Andrea Chong 25

Top social media influencer Andrea Chong, with 288,000 Instagram followers and counting, may be famous on the Internet, but the 25-year old is a down-to-earth girl IRL.

- Celine Tan

Her IG feed is full of perfectly composed squares where she’s impeccably-dressed and flawlessly-made up, usually indulging in envy-inducing activities like frolicking with sakura blossoms in Tokyo, having breakfast in bed, or looking darn cool in a café. Her life looks picture-perfect to the point of unreal, which is perhaps why it’s refreshing that Andrea is, in fact, as normal as your JC classmate, if your JC classmate went on to become prom queen and then earn a lot of money before hitting 30.

The influential 25-year-old is one of the faces of jewellery brand Pandora’s Do campaign, which celebrates inspiring women who do things with passion. And Andrea is a do-er. It’s easy to assume that the blogger — who deferred her Literature degree at NTU five years ago ’cos she was getting so many lucrative opportunities on social media — is just a pretty face who looks great in clothes and can pose up a storm. But the galboss exercises total control over her social media presence. She conceptualises each photo, handles camera technicalities, acts as the model, stylist and make-up artist and edits every pic herself. She laughs, “I just need someone to press the button! The person is basically a human tripod!”

8 DAYS: As a top influencer, how does Pandora’s Do campaign resonate with you?

ANDREA CHONG: I’m always doing stuff — from the moment I wake up to when I sleep. I always have to be busy. I think if you’re free, you should be panicking. I don’t believe in days off. I know the millennial generation wants me-time and work-life balance, but to me, it’s like you don’t have time to have days off when you’re so young. Yes, I feel tired sometimes, but if you don’t work hard now, then when? You’re only young once. These opportunities will never come again.