Isabel Tan (born 19 November 1995), also known as prettyfrowns on social media, is a Singaporean influencer. She is most active on Instagram on which she has 236,000 followers at the time of writing. Isabel has worked with brands like Dyson, Tommy Hilfiger, and Netflix.[1] As of May 2020, she is based in New York.

Isabel Tan
Isabel Tan.png
Born19 November 1995
EducationDiploma in Graphic Designing
Alma materNanyang Academy of Fine Arts
Height170 cm (5 ft 7 in)

Background

Education

Isabel pursued her diploma studies at the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts (NAFA) where she specialised in Graphic Designing.[2]

Blogging

Isabel’s blog dates back to 2013 and was meant to be her “personal diary of lifestyle, fashion and travel”.[3] Aside from that, she had used the blog as a platform for sponsorships and to advertise her modelling services.[4] Since then, Isabel has created her own website. As such, the older blog is no longer active and its posts are not available for public viewing.

Modelling competitions (2011 - 2012)

 
Isabel pictured in her 2011 Marcellie finalist feature. Photo from source.

In 2011, Isabel was voted as the winner of Marcellie's Next Top Model competition.[5] A year later, she took part in Cineleisure’s Next Online Sensation competition.[6][7] In a 2019 interview with ZULA, Isabel shared that she had been wearing makeup casually since she was 13 years old and had always loved taking photos.[8]

Influencer

 
Isabel pictured in the thumbnail of a 2018 YouTube video.

As of May 2020, Isabel has a combined reach of 246,680 across her Instagram, YouTube and Twitter accounts. A fashion and travel influencer, she revealed in a 2016 interview that she had visited over 50 destinations in that year alone.[9][10] Isabel uses her platforms to promote body positivity, frequently encouraging her followers to embrace their bodies.[11]

Isabel was featured on Episode 11 of ZULA Beautify Profiles in July 2019.

Brand representation

In 2018, Isabel shared that she has worked with at least 60 different brands in her career as an influencer.[12] The table below lists some of her notable projects.

Year Brand representation Refs.
2018 Dyson’s Air Wrap launch [13]
2017 Elizabeth Arden’s store opening [14]
2016 Givenchy’s Rouge Interdit Vinyl Lipsticks Launch [15]
Sephora [16]
For Love and Lemons [17]

Her extensive portfolio can be accessed here.

Netflix - Interviewer (2016)

 
Isabel pictured with Wagner Moura who played Pablo Escobar on Narcos. Photo from Instagram.

In 2016, Netflix engaged Isabel to interview the cast of Narcos in Bogota, Columbia.[18] In an interview with The New Paper published in March 2017, she has referred to this opportunity as the most significant project of her career thus far.[19]

MDS - Clothing line collaboration (2016)

MDS worked with Isabel to launch an exclusive clothing line in 2016.[20] The limited-edition collection featured four items - a top, skirt, dress and a jacket.[21]

Newsworthy incidents

Rimmel advertisement (2017)

In 2017, Isabel filmed an unboxing video for Rimmel London.[22] The video was uploaded to Facebook and drew flak from netizens who criticised her “fake American accent”.[23] Isabel recounted this incident about two years later, sharing that she was mostly unbothered by it and learning that it would be better for her to write a script for future projects.[24]

Gushcloud exposé (2015)

In 2015, the veteran Singaporean blogger Xiaxue wrote a two-part expose about Gushcloud - a Singapore-based influencer marketing agency. At the time, Isabel was a talent for the company. Xiaxue alleged that Gushcloud had intentionally inflated Isabel’s blog statistics on the portfolio decks that were given to clients.[25] Gushcloud refuted Xiaxue’s claims and attributed the differing numbers to the inaccuracy of Xiaxue's source.[26] There was no official response from Isabel throughout this saga.

References/ Citations

  1. PAST CLIENTS”. PRETTYFROWNS by Isabel. Accessed 14 May 2020.
  2. Contact”. Pretty Frowns. Accessed on 19 May 2020.
  3. About / FAQ”. Pretty Frowns. Accessed on 19 May 2020.
  4. Contact”. Pretty Frowns. Accessed on 19 May 2020.
  5. INTERVIEW WITH ISABEL”. Marcellie. July 19, 2011. Accessed on 19 May 2020.
  6. Cineleisure's Next Online Sensation: First Challenge”. Lovewithberries. March 25, 2012. Accessed on 14 May 2020.
  7. CINELEISURE’S NEXT ONLINE SENSATION”. LadyIronChef. March 28, 2012. Accessed on 19 May 2020.
  8. ZULA. “Isabel Tan (@prettyfrowns) | ZULA Beauty Profiles | EP 11”. YouTube. July 24, 2019. Accessed on 14 May 2020.
  9. Keng, Yang Shuen. “Dream Girls: Meet Three Of The Sexiest Instagram Stars In Singapore”. Female Singapore. February 24, 2017. Accessed on 14 May 2020.
  10. ISABEL TAN”. PRETTYFROWNS by Isabel. Accessed 14 May 2020.
  11. ISABEL TAN”. PRETTYFROWNS by Isabel. Accessed 14 May 2020.
  12. Levy, Margaux. “SINGAPORE’S TOP 10 SOCIAL MEDIA STYLE STARS”. Husskie. September 21, 2018. Accessed on 14 May 2020.
  13. Lek, Wan Lin. “It’s a Wrap!”. Popular Chips. November 2, 2018. Accessed on 19 May 2020.
  14. prettyfrowns. Instagram. May 1, 2017. Accessed on 19 May 2020. Retrieved from: https://www.instagram.com/p/BTjDKvoFA_E/
  15. #JOINTHEGANG: BLOW A KISS TO BOLDNESS WITH THE GIVENCHY ROUGE INTERDIT VINYL”. June Dujour. June 12, 2016. Accessed on 19 May 2020.
  16. SEPHORA. “Isabel (@prettyfrowns) is giving us all…”. Facebook. December 7, 2016. Accessed on 19 May 2020. Retrieved from: https://www.facebook.com/sephorasingapore/photos/isabel-prettyfrowns-is-giving-us-all-kinds-of-hair-inspo-with-her-double-top-kno/10154861477773112/
  17. forloveandlemons. Instagram. July 23, 2016. Accessed on 19 May 2020. Retrieved from: https://www.instagram.com/p/BIMC-hNDRSF/?hl=en
  18. Glamorous and gorgeous: S'pore Instagrammers scorch social media”. STOMP. March 29,2017. Accessed on 19 May 2020.
  19. Keng, Yang Shuen. “Shining bright on Instagram”. The New Paper. March 28, 2017. Accessed on 14 May 2020.
  20. MDSCollections. “Introducing prettyfrowns x mds exclusive 4-piece collection…”. Facebook. December 31, 2016. Accessed on 19 May 2020. Retrieved from: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10154151636606845&type=3&l=4c8f58a331
  21. mdscollections. Instagram. December 31, 2016. Accessed on 19 May 2020. Retrieved from: https://www.instagram.com/p/BOqoLDKg31b/?hl=en
  22. Rimmel London Singapore. “Unboxing Rimmel London with Isabel Tan…”. Facebook. February 7, 2017. Accessed on19 May 2020. Retrieved from: https://www.facebook.com/RimmelLondonSG/videos/1433158123422050
  23. Influencer gets ripped apart by netizens for cringeworthy accent in makeup ad”. Coconuts. February 13, 2017. Accessed on 14 May 2020.
  24. Prettyfrowns Shares Her Beauty Routine & How She Stays Positive In The Face Of Backlash”. ZULA. July 24, 2019. Accessed on 19 May 2020.
  25. The Big Gushcloud Exposé 2”. Xiaxue. March 15, 2014. Accessed on 19 May 2020.
  26. Yap, Jacky. “Here's Gushcloud's Official Response To Xiaxue's Allegations”. Vulcan Post. December 24, 2014. Accessed on 19 May 2020.