We were lucky to catch up with Mimi Choi recently and have shared our conversation below.

Mimi, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Can you open up about a risk you’ve taken – what it was like taking that risk, why you took the risk and how it turned out?

Entering the makeup world was a big risk for me as I had already graduated from university and obtained my early education certificate. After years of post secondary education, training and work as a Montessori preschool teacher, I realized that I was not completely satisfied with my career. Although I love working with children, there was a part of me that was suppressed and I felt that I couldn’t fully be myself. I found myself painting my nails after work and sketching as a creative outlet and it wasn’t until my mother asked me if I was truly happy did I consider starting from scratch and switching careers. It would have been easier for me to stay on the path that I was on, but I opted to take a risk and enrolled in makeup school.

Mimi, 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’m a professional makeup artist based in Vancouver, Canada specializing in creative and illusional looks. After starting off as a Montessori preschool teacher, I decided to pursue my passion of becoming a makeup artist. With the support of my family, I left my job and enrolled at Blanche Macdonald Centre which is a local makeup school here in Vancouver. During my first Halloween as a makeup student, I decided to try out a simple cracked face makeup look and shared it on Instagram. I received a lot of positive feedback which encouraged me to continue exploring the genre.

As a pioneer of illusion makeup and someone who has helped popularize the genre, I have been invited to teach masterclasses around the world which is something I never expected to happen when I started my makeup journey. Combining my passions of makeup, teaching, and travel and being able to share these experiences with my husband (who is my business partner) and recently my baby has been a blessing.

As my style of art is so versatile, I have been hired to work on various campaigns. Clients value my creative input and usually give me complete creative freedom. Some of my notable experiences include working on Ezra Miller for the Met Gala, being the lead makeup artist on NYX Professional Makeup’s global Halloween campaign for the past 4 years, and being featured on television shows around the world.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

I started posting my makeup looks on Instagram as a way of documenting my progress. I never intended on it becoming my portfolio, but it just sort of evolved into that. As I was one of the early illusion makeup artists using social media, I quickly gained a following. Since then, I have worked hard at my craft and stayed true to my own vision which has allowed my account to continue its growth.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

One of the most rewarding aspects of being an artist is working on my own terms. I work as much or as little as I want to and clients respect my artistic vision which means I am almost always given complete creative license to paint whatever I like. Another thing that I am grateful for is being able to inspire my audience with my story and through my art. I have received messages about how my change in career path inspired some of my followers to do the same and how my art has helped some followers get through tough stretches in their lives. Hearing these things from my followers really warms my heart and motivates me to work even harder.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.mimichoimakeup.com
• Instagram: @mimles
• Facebook: @mimichoimakeupartistry
• Youtube: @mimles
• Other: TikTok: @mimles

Image Credits
None. All images were taken by myself.