Brenda Tan (Singapore YouTuber)

Brenda Tan (born 3 January 1996) is a YouTuber, content creator and social media influencer. She is also the founder of Go Margaux, an online jewellery store.[1][2] As of January 2021, she has over 52,000 subscribers on YouTube and over 17,000 followers on Instagram.

Brenda Tan
Brenda Tan (2).jpg
Born3 January 1996
EducationBachelor of Arts (Theatre Studies)
Alma materNational University of Singapore

Background

Family

Brenda Tan was born on 3 January 1996.[3] 

Education

From 2013 to 2014, Brenda Tan studied at Anglo Chinese Junior College (ACJC) where she obtained her GCE Advanced (‘A’) Level certificate.[4] From 2015 to 2018, Brenda studied at the National University of Singapore (NUS) where she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Theatre Studies.[4][1]

As part of an exchange programme in her final year of university, Brenda attended New York University (NYU) in New York City where she studied film and television.[4]

Personal life

In a June 2020 video that she uploaded, Brenda Tan had said that she identifies as pansexual or bisexual and uses the pronouns she/her.[5] Regarding her sexuality, she said:

“It’s become a little more difficult to talk about my identity because first of all, people want me to prove it, people don’t believe it or people think I’m just trying to use that to seem cool, edgy (or) hipster but in a different way, because I obviously don’t look queer.”[5]

Earlier career

Prior to being a full-time content creator, Brenda Tan was a teaching assistant at her alma mater ACJC from January 2015 to April 2015.[4]

Career

As of January 2021, Brenda Tan is a YouTube content creator where she runs her own channel and regularly uploads videos.[4] She is also the founder of online jewellery store Go Margaux, which she started whilst schooling overseas in NYU.[6]

 
Brenda Tan's double eyelid surgery video.

YouTube (June 2015 to current)

Since June 2015, Brenda Tan has been a YouTube content creator where she uploads content ranging from skincare, food to off-the-wall topics.[4] In a feature by Youth.SG, she elaborated on her beginnings as a content creator, saying:

“I had always considered doing YouTube since my blogging days in 2010. I enjoy creating and sharing my ideas and thoughts with people. When I turned 18, I felt confident enough to present myself in front of the camera, so I made the switch to YouTube. It was a very easy switch because I have always expressed myself better (in front of the camera).”[7]

As of January 2021, Brenda’s videos have garnered over six million views in total.[8] Currently, her most viewed video is the “In-Depth The Ordinary Review” skincare review video, which has over 402,000 views.[9] Brenda Tan’s YouTube channel first gained traction in 2015 due to her “Double Eyelid Surgery” recovery video, where she shared her experience going through the surgery and also the recovery process.[10] In a 2019 interview with women’s magazine Her World, Brenda said the following about the video:

“It was the video on double-eyelid surgery recovery that really kick-started my channel. People were really interested in the topic and I thought it would be great to share it in an informative and educational way because so many people get it done but so few talk about it.”[11]

As of August 2020, Brenda Tan is also the founder and host of the Growing Pains podcast, a series where she discusses topics such as financial issues and online dating.[12][13][14]

Go Margaux (February 2018 to current)

In February 2018, Brenda Tan founded Go Margaux, an online jewellery shop.[6][15] Go Margaux was started while Brenda was still studying at NYU in New York, where Brenda explored thrift stores for vintage deadstock jewellery.[6] Deadstock items typically refer to items that were removed from sale and have never been sold.[16]

In a 2019 interview with Lifestyle Guide, Brenda was quoted as having said the following about Go Margaux:

“On top of keeping (the jewellery) wallet-friendly, we also take extra care to package our items in sustainable and recycled materials, because we just don’t feel comfortable doing otherwise. To me, that’s how fashion should be – precious, exciting and nothing but feel-good fulfilling. I wanted to shop at a store exactly like it, and I couldn’t find it in Singapore, so I made it happen.”[6]

As of January 2021, Go Margaux is led by Brenda Tan and her business partner Anjelica.[2]

Media features

Brenda Tan has been featured by several media publications over the years. The following is a list of features Brenda Tan has appeared in.

Year Publication References
2021 Channel News Asia [17]
2019 Youth.SG [7]
Her World [11]
2018 The New Paper [18]
Weekender Singapore [19]

Citations / References

  1. 1.0 1.1 Erwin., Riana, Ria., Zulaikha, Siti., Lai, Shueh Yuan. “Brenda Tan: Young & Ambitious”. The UrbanWire. February 24, 2020. Accessed 21 January, 2021.
  2. 2.0 2.1 About”. Go Margaux. n.d. Accessed 21 January, 2021.
  3. Brenda Tan. “MY BEST FRIEND CONTROLS MY BIRTHDAY”. YouTube. January 6, 2019. Accessed 21 January, 2021.
  4. 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 Brenda Tan. LinkedIn. n.d. Accessed 21 January, 2021. Retrieved from https://www.linkedin.com/in/brenda-tan-7a01a1140/?originalSubdomain=sg
  5. 5.0 5.1 Brenda Tan. “I'M QUEER AF... why it took me so long to come out”. YouTube. June 7, 2020. Accessed 21 January, 2021.
  6. 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 Koh, Alvina. “Fashion Made for The People: 4 Singaporean Entrepreneurs Share Their Journey On Crafting Their Own Fashion Labels”. Lifestyle Guide. June 18, 2019. Accessed 21 January, 2021.
  7. 7.0 7.1 Foo, Nadia Ilyana. “Being a YouTuber in Singapore”. Youth.SG. July 1, 2019. Accessed 25 January, 2021.
  8. Brenda Tan. “About”. YouTube. n.d. Accessed 21 January, 2021.
  9. Brenda Tan. “In-Depth The Ordinary Review | Buffet, Niacinamide, Retinoids & Vitamin C”. YouTube. September 22, 2017. Accessed 21 January, 2021.
  10. Brenda Tan. “Double Eyelid Surgery • Watch Me Recover!”. YouTube. June 12, 2015. Accessed 29 January, 2021.
  11. 11.0 11.1 YouTuber Channel: Brenda Tan (@wordweed)”. Her World. October 1, 2019. Accessed 25 January, 2021. Retrieved from PressReader.
  12. Brenda Tan. “EP 1: MOVING OUT | GROWING PAINS”. YouTube. August 21, 2020. Accessed 25 January, 2021.
  13. Brenda Tan. “EP 4: MONEY | GROWING PAINS”. YouTube. December 20, 2020. Accessed 21 January, 2021.
  14. Brenda Tan. “EP 2: ONLINE DATING | GROWING PAINS”. YouTube. September 4, 2020. Accessed 21 January, 2021.
  15. gomargaux. Instagram. February 4, 2018. Accessed 21 January, 2021. Retrieved from https://www.instagram.com/p/BexvgNSHIfX/
  16. Stilwell, Elizabeth. “An Industry Insider Takes the Shine Off Fast Fashion Jewelry Production”. Selva Beat. June 26, 2018. Accessed 25 January, 2021.
  17. The one hair tool to rule them all: Dry, curl, smooth and straighten. Bonus: Extreme heat not required”. Channel News Asia. January 8, 2021. Accessed 25 January, 2021.
  18. Hamzah, Aqil., Huang, Runchen. “Local blogger stands up against cyber sexual harassment of women”. The New Paper. June 4, 2018. Accessed 25 January, 2021.
  19. Wu, Xueting. “8 Awesome Singaporean YouTubers You Should Watch Now”. Weekender Singapore. November 30, 2018. Accessed 25 January, 2021.