Mimi CHOI

Mimi CHOI

WORDS BY GABBY LOVAZZANO

EMPLOYING THE BODY AS A CANVAS CAN BE BOTH RISKY AND REWARDING,

AND THE MORE SURREAL THE IMAGERY, THE MORE DIFFICULT THE

EXECUTION. VANCOUVER-BASED MAKEUP ARTIST MIMI CHOI HAS

EXPANDED HER WORK FAR BEYOND CONTOURING AND BEAUTY

BAKES; CHOI RATHER CREATES COMPLETELY ASTOUNDING

OPTICAL ILLUSIONS ON HER MODELS, TURNING THEIR FACES INTO

SCENES SUCH AS CRASHING WAVES ON A SANDY BEACH, BIRDS

IN A CAGE, A SWIRL OF CLASSIC BOOKS, AND MANY MORE. OPEN

COLOR’S GABBY LOVAZZANO HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK

WITH CHOI ABOUT HER ARTISTIC BACKGROUND AND EDUCATION,

ADVICE FOR EMERGING ARTISTS, THE POWER OF A SOCIAL MEDIA

POST, AND MORE.

I love your story of migrating from the south coast of China in Macau to Vancouver, Canada. You received a great education. After landing a pretty secure job as a preschool teacher, you then decided to resign and go to beauty school at age 28. No offense to any beauty school graduates, as I am one myself, but we tend to skip the college education and go straight to get our Cosmetology Certificate. Your mother was supportive, but how about the rest of your friends and family? MC: My entire family was very encouraging. I was fortunate that my parents and boyfriend at the time (now my husband) could support me while I wasn’t earning much as a student at makeup school. My close friends knew that I’ve always been a creative person so they were excited for me to pursue my passion. There were definitely those who thought I was taking a big risk and questioned my career switch at a relatively late stage in my life, but I know that their intentions were good.

My first day of class was a real eye-opener for me and I was a bit intimidated by the fact that I was the oldest student by quite a large margin. As you noted, most students were fresh out of high-school but I feel that having those extra years of experience made me take beauty school seriously. I really worked hard right away as I was certain that this was what I wanted to do with my life and that I wouldn’t have many more (if any) opportunities to change my direction again.

You have a pretty killer success story. Your leap of faith totally landed you on a cushy cloud, traveling around the world and doing what you love. It appears you had just over 30 features in 2017! And some major features last year, for example PAPER magazine. How does it feel to have accomplished so much in the last three years? Honestly, I feel so blessed to be doing what I do with my husband who is also my business partner. The past few years have been an adventure for us and I am so grateful that my illusions have taken us to some really cool places and have given us the opportunity to meet so many amazing artists and people in general. I don’t take anything for granted and I certainly feel that I have a ton more to offer and accomplish. especially when our creativity is constrained by a client. Creating looks for fun can be therapeutic and remind us why we chose what we do in the first place! Let’s talk more about education. Your “cracked-face” look you made went viral when you were still in your first year at Blanche Macdonald. Do you think your presence around a strong makeup community (some of the best in the world) helped catapult that post? We have a great makeup and arts community here in Vancouver. People are very progressive and accepting of differences. When I did that cracked-face look, I wasn’t sure how it would be received but the reaction was very positive in person and on social media. This encouraged me to explore the genre further.

No doubt your workload is intense. Explain how you have harnessed the everyday stress, pressure and anxiety that most people suffer from on a day to day basis. Can you give our readers and myself some advice on how you have learned to redirect that energy?

My workload can be heavy at times but with the help of my husband, we make sure that I don’t take on more than I can handle. I’m often eager to accept every opportunity that is presented to me but I have come to realize that it’s just as important to have days off to recover and recharge. Because of this, work rarely feels like a chore and I’m always excited to begin a new look.

I also think it’s important to create looks for ourselves when possible. We makeup artists are fortunate to be able to do what we love for a living but sometimes it can feel like a job

When you enrolled in beauty school were you looking for the best school or did you happen to live close enough to the one you chose? How much of your career do you owe to the Blanche Macdonald Center?

I knew a little bit about Blanche Macdonald before I enrolled, but it wasn’t until I met with an advisor and took a tour of the school that I was sold. Looking back now, I am so fortunate to live 15 minutes away from the best makeup school in the world. Many talented artists have graduated from Blanche Macdonald and students fly to Vancouver from all corners of the globe to enroll in classes here. The instructors, mentors, classmates and colleagues that I’ve met have been such positive influences in my career and life and I definitely owe a lot my success to these people and the school.

I ask so much about the school you went to and your education because I want readers to know how possible it is to achieve your goals with the right tools, education and most importantly, the right attitude. Can you explain in more depth on how your persistence and everyday commitment has gotten you where you are today?

blurry-faced looks. What motivates me is trying to improve on my looks each and every day. I am my own biggest critic and competition and this drives me to keep creating. I am also motivated by my audience because it’s an amazing feeling to know that my work can bring them joy and can elicit emotions within them.

My main focus when I do a look is that I create from within. First and foremost, it is important that I enjoy the process. While it’s nice to receive recognition, I would still be doing what I do even if I didn’t have the same following. This makes being persistent and committed to my craft easier. I avoid comparing myself to other artists as everyone is unique. Instead, I compete with myself and consider it a success each time I learn something new. After several years of trying to improve each day, my art has evolved into what it is today and I am grateful that others enjoy work.

I also really want to know more about your lifestyle. When you’re not traveling the world teaching classes, what do you do for fun? Besides makeup, what excites you and keeps you motivated and inspired?

I try to see my family and friends as much as I can. It usually happens over a meal because I love to eat! Besides that, I am a bit of a homebody so I like to watch shows on Netflix with my husband.I gain inspiration from just about everything and anything. I love viewing surreal and digital art because it can be a challenge to recreate these looks on my own face using only makeup. I also suffer from sleep paralysis which is a condition in which my mind is awake but my body is asleep. During these bouts, I experience vivid and often frightening hallucinations which I have used as inspiration for some of my more morbid looks like the sliced-faced and

What is next for you Mimi Choi? What does 2019 have in store? More importantly, what would you like to happen this year? I love teaching and meeting people, so I will continue to lead masterclasses and workshops. I’ll be teaching for the first time in Italy, Argentina, Germany, Mexico, and Russia in 2019 so I’m extremely excited for that. I also have some other projects in the works that I can’t talk about yet so you’ll have to keep following me on social media to find out! What I hope most to happen is that I continue to improve and evolve as an artist. As long as this happens, everything else is just a bonus!

To end this interview, I would like to address the magazine and our focus. Open Color magazine is all about highlighting the emerging artist alongside the established—what is one piece of advice you can give the emerging artist while they climb their way to the top? I would encourage all emerging artists to discover their own style and to avoid comparing themselves to others. While it can be good technical practice to recreate someone else’s look, it is so much more rewarding to create your own trend! If you work hard and have a positive attitude, I believe that the universe will provide a path that is unique and good for you!