Asian Makeup Gurus

Michelle Phan

Until several months ago, the only Asian makeup “gurus” that I could name were two that had been featured here before; Elessa, aka Pursebuzz, who actually works in the video game industry and does hair and makeup tutorials as a sideline and Michelle Phan, aka RiceBunny, who these days, occasionally does tutorials on how to become likenesses of pop icons such as Lady Gaga, Sailor Moon, Snow White, and (one of my personal favorites) a Tim Burton movie character (above).

After mentioning these ladies’ names to a professional makeup artist friend, she informed me that they are just two of the many Asian girls who have Youtube channels dedicated to hair, fashion, and makeup tutorials, and proceeded to name several more (included in this entry) right off hand.The following are just a few of the many Asian makeup gurus on Youtube. I’m not providing links to their channels because I doubt hair, fashion, and makeup vlogs are of particular interest to the readers here, but for those who are interested, a search for “Asian makeup guru” at Youtube will yield plenty of results.

Suzi
Suzy, a 23 year-old Londoner, is a fashion design major and states “fashion is my passion.”

Debra Maye
Debra Maye bills herself as “YouTube’s Canadian Singing Makeup Guru,” which is a deserving title since she’s good at both.

Teena Kim
Teena Kim is a Cambodian-American who lives in Georgia by way of Tennessee and also does fashion modeling. Even though she lives in the Southern US, it still caught me off-guard to hear an Asian girl let a “y’all” slip out.

(She wishes to remain anonymous)
Wishing to remain anonymous, this makeup master took one of her tutorials to the extreme by demonstrating how to apply Kiss makeup as she transformed herself into the cutest Asian female version of Gene Simmons I’ve ever seen.

Aubrey
Although Aubrey has a couple of cosmetic companies as sponsors, she works as a licensed practical nurse.

(She
Also wishing to remain anonymous, this 7/8 Chinese and 1/8 Burmese exotic-looking beauty showed off her over-the-top “Weeping Black Widow” makeup (another Tim Burton-inspired look) for one of her Halloween tutorials.

Catie
I noticed Catie is also quite a fan of other makeup gurus on Youtube, as I’ve caught her comments on almost all of the channels of the other ladies featured in this entry. With her assets, if she were a little less reserved, her channel would probably be among the most popular.

Cheri
In addition to doing makeup tutorials, Cheri works on both sides of the camera as a photographer and a model, as shown in the two fairly recent photos below:

Cheri

Cheri
Check out Cheri’s Myspace to get pretty much all of the info on her that you’ll want, as well as links to her other blogs and sites.

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0 thoughts on “Asian Makeup Gurus”

  1. There are sooo many of these ‘make up tutorial’ videos on youtube, can’t tell one from the other.

  2. Based on her comments in a few threads, maybe our own Christine should get a gig dishing out the makeup advice.

    :#)

  3. yeah, the guys who don’t watch are really not missing much. it’s like,

    step 1. apply base
    step 2. apply highlighter
    step 3. apply colour
    step 4. contour
    step 5. mascara

    …and variations thereof. i used to be really into doing my makeup, but there’s no reason to share it with the world, imo. these skills are things everyone can acquire given enough time and patience and vanity, and it’s so individual (what looks good on me =/ what looks good on you), it doesn’t really make sense to do a tutorial unless what you have to share to the world is extremely well-explained (like asian makeup basics, for dummies) or extremely complex and interesting.

    at first, i definitely saw these tutorials as a way for asian women to share makeup tips since we’re really underrepresented in the fashion/cosmetic industry, and it’s hard to find things that work for us. i still think this is true, but it’s come to a point where there are too.many.girls. and the tutorials are so easy like ez-mac, it’s just youtube clutter. the information is so repetitive, it’s no longer useful and there’s more and more disinformation out there (makeup tips that just suck, for instance — mostly from 13-year-old girls that want to join in on the makeup tutorial fun).

    honestly, how many tutorials on smoky eye do you need, you know? one for every shade of brown they use? geebus.

  4. and realistically speaking, most girls don’t really have 7 different “day” looks. like, omg girls! it’s WINTERTIME. time to bust out your cool blues and shimmery grey highlighter! put away your spring colors, like pink and coral!!! LOLOLOL!!1!11 omg!

    personally, i find such conspicuous consumption rather unattractive. 🙁 maybe it’s the hippie in me, but all that makeup just seems excessive and girls look best with MINIMAL makeup that’s just there to enhance their natural features! 🙂

  5. I agree, at first it was kind of ‘unique’ and helpful but now it’s like a bandwagon thing, with girls screaming, look at me I’m hot and sexy!

  6. Heaven knows that is one industry that will ALWAYS sell. I guess these kinds of tutorials just help to feed it.
    When I first went to Taiwan, I didn’t think the women were as into make up as western women until I went into the department stores. Oh my! Have to say though, they seem to make better use of it, and at times non-use of it. 🙂

  7. Geneva, aka “Lipstick Arsenal” for the win! I have a major weakness for gothic chicks…

  8. I’m thinking we need more gothic inspired Asians posted on this site… and I’m not talking about KISS styles. lol… I’m talking about the “Tim Burton” style. ^^

  9. maybe we should all start sending them compilation albums with joy div., siouxsie, and bauhaus? and wait and see what happens 6 mos. later?

  10. I saw a youtube tutorial once where (maybe it was Michelle Phan) she did a 1970s look. THAT was way hot! Heavy green eye make-up. Ended with long earrings.

    But like Christine said, many of them are just fishing for compliments from dudes…

    But of the ones I’ve seen, I would say Michelle does the best job. Good explanations, charming, and honest. Only thing that bothers me is that bunny of hers. Not a fan of bunnies.

  11. Well, THAT bunny is cute…maybe I’ve been on the wrong bunny porn sites lately…

    I especially like the artistic photography in this bunny picture. Also, no tattoos or implants (flat as Kansas). But the bunny did a hair dye job (notice the white fur on the front).

    These look like natural ears, but I will have to check this bunny’s MySpace profile to be sure… 🙂

  12. i like the KISS girl. she’s got to have a lot of gumption to perfect the KISS face and then do it on film for the camera. the other looks are at least sexy or pretty, but you’ve got to just really like KISS or be into dressing up (in a non-“slutty halloween” way) to do Gene Simmons.

    personality for the win 🙂

    also just watched the black widow one and that girl has the most amazing pout! that’s basically what all the women who get collagen lip injections wish they could have naturally lol.

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