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YouTube and Instagram star on make-up for mindfulness, problem with the word ‘Asian’, and the beauty industry after lockdown
- Mi-Anne Chan, known for her colourful make-up looks on Instagram, says she turns to graphic or expressive make-up when she is down and wants to feel better
- She gets her inspiration from a springtime flower box, a brightly coloured vintage car, ‘and cakes! I get a lot of inspiration from cakes’
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Many beauty enthusiasts first come across New York-based Mi-Anne Chan on YouTube, where, in her video series Beauty with Mi, she tries a US$400 gemstone facial, undergoes cryotherapy, and unpacks trendy make-up routines.
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These days Chan’s social media output is more personal, an entry point to an Instagram community for expressive make-up, and – with everything that’s been going on amid the global pandemic – decidedly restorative.
Her Instagram feed is filled with colourful shades of lavender, mint greens and bright oranges, and dozens upon dozens of playful graphic eyeshadow looks. Most of these accompany a short clip where she glides her make-up brush over her lids, dragging paints from the likes of Kryolan, pastels from HipDot, liquid liners from Fenty, and more, until her playful design is complete.
“It’s almost like make-up ASMR,” she tells the Post. “You see these videos of people slowly applying gloss onto their eye and it’s a very soothing bit of escapism. It’s like turning your face into a fantasy.”
Chan has experimented with these colourful techniques for years, but now that her role as a video director with Condé Nast Entertainment allows her to work remotely, she’s finding more time than ever to play around with new looks in her flat.
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