Why I Do What I Do: From HR Queen to Sex‑Toy Trailblazer
Meet Janice Lee, the woman who swapped a steady 14‑year HR career for a venture that would shake up the shelves of Watsons.
When a “normal” life… turns normal…out of the park
Janice wasn’t suddenly‑lost. She had a nice salary, a stable job, and a “perfect” Singaporean path. But the heart was on a different beat.
- Family reactions: “What on earth? Why quit HR for sex toys?”
- Friends: “Why not just settle down, get a fiancé, and stay in HR?”
- Own doubts: “Am I crazy? Will people even buy…”
The first steps of the new gig
When Janice first moved into the world of sex toys, she had to face a two‑fold challenge:
- Diving in head‑first – no handbook, no straightforward rules.
- Showing products at Watsons three times a week, standing amidst racks that usually sell toothpaste and deodorants.
How customers react…
Picture Janice walking up to a shopper, a little nervous but pulling out a packet of the “little swims”. The crowd’s response? A mix of “oh,” “haha,” and “nah, thanks.”
“First glance – paiseh reaction,” Janice recalls.
“Customers back away and, by the end, often say, ‘That’s interesting, but no, thank you’.”
Humor? Check. Sincerity? Double check. Janice’s story reminds us that the path to a dream can start with a simple, sometimes awkward, conversation.
She noted that “in Singapore, the interesting thing is that we appear very modern and progressive, but we are very (up)tight.
“So anything related to this topic (about sex), they tend to shy away and not engage in it.”
Expectedly, the 41-year-old often gets questions about why she’s chosen this unusual path in life.
Janice pins it down to her open personality, where “what you see is what you get”, and her belief in doing work that’s aligned with her values. And that includes sexual wellness.
“If you think about it, sexual wellness is part of total wellbeing, just that we tend to see sex and relationships as separate.”
“I believe very much in being able to take care of myself, and that involves getting to know your body,” she says.
“How can you expect someone to give you pleasure when you don’t know how to do it yourself?”, sharing that she only discovered her own sexuality as a grown woman at the age of 34.
Losing her hair
But the abrupt about-turn in her life’s trajectory wouldn’t have occurred if not for the sudden onset of alopecia in 2013. Alopecia is an auto-immune condition which results in patchy hair loss. 
Her hair was dropping at such an alarming rate that she had to shave it all off. The distress caused her to fall into “circumstantial depression”. That’s when she decided to take a six-month sabbatical from work to recuperate.
After escaping to the Americas, where she fell in love with Mexico and its people, Janice returned to Singapore, decompressed and rejuvenated.
By then, her hair had grown back and she resumed her HR work. But after a year, she was hit by yet another condition — endometriosis — which caused her to have “very bad menstrual cramps”.
She took it as a sign to take a longer break, and “that’s when I decided to quit my job”.
“I think it was my body trying to tell me that it was time for me to look into my own health, and my own emotional well-being, and not to focus too much on chasing the corporate lifestyle.”
With that, Janice took off and travelled across Europe and South America for about two years.
It was a chance meeting with the founder of Hong Kong-based sex toy company VeDO at a Christmas party in Singapore in 2017 that led her to explore marketing sex toys as a career.
After they both hit it off at the party, Janice half-joked about being open to being a part-time sales promoter for the brand at Watsons’ stores in Singapore. Sure enough, he called her back a few days later to take up her offer and she accepted.
She’s now moved on to become a business development consultant for the brand and is an ambassador for two other adult toy brands in Singapore, Womanizer and We-Vibe.
Looking back on her previous lifestyle, she says: “In my corporate days, when I was an HR professional, and I was in a management role as well, of course, the money was very good. But if you ask me, I don’t miss any of it. None of it.”
Janice finds new purpose in what she does now, and one of them is to reduce what’s called the “pleasure gap” between men and women, a bedroom situation where women are often expected to give while the men receive.
She explains: “I think it’s time that women especially get to discover their bodies, learn more about what gives them pleasure, what gives them an orgasm, and feel that it’s okay to do it. I want to reduce the impact of the shaming, because there’s a lot of shaming of women when it comes to sexuality and our bodies.”
“That’s why for me, representing and doing consulting for sex toy companies, or sexual wellness type of companies is something that is still very much aligned to my own core philosophy.”
She shares the story of how a 50-year-old domestic worker in Singapore had bought a toy from her once, only to have her husband ask her angrily, “don’t you love me anymore?”. He hid the toy from her and she never found it again.
“That incident is the most disturbing one I’ve ever encountered, but since then, I have heard of similar reactions from men, and it is going to be an uphill journey to change their mindset,” says Janice. She shares with couples that “sex toys are not the problem”, and “they can even be a solution to one of the problems, but it has to be openly discussed”.
At the end of the day, “it’s just a toy”, says Janice, “I wouldn’t say it makes or breaks a relationship”.
A super cool job
Janice’s Day‑to‑Day Adventures with Adult Toys
Every time folks who know Janice’s side hustle with sex toys cross her path, the responses are nothing short of a comedy show. “It’s simply amusing,” she tells us with a grin.
- “Wait… you sell that thing?” – The classic mix‑up.
- “So this is the real reason you’re there?” – The stunned chuckle.
- “You’re not kidding, right?” – The curious nod.
Behind the Laughter
Janice keeps her head up by treating every surprise as an opportunity to share a laugh. She’s found that a good chunk of people actually lean on her for advice over and above the usual glass‑door offerings.
What Happens When the Shop Meets the Street?
- “It starts with a quick look— ‘What’s for sale?’”
- “Then a flash of curiosity— ‘I guess this is the new gizmo of my love life!’”
- “Finally, a satisfied laugh— ‘Okay, now that’s what I need.’”
Feel the FOMO or Play it Safe
She’s got a rule: “Keep it light and keep it fun.” That’s how she turns every doorstep into a headline act, making everyday reactions feel less like “shock” and more like a shared secret.
“A lot of people laugh when they find out that I sell sex toys. And some of them, especially women, think it’s a super cool job, particularly when they already use sex toys. Many a time, I become their new best friend,” she jokes.
However, among her own group of friends, she admits that it’s still “a very difficult subject to talk about”.
“They’re supportive of what I do, but when I want to give them samples or whatever, they will keep quiet,” she shares.
But Janice has found support in surprising corners, such as a 70-year-old taxi uncle who asked her what she did for a living.
She didn’t shy away from answering the question truthfully, but his response left a deep impact.
“He said ‘whatever you’re doing is great’, and it was something that really touched me because you would have expected somebody who’s a lot more mature to be more old-fashioned, but instead, he was super open and even encouraging. And that was something that stayed with me till today.”
And despite a huge falling out with her family at the start due to her career path, they’ve since turned a corner and are now fully behind her in what she does.
“Sometimes you don’t have to expect your loved ones to understand you. But if they can give you unconditional love and support, this is the best that anyone can reach for. So in my own life, I will say that I have an awesome family and an amazing community for me to do what I do. And it has really helped me.”
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