We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Joyce Kim a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Joyce, thanks for joining us today. Can you tell us a story about a time you failed?

My first TV industry job was for a DC superhero show, where I met my mentor and she took a huge risk letting a complete newbie run around on a multi-million dollar production stage. All my senses were on hyperdrive as I focused on learning and pretending to be a seasoned pro, while doing the job a seasoned pro did.

With TV & Film, scenes are often shot out of order and maintaining makeup continuity is the utmost importance for the makeup team, requiring constant communication and an almost obsessive tracking of the makeup. A misstep in makeup continuity can result in reshoots (which production frowns upon, put delicately).

Of course you can guess what happened: I didn’t communicate to my mentor of a makeup continuity , and we shot a scene that missed the makeup. The next day on set, the script supervisor came and informed my mentor that yesterday’s shoot missed the makeup that should have been there. My mentor asked me if this was true, and in that moment I realized that I had forgotten to inform her after the scene wrapped.

The disappointment and frustration from my mentor shook me to my core. She told me that she had a reputation as the Makeup Department that always delivered, never made mistakes, saved production money with her efficiency. And now the producers had their eye on her with this mishap. It didn’t matter that she wasn’t the one who made the error; she was ultimately responsible as the Department Head.

Naturally, questions of my capabilities came into sharp focus, and I began to seriously doubt my place in this industry. I truly believed that I wasn’t a right fit for this job, that my memory was dull and my attention to detail was lacking. Why couldn’t I learn fast enough? Why couldn’t I have been more diligent about taking notes? Why was I so stupid? The “whys” continued to barrage my brain and I felt compelled to quit.

If it wasn’t for the support and encouragement of my family & friends, I probably would have. They extended the grace and kindness that I didn’t have for myself, and shed light on the fact that I was still new, still learning, and the difference between Learning and Comprehending were two different things. Learning was input, Comprehension was output, and I was in between those two stages.

There was no way I could guarantee to never make mistakes ever again, but I vowed to make sure not to make that particular mistake again. From notecards, to multiple post-its, keeping a mini notepad in my pocket, marking up the script, creating timelines with my iPhone photos, I worked hard to communicate with myself and my mentor on all the makeup continuities, so much so that my mentor started to call me the Master of Continuity. My commitment and demonstration into improving myself reinstated trust with my mentor again, and on the next project she assigned me as her Key.

I look back on this memory of failing, and although some of the horror lingers at times, I am so proud to have climbed out of the black hole of self-doubt and shame. There is absolute value (and need) to feel all the feelings, to allow yourself the safe space to be completely vulnerable with yourself and your community; that time is needed to find kindness and self-forgiveness, before dusting off butt and getting back up again.

Joyce, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I am a proud Korean-American makeup artist of eight years, specializing in Beauty & Commercial makeup, and based in the great city of Los Angeles. I studied at the Make Up For Ever Academy in Paris, France, from where I embraced the aesthetic of natural makeup.

Growing up in a house of women, surrounded by makeup, cosmetics, and Allure magazine, I was fated to fall in love makeup. It wasn’t until the K-pop music videos of the mid-2000s that made me realize people got to do makeup as a career (please do yourself a favor and watch 2NE1’s “Follow Me” music video).

Simultaneously, I observed that the makeup for East Asian models and actors were less than flattering and I deeply felt that the makeup artists at that time did not know how to adjust certain techniques for non-Eurocentric features, which only added to my own sense of cultural isolation and exclusion from mainstream beauty.

Inclusivity and diversity have come a long way, and I believe we can improve on inviting more diverse talent to the table. As a makeup artist, I’m dedicated to creating safe spaces for talent of all backgrounds and taking a backseat when it comes to learning from and listening to Black women. When people feel safe and respected in the makeup chair, it has a direct impact on their work on set.

The saying “people don’t remember what you said but how you made them feel” can be adapted to “people don’t remember how good your makeup was but how you made them feel”, and this is the philosophy I live by.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

The COVID-19 pandemic and its global impact was life-changing for everyone. The day that filming ceased and productions came to a halt, I was working on (another) DC Comic show and a pilot for ABC. That last day was spent cleaning out the makeup trailer and all of us asking each other what would happen next.

Living alone in Atlanta, Georgia with all my family & friends in California, the isolation and anxiety of navigating this new virus started weighing on my physical & mental health. It was four months after the pandemic started that I decided to move back to California, and rethink my career.

In the time before my return to home, there was a lot of questions on what the future of TV & Film would be, how would it fundamentally change, and where did I fit in it? I also reflected on all the long hours of living on set, using the weekend to catch up on sleep, and always wondering when I could schedule my next visit to California.

It was a stressful, anxious time but I was able to also deeply reflect on what I wanted my life to look like. Ultimately, I decided being close to my family was more important than a career in makeup in TV & Film. Having the decision come to me so easily felt like a clear sign it was the right move to make, and I haven’t regretted it since.

Making the change hasn’t been without its challenges, especially as someone who has autoimmune health issues and navigating how to work in a world where Covid continues to exist. I took a break for my own safety as well as the safety of my family, and went back to working remotely in corporate America. I continue to work at a tech/software company, and using any spare time to work on TFP/collaborations and E-commerce shoots. It’s been vital to nurturing and feeding my creative spirit and so far I’ve enjoyed all of them so much, and have been meeting really awesome, kind creatives!

My career is still growing and developing, and instead of trying to rush to a goal or destination, I’m trying to enjoy the process of creating and connecting.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

As a makeup artist, it’s a real privilege to work closely, one-on-one with the people who sit in my chair. It’s an intimate process of discovery, sharing, opening boundaries, physical contact, energies mixing that sets makeup apart from other services/practices.

I love that my canvas is a human being with their own background, history, insecurities, pride, and all of it plays into what I paint on the face. It’s a temporary creation of something in the moment. It’s also a truly amazing thing to witness how my art can feed the talent, and how it translates when they infuse it with their energy to tell a story.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.joyceHSkim.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/joycehskim_makeup

Image Credits

1.
Photographer: Charlene Sanchez
Talent: M’ya Adama
Stylist: Thalita Bueno

2.
Photographer: Ty Chen
Talent: Clementine Callaway
Stylist: Melynda Choothesa
Hair: Amanda Bourne

3.
Photographer: Patrick Park
Talent: Valentina Ruby
Stylist: Raul Magdaleno
Agency: Women Management LA

4.
Photographer: Alana Burke Colville
Talent: Camryn Burke
Agency: Scout Model Agency
Hair: Sunny Chea

5.
Photographer: Lilly Lilova
Talent: Kamryn Hansen

6.
Photographer: Alana Burke Colville
Talent: Monica Wiseman
Agency: Scout Model Agency

7.
Photographer: Déborah Néris
Talent: Amina Audrey
Agency: Wilhelmina Los Angeles