Maison Monica Hair & Beauty Academy

Hear it from the Guru

13 Jan 2011 Leave a Comment

by Maison Monica Hair & Beauty Academy in People Tags: champion, Office Cosmetics, Pure Beauty Cosmetics, Sebastian Heng, Shu Uemura 2005 competition

Just under a month ago, we had a team of makeup artists from Kuala Lumpur joining us at one of our beauty fairs here in Kuching.  If you’ve read our previous posts, you’d have seen some coverage of their impressive credentials and also some photos of their visit.

The team from Pure Beauty Cosmetics

OFFICE Cosmetics, under Pure Beauty Cosmetics Trading based in Selangor,  launched their 2011 OFFICE New Edition Line at the L’Beaute Expo in Taman Kereta, in collaboration with Maison Monica, the local distributor in Kuching.  Pure Beauty Cosmetics, under the directorship of Mr. Jimmy Tan, brought in a guest artist Mr. Sebastian Heng, a Shu Uemura makeup competition champion, as well as the winners of the OFFICE Makeup Competition to showcase their work and skills.

Sebastian is no newcomer to the makeup world.  For those in the know, he was the winner of the Shu Uemura Beauty Art Makeup Competition in 2005.  Aside from that, he’s the principal of Glam Connection, his own makeup academy.

Sebastian Heng

Just 5 years after joining the industry (2005), Sebastian was awarded the coveted and prestigious Shu Uemura Beauty Art Makeup Competition.   It was a journey of hard work and tenacity.

A couple of years before that he enrolled himself in the 2 categories of the same competition – Novice and Professional.  He got into the Top 10 in the Novice category, and the semi-finals for the Professional category; both are great achievements for a newcomer.  Determined to prove himself, he enrolled himself in the Professional category once again the following year, and was crowned the champion with his work called “Moondrop”.

In 2006, he went for intensive training under the late makeup maestro, Mr. Shu Uemura.  2 years later, he opened up his own academy.

When asked about what he aims to achieve in his makeup, Sebastian was very quick to add that he is particular about clean, good blending; and the makeup done should achieve a 3D effect using light, medium and dark colours.  Smooth foundation with a pearl-like effect is what he aims to achieve.  In fact, his winning work ‘Moondrop’ was inspired by the pearlised reflection of the moon on a drop of water – and the judges were impressed by his achievement.

Sebastian has been interested in makeup, fashion and beauty since young, but he didn’t go straight into the beauty and makeup line until after spending some years in the banking industry.  He is an inspiring example of how one dares to pursue one’s interest and is willing to give it focused attention so that success is achievable.

His mantra is:  Be prepared to work hard and enjoy the sweetness of one’s reward later (先苦后甜）。 He studied makeup and hair training whilst working full-time back in 1995.  Part time study isn’t easy but it’s not impossible.  He found something he loved and kept at it without complaints.

Let’s see what Sebastian has to say in answer to a couple of our questions….

What advice do you have for upcoming makeup artists?

• don’t do things just for money’s sake.
• always do your very best; never compromise on the quality of your work
• insist on doing a client’s whole image (hair, makeup, outfit) if possible – he likes to think that all the brides he beautifies are like beauty queens or models on show!
• take comments/criticisms positively
• remember your own reason for choosing to do what you do

What do you need to be a good makeup artist?

• 50% talent + 50% hard work towards a clear goal

Let Sebastian inspire all of us to become better artists and stylists in 2011!

Sebastian at work

To see more pictures of the event:  see the Facebook page of OFFICE Makeup

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