnpnewface/about-the-pageant/
  17. Shi, Tianyun. "VOTE FOR THE NEW PAPER NEW FACE’S MISS POPULARITY". September 24, 2013. Her World. Accessed on 22 April 2019. Retrieved from: https://www.herworld.com/fashion/vote-new-paper-new-face%E2%80%99s-miss-popularity
  18. Low, Tracy. “‘Fashion police’ video courts trouble for Toggle”. The New Paper. July 1 , 2016. Accessed on 7 March 2019. Retrieved from: https://www.tnp.sg/news/singapore/fashion-police-video-courts-trouble-toggle
  19. Low, Tracy. “Toggle Says Sorry on Facebook”. The New Paper. July 1, 2016. Accessed on 7 March 2019. Retrieved from: https://www.tnp.sg/news/singapore/fashion-police-video-courts-trouble-toggle
  20. Low, Tracy. “‘Fashion police’ video courts trouble for Toggle”. The New Paper. July 1 , 2016. Accessed on 7 March 2019. Retrieved from: https://www.tnp.sg/news/singapore/fashion-police-video-courts-trouble-toggle
  21. Low, Tracy. “Toggle Says Sorry on Facebook”. The New Paper. July 1, 2016. Accessed on 7 March 2019. Retrieved from: https://www.tnp.sg/news/singapore/fashion-police-video-courts-trouble-toggle