“My goal is to understand and
achieve realism as best I can, with
the experience and practice
that I’ve accumulated throughout
the years.”
Mimi is an illusionary makeup artist based in Vancouver.
Á: Tell us a little bit about yourself.
MC: I was born in Macau and immigrated to Vancouver when I was 11 years old. After graduating from university, I became a Montessori preschool instructor and taught 2-6 year-olds for a few years prior to becoming a professional makeup artist. I’m glad to have made the leap when I was 28 years old and grateful for the encouragement from my family to change my career and pursue my passions. I’ve never been happier, as I feel that this is my true self.
Á: What prompted you to venture into illusion artistry?
MC: It was my first month as a makeup student at Blanche Macdonald Center and Halloween was around the corner. I wanted to explore creative makeup rather than wearing a basic Halloween costume. I used two kohl eyeliners to create a broken face illusion and posted it on Instagram. The shock and love I received from that look really surprised me and people instantly started recreating the look and re-pinning it on Pinterest. That motivated me to continue exploring the genre and continue to elevate my looks each time. Because I had no prior art training, everything was created through trial and error. My goal is to understand and achieve realism as best I can, with the experience and practice that I’ve accumulated throughout the years.
Á: What was it like to transition from education to illusionary art?
MC: The transition was very quick as I left my preschool teaching job and enrolled in makeup school within a few days. As a Montessori preschool teacher, I learned to be patient and very steady with my hands. This has greatly helped me as a professional makeup artist as my looks take several hours of intense concentration. I also travel around the world to teach masterclasses and lead workshops. My teaching background has definitely helped with that as well.
Á: What made you seek a change in career?
MC: I realized that I wasn’t completely myself when I was teaching preschool. Although I’ve always had a strong passion for educating children, I felt that my creativity as a person was suppressed. For example, I couldn’t dress the way I wanted to when I was teaching, and on my days off I would look very different. I would do my hair, wear colorful makeup and get creative with my clothes. I wanted a job that would let me be myself completely, without judgement. In my current career, I feel that people embrace my uniqueness which is a very liberating feeling.
Á: What is your creative process for creating illusionary makeup looks?
MC: My process is usually very spontaneous. I typically do not draw my concepts out beforehand unless it is requested by a client. Instead, I come up with a concept in my mind and paint directly on my face or body. My feelings and emotions affect my work, so often I add different elements to my initial concept as I go. Spontaneous art is the most beautiful and authentic to me.
Á: Has your international background influenced the art that you create?
MC: Growing up in Macau has definitely influenced my work. Macau is a mosaic of Portuguese and Chinese cultures. Growing up, I took my hometown’s uniqueness for granted and it wasn’t until I started traveling as an adult that I truly appreciated it. I attended a multicultural international school, so I was exposed to many different cultural backgrounds when I was young and that has also contributed to my style of art. A lot of my looks have been inspired by the different types of Portuguese and Chinese architecture and art that I was exposed to as a child.
Á: Where does your inspiration come from?
MC: I’m inspired by photography, architecture, films, literature, classical art, digital art – really anything and everything that I come across. I have also suffered from sleep paralysis since I was 4 years old. It’s a condition in which my mind is awake but I am trapped inside an unresponsive body. During these bouts, I often hallucinate as I struggle to wake up fully. These can be frightening visions and have inspired some of my more morbid looks. Interestingly, I found that after painting a vision on my face, I would stop experiencing that specific hallucination. So in a way, sleep paralysis is a source of inspiration for my makeup and my makeup is therapy for my sleep paralysis.
Á: What is the most challenging aspect of creating a makeup look?
MC: Having enough time and patience is the biggest challenge for me. The more time and patience I have, the better and more mind-blowing my work will be. Sometimes it’s difficult for me to put the brush down because I always notice areas where I can improve.
Á: In what ways has social media affected your creative career?
MC: Social media has helped spread my work and has led to many unique opportunities around the world including campaigns, music videos, television shows and masterclasses. I treat my Instagram feed as my portfolio and I like to see how my art has evolved over the years. Social media is also an endless gallery, where I can gather inspiration and ideas from different artists such as photographers, sculptors, digital artists, musicians, dancers, and videographers.
Á: Do you have a preferred social media platform?
MC: Instagram will always be my preferred social media platform because it was the first platform that I used, and it has truly helped propel my career and spread my illusion art worldwide. It’s a visual platform and simple to use, so it’s perfect for my style of art!
Á: Do you prefer working on yourself or clients?
MC: I like working on both equally. One benefit of working on myself is that I can take as long as I want and take naps in between. Because I am able to focus for long periods of time and don’t have a time limit, I usually save the super intricate and hyper-detailed looks for my own face. However, working on models allows me to use features that are very different from my own. I get inspired by the beautiful faces and bodies of my models, which gives me new ideas for looks.
Á: Can you describe your experience producing a look for the Met Gala?
MC: It was a very surreal experience to be able to create the first-ever illusion makeup look at the Met Gala. Working with open-minded celebrities like Ezra Miller is inspiring because they trust me fully and allow me full creative freedom. The concept started with a phone call with Ezra to discuss his vision and the next thing I knew I was in New York starting at 4AM the morning of the event. The day was long and chaotic, but it was such a special memory that will stick with me forever.
Interview by Mary Ojidu
“My goal is to understand
and achieve realism as best
I can, with the experience
and practice that I’ve accumulated throughout
the years.”
Mimi is an illusionary makeup artist based in Vancouver.
Á: Tell us a little bit about yourself.
MC: I was born in Macau and immigrated to Vancouver when I was 11 years old. After graduating from university, I became a Montessori preschool instructor and taught 2-6 year-olds for a few years prior to becoming a professional makeup artist. I’m glad to have made the leap when I was 28 years old and grateful for the encouragement from my family to change my career and pursue my passions. I’ve never been happier, as I feel that this is my true self.
Á: What prompted you to venture into illusion artistry?
MC: It was my first month as a makeup student at Blanche Macdonald Center and Halloween was around the corner. I wanted to explore creative makeup rather than wearing a basic Halloween costume. I used two kohl eyeliners to create a broken face illusion and posted it on Instagram. The shock and love I received from that look really surprised me and people instantly started recreating the look and re-pinning it on Pinterest. That motivated me to continue exploring the genre and continue to elevate my looks each time. Because I had no prior art training, everything was created through trial and error. My goal is to understand and achieve realism as best I can, with the experience and practice that I’ve accumulated throughout the years.
Á: What was it like to transition from education to illusionary art?
MC: The transition was very quick as I left my preschool teaching job and enrolled in makeup school within a few days. As a Montessori preschool teacher, I learned to be patient and very steady with my hands. This has greatly helped me as a professional makeup artist as my looks take several hours of intense concentration. I also travel around the world to teach masterclasses and lead workshops. My teaching background has definitely helped with that as well.
Á: What made you seek a change in career?
MC: I realized that I wasn’t completely myself when I was teaching preschool. Although I’ve always had a strong passion for educating children, I felt that my creativity as a person was suppressed. For example, I couldn’t dress the way I wanted to when I was teaching, and on my days off I would look very different. I would do my hair, wear colorful makeup and get creative with my clothes. I wanted a job that would let me be myself completely, without judgement. In my current career, I feel that people embrace my uniqueness which is a very liberating feeling.
Á: What is your creative process for creating illusionary makeup looks?
MC: My process is usually very spontaneous. I typically do not draw my concepts out beforehand unless it is requested by a client. Instead, I come up with a concept in my mind and paint directly on my face or body. My feelings and emotions affect my work, so often I add different elements to my initial concept as I go. Spontaneous art is the most beautiful and authentic to me.
Á: Has your international background influenced the art that you create?
MC: Growing up in Macau has definitely influenced my work. Macau is a mosaic of Portuguese and Chinese cultures. Growing up, I took my hometown’s uniqueness for granted and it wasn’t until I started traveling as an adult that I truly appreciated it. I attended a multicultural international school, so I was exposed to many different cultural backgrounds when I was young and that has also contributed to my style of art. A lot of my looks have been inspired by the different types of Portuguese and Chinese architecture and art that I was exposed to as a child.
Á: Where does your inspiration come from?
MC: I’m inspired by photography, architecture, films, literature, classical art, digital art – really anything and everything that I come across. I have also suffered from sleep paralysis since I was 4 years old. It’s a condition in which my mind is awake but I am trapped inside an unresponsive body. During these bouts, I often hallucinate as I struggle to wake up fully. These can be frightening visions and have inspired some of my more morbid looks. Interestingly, I found that after painting a vision on my face, I would stop experiencing that specific hallucination. So in a way, sleep paralysis is a source of inspiration for my makeup and my makeup is therapy for my sleep paralysis.
Á: What is the most challenging aspect of creating a makeup look?
MC: Having enough time and patience is the biggest challenge for me. The more time and patience I have, the better and more mind-blowing my work will be. Sometimes it’s difficult for me to put the brush down because I always notice areas where I can improve.
Á: In what ways has social media affected your creative career?
MC: Social media has helped spread my work and has led to many unique opportunities around the world including campaigns, music videos, television shows and masterclasses. I treat my Instagram feed as my portfolio and I like to see how my art has evolved over the years. Social media is also an endless gallery, where I can gather inspiration and ideas from different artists such as photographers, sculptors, digital artists, musicians, dancers, and videographers.
Á: Do you have a preferred social media platform?
MC: Instagram will always be my preferred social media platform because it was the first platform that I used, and it has truly helped propel my career and spread my illusion art worldwide. It’s a visual platform and simple to use, so it’s perfect for my style of art!
Á: Do you prefer working on yourself or clients?
MC: I like working on both equally. One benefit of working on myself is that I can take as long as I want and take naps in between. Because I am able to focus for long periods of time and don’t have a time limit, I usually save the super intricate and hyper-detailed looks for my own face. However, working on models allows me to use features that are very different from my own. I get inspired by the beautiful faces and bodies of my models, which gives me new ideas for looks.
Á: Can you describe your experience producing a look for the Met Gala?
MC: It was a very surreal experience to be able to create the first-ever illusion makeup look at the Met Gala. Working with open-minded celebrities like Ezra Miller is inspiring because they trust me fully and allow me full creative freedom. The concept started with a phone call with Ezra to discuss his vision and the next thing I knew I was in New York starting at 4AM the morning of the event. The day was long and chaotic, but it was such a special memory that will stick with me forever.
Interview by Mary Ojidu
