Avant-Garde Makeup with Cindy Chen Designs

By Liana Chie 

Photos Courtesy of Cindy Chen Designs

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED Jul/Aug 2023 BY LOTUS MAG

Cindy Chen of Cindy Chen Designs is a content creator specializing in avant-garde makeup artistry- or as she likes to call herself, an avant-garde makeup creator. Her professional journey started with roles as a graphic designer and a visual designer. As she was working her corporate job, Cindy painted her face every day and learned as much as she could about TikTok and social media influencing in her spare time. She wished she could have a job that would allow her to be fully expressive with her creativity and make an impact rather than working as a cog in a machine. Cindy came across that opportunity to pursue her dream after losing her job from the pandemic. She found the silver lining in being able to explore other options and decided to take the leap of faith to go full-time as an influencer. Taking life into her own hands, she  gained a million followers in 3 months, signed with an agency, and became a small business owner with brands approaching her to create videos of her painting her face.

Forging her own path as an avant-garde makeup creator, Cindy has built a platform for herself through content creation and continues to create a safe space for her audience. Cindy keeps her art true to herself through her lived experiences, and she was kind enough to share her story and artwork with us!

How did you develop your style? 

I like to call myself an avant-garde makeup creator instead of just a makeup artist. My art medium is makeup, but I could transfer that to any other art medium, and I would still have the same essence. Avant-garde makeup art is very niche, and I started playing with it after high school, and I never thought it would take off as a career.

What is your background in your artistry? 

Everything I've wanted to do started off as a hobby I learned off Youtube and makeup was one of them. In high school, I took an art class, and we had an assignment to come up with an exhibition using different media. Being the attention whore that I am, I thought, let me stand out by finding something no one else could possibly think of. What if I painted on my face? I went on Youtube, and came across Youtubers that were doing special effects makeup. Specifically, one person was doing fine art work within special effects and cosplay, but it wasn't really like one or the other. That's when I discovered the underground world of avant-garde, high fashion makeup. I’ve always been into fashion, particularly how people were doing makeup on runway models. I started learning everything I could, and I only had an eye shadow palette, lipstick, and face palette.I became very resourceful, and started doing a lot of DIY. I’d make origami shapes and glue them to my head and take photos with my digital camera that I stole from my mom when I was 18. When I got to college, I invested in a second-hand DSLR and started learning how to become a photographer, doing freelance work to become better at photography or working with other amateur artists that were on campus. I feel like you don't have a reason to get better at these skills unless you put yourself into projects, and since I didn't go into art school, I had to make my own projects. On Saturdays I would host photoshoots at my apartment for photographers, amateur models, and anybody who wants to just do something creative and artsy. I would put my work online and strangers started noticing on social media. I started building a small following and recognizing that there is an audience out there just like me. 

How did the pandemic play into your work in content creation? 

The pandemic was hard, but it pushed me. For the first time, I didn’t have an option to find another job, because no one was hiring. I was at home, and the only thing that could connect me with people was social media - it was my tool. It brought me back to my childhood. It was just me and my brain and my artwork, and creativity just flowed out. Artwork was my safety net. But this time, with social media as an outlet, I could also pour these out onto the Internet and get my community to follow along with me. I used to throw out challenges every week to encourage others to paint. When I’m doing art, I’m not thinking about anything else but my artwork - it makes me feel super present. That’s what I wanted other people to feel.

Growing up in an Asian household, how did your parents react to this career change? 

My parents were so thoroughly confused. It took them a full year to understand what I do and how I get paid. To be fair, I didn’t know either. There's no information out there teaching how to be a content creator. My parents are very traditional, and lawyer, business, doctor - those were my 3 options. So when I went from a stable corporate job that was making 6 figures in Silicon Valley, they were like, “What are you doing? You're painting your face for social media? How do you even make money?” They were just worried I wasn't doing something that was going to help me be financially successful because I'm here alone. I have a husband, but in terms of blood family, I'm the only person here. They would feel really bad not being able to help me out because I've been financially independent since I was 19. So after several months of them calling me and asking how much money I’m making, now, 3 years later, they're super hands off. For them, as long as they see the dollar signs and they know that I'm good, they don't ask too many questions. And now they're just very proud because I can be a business owner.

East meets West Concepts 

I talk a lot about being a third culture kid: I was born in one country (Taiwan), I grew up in another (Philippines). I've mixed these 2 cultures together and created a third culture. And that is who I am. That is very similar to how a lot of Asian Americans feel. So in my eyes I feel like Asian Americans and I have a lot of similarities in how we grew up and how we feel like we struggle with our identity.

There's a lot of conceptual mixing. I would mix patterns from different cultures with designs, color schemes, textures, and shapes. It comes from a unique perspective of growing up in a country that I wasn't from. Every place I've moved to has added to my understanding of people and cultures, and then that folds right into my artwork, and how I communicate with people.

Any advice for those that might be interested in pursuing a career as a content creator?

1. I think there is value in just doing things people normally wouldn't do. There's this concept of the pink elephant for things that go viral: if you see a pink elephant, you have never seen a pink elephant before. So you're going to stop and look at that. I found my pink elephant in avant-garde makeup.

2. In order to maintain a platform or build a community, it's not about the numbers. What are you bringing to this community as value? That's why I have my stories on there, and the stories are what really touches people. The makeup is what makes them stay. There’s creative people who follow me. There's also regular people who are interested in makeup. What value are you bringing to the person on the other side of the phone or the screen that's going to make them feel touched, or inspired and motivated, or like they learned something?

3. If you are coming on to social media or doing content creation for the wrong reason, it's not sustainable. If your only stake in the game is to make money, any type of work, no matter how fulfilling, is going to feel like work eventually, unless you feel like there is some sort of motivator you feel is going to be valuable to you and to the person you're talking to. Make sure your heart's in the right place.

4. Don't be afraid to go bold and try a bunch of different things and be allowed to fail. 

How do you hope to impact others with your work? 

My “why” is to make people feel less alone and more normalized in their experiences. A lot of my stories have to do with mental health and reflection on past mistakes, and I'm not afraid to be vulnerable about that. Living across the world and having so many different cultures within me, helps me connect with anyone in the world through a very human touch.

Fun facts:

• Cindy was on a reality TV show. Now she’s in the process of writing a book! 

• In order to get better at photography, she would host photoshoots at her apartment for creatives who wanted to do something artsy.

• Cindy’s business is now a way to protect herself legally, but initially she registered for a business as a beauty influencer coach. She started putting out her information and tips to make it more accessible.

Culture Series 

The ongoing series explores beauty from different types of cultures and tribes chosen by Cindy's audience. Shown on these pages are Denmark, Japan, Taiwan, and Spain.

Liana is a writer and outreach coordinator for Lotus Magazine. She attended UCLA as a cognitive science major and currently works in product management. Through her experience growing up and going to school in LA, she has always been curious and passionate in embracing Asian American culture. In her free time, she loves trying new foods and traveling to experience lifestyles in different areas.