Why I've Committed Myself to Makeup: The Way It Was

Chloe Sevigny in Dazed & Confused, March 2013 - Makeup by Nuy Cho

I started doing makeup when I was in junior high on all my friends, hosting slumber party makeover shoots (usually five girls at a time in an average evening) to my mother's chagrin at my parents' house. Makeup would always run like my life-blood through my career, through multiple countries, as I trained my hands through classical piano, jewelry, drawing, pottery, painting, and later entered the fashion world in NYC.

I was conducting my own photo shoots and testing colors, lines, and textures on the face and body wherever I was -- in moving vehicles, in public restrooms, in airless basements -- wherever someone asked me to do makeup, I did it, no matter what the circumstance. I always had new colors/products (which I went majorly broke for) in my bag, and I didn't care if I got in trouble at my jobs. And trust me, I did. At Issey Miyake, I personally got in trouble for looking too "disco" while working at the showroom. And I got busted for looking like I was slacking off at another b/c I was trying to practice  a look w/ new shades, and was not looking present with my other tasks (even though nothing else was going on). I prioritized makeup for my "client." even when it wasn't my primary job, because ultimately makeup has always been No.1. I collected makeup - did it on everybody I could. Paid or unpaid, I just wanted to paint the face. I loved the way the color absorbed and reacted with skin.

My work can be seen on Chloe Sevigny, Leelee Sobieski, Laura Kampman, Missy Rayder, Zuzanna Bijoch, to name a few and publications like Vogue China, Dazed & Confused, Pop, 032c as well as others.

-- N.C.