Minh Tu: 'I was also shocked by the change in my appearance'

The model's increasingly attractive appearance has led to suspicions of plastic surgery. Minh Tu said that even her mother "twisted" her daughter's body to check.

- Recently you appeared with a beautiful, flawless face and perfect curves. How do you react to comments that you have had plastic surgery?

- I find it normal, even completely sympathetic to them because I myself cannot help but be startled when I look back at myself five years ago. Compared to 2011, I asked myself: "Is this me?" and just sat there laughing to myself.

I didn’t suddenly become beautiful overnight. If you look at my pictures from 2011 until now, you will see that the change happened over a period of time, a “revolution” that I have been pursuing for many years. I hope that no one compares my old pictures with my current ones, then gets shocked and mentions about plastic surgery.

Minh Tu in 2012 (left) and now.

- How did the "revolution" in appearance that you mentioned take place?

- For five years, I pursued many different images, from tomboy to gentle, from skinny to curvaceous. I spent a lot of time, effort, money and even emotions with each change. Some people praised, some criticized, I was also sad, sometimes I couldn't sleep because I didn't know if I was right or wrong. Now, I feel happy to have found my own direction.

For me, finding the right makeup style and person to do it is very important. You have to find someone who is like-minded, like choosing a spouse. Don't think that just knowing a few basic steps, applying and applying will make you beautiful. Makeup can really turn an duck into a swan and vice versa. Abroad, makeup artists, in addition to learning the basic steps, are also taught drawing, color matching, facial proportions... The makeup artist plays an important role, understanding your flaws and helping you fix them.

I had to go through many different styles, gradually gaining a certain understanding and shaping the right direction. Many times I sat down to do makeup for up to three hours, just to take a photo to post on Facebook to satisfy my passion. Everything needs to be honed over time, not achieved overnight.

- What do you think about Vietnamese women's lipstick habits?

- Most women prefer white skin and light makeup tones like Korean and Thai. But you have to adjust it according to your facial features. Currently, I like sexy makeup, although two years ago, I preferred a more elegant and gentle style.

Minh Tu with two makeup styles, Korean-style transparent makeup (left) and classic makeup like actress Angelina Jolie.

- Besides makeup, how do you change your body shape?

- Unlike people who are usually concerned about losing weight to become slim, I was severely underweight. I ate a lot to gain weight from 48 kg to 58 kg and exercised to tone my body. This was a hard training process that I put a lot of effort into. I found that my "skinny" body did not match the image I was pursuing. So I had to start improving my figure.

Don't think that if you want to lose weight, you have to fast, and if you want to gain weight, you have to eat a lot. Gaining weight but still keeping a toned body and a slim hourglass figure is a difficult problem. How to eat, how to exercise... requires research and knowing what you need, what you have in excess. In addition, you have to combine exercises to maintain weight but not have excess fat. I bury myself in the gym to run, do sit-ups, squats, go swimming...

- What does your family think about your change in appearance?

- For the past two years, I have moved out to live on my own because of work. I also work abroad frequently so I only visit my parents and two brothers every now and then.

I remember one time when I was changing clothes in my room when I came home to visit, my mother walked in and stared at me. I was a little embarrassed. My mother teased me: "Tu, you have such a beautiful figure! In the past, you were skinny and ugly like a duck, all dark, and all day long you asked me: 'Why did you give birth to me so ugly?'. See now? I told you, girls have to wait until they are old enough to grow up."

My mother was still suspicious: "Did you hide the fact that you had cosmetic surgery from me?" Then, like many people, she also touched and twisted me to see if I really had surgery.

The model believes that changing her appearance is a process, not something that happened overnight through plastic surgery. Minh Tu in 2011 (left) and 2013.

- How does a beautiful appearance help your work?

- I do not deny that my beauty brings many advantages in work as well as life. The new image helps me adapt easily to many different jobs. Therefore, my income is also more stable. I am more confident, love life more and have many better plans for my future. But the beauty on the outside is ephemeral, and will fade over time, only the beauty on the inside is eternal. To build a tall, beautiful, standard house, the first thing is to have a good foundation.

According to VNE