@Meicrosoft – not the rolling fields of green desktop screen and the shrill start-up noise of Windows XP kind – however the self-confessed ‘over-sharing web kid’ and make-up artist referred to as Mei Pang – a reputation you’ll definitely recognise out of your FYP should you’re a TikTok fanatic. In only over two months, the Canadian star has amassed an audience of over 700k followers on the platform, documenting her eccentric and ethereal make-up looks from butterflies to barbed wire. 

“Launching my TikTok felt like the subsequent organic step for me,” she explains, following on from the success of make-up on Instagram and YouTube. “I used to be so scared starting my TikTok because I realize it’s a younger demographic, I do know there are such a lot of eyes, that once I stepped into the sport so late, and searching like this, I didn’t understand how well received I could be.” 

Revered for her 80+ tattoos – each of them symmetrical – and her shaved head, Pang is using her image to beat the restrictive structures she felt growing up. “I lived in a primarily Caucasian town outside of Toronto, and I used to be one among the one Asian kids in my highschool. I do know lots of people get bullied in class, but for me, it was very racially charged – I at all times say I’m too Asian for the white kids and too white for the Asian kids. I’m this weird mix because my family didn’t teach me Mandarin or anything about my culture because they wanted me to be as Western as possible,” she tells us.   

From sharing her yoga practices, her intricate portraits to her virally acclaimed cat Latte, Mei Pang talks on her journey to becoming a make-up artist and the virtual beauty world. 

Are you able to tell us a little bit bit about yourself and what it was like growing up in Canada? 

Mei Pang: I grew up in a really hyper-religious all-girls private school and determining my identity in such a structured environment, I felt like I had no alternative but to rebel. I used to be at all times entering into trouble, but beyond that, I never really had the time to determine who I used to be and that made me offended on the within. So I left home once I was 14/15, I bounced around so much and after graduating highschool, I got accepted into art school in Toronto and I’ve now been here for six years. 

What was your time like as an art student? Was it during this time that you simply got into make-up?

Mei Pang: I didn’t finish – I’m your classic art school dropout. I went to high school for drawing and painting with a minor in screen printing, but that’s just about all I got out of it. Going to art school made me realise it wasn’t my lifelong dream, more of a creative release, and I feel art school itself killed my motivation due to structure. I felt those restrictions again like I did in class and so once I left, I still wanted to select up a brush. But this time, somewhat a brush on a canvas, it was a brush in your face. 

“I still wanted to select up a brush. But this time, somewhat a brush on a canvas, it was a brush in your face” – Mei Pang

Are you able to remember whenever you first began using make-up? What’s your earliest beauty related memory?

Mei Pang: It was definitely through the web; through MySpace, DailyBooth, Tumblr. The web made me realise that there’s more to make-up than simply easy eyeliner and pink lipstick. I used to be your typical MySpace scene kid. I used to be such an emo, with the black eyeliner and each single color of hair. I’m one among the lucky ones who first experienced the rise of make-up on YouTube with people like Michelle Phan and RCL Beauty 101. Then I got my first make-up retail job possibly five years ago and I used to be a stock girl so I wasn’t even on the ground. I used to be seeing all of my co-workers glammed up in these beautiful looks, once I didn’t have that much experience. I used to be so inspired by them I began to come back to work with more fun looks after which rose through the ranks, got on the ground and it’s all been uphill from here. 

Where do you discover the inspiration on your looks?

Mei Pang: Definitely from my friends on the web world. We push one another. Also, most of my inspiration comes from fashion. I take a lot from graphics and prints, especially animal print or retro looks from a couch that I’ve seen on the side of the road and I feel to myself, I can probably put that on my eyes; it gives me essentially the most probability to play with color. 

You’re recognised on TikTok on your make-up but additionally your tattoos. Is there a message behind them?

Mei Pang: The fast run-down about all my tattoos is that they’re symmetrical. What you see on one side, you see on the opposite. Once I got my second tattoo, I walked out of the shop and I felt a bit lopsided and heavier on one side – and the most important thing I attempt to tell people about getting them is that I actually have a robust belief that not all tattoos must have meaning. 

You talk candidly across your platforms and share your life out of your yoga practices to your cat Latte. How has it helped you grow creatively and the way does it feel sharing your life through the web?

Mei Pang: The explanation why I didn’t start my TikTok for the longest time is because once I opened up the app, possibly over a 12 months ago, I saw the platform itself and the editing features and thought I’m too old for this, I do not understand what I’m taking a look at. And I see all these people do like these amazing, amazing things with the videos because for me, my bread and butter is my Instagram and that’s just still photos, then YouTube it’s long-form content of me talking. So I’m like, let’s challenge this whole 60-second thing. I feel it’s helped me grow up so much, just trying latest things with transitions and now my music taste! I probably get all my latest songs on TikTok. I’ve definitely grown in that aspect of just with the ability to now try latest short-form videos. 

Do you discover it hard to modify off?

Mei Pang: As a Virgo woman with an Aquarius moon? Absolutely.

What advice would you give to someone who desires to hone their skills as a creative/MUA?

Mei Pang: I probably say this possibly once every couple days to myself and it’s from my Dad. He at all times told me: try all the things once. If it sticks, it sticks. If it doesn’t, a minimum of you tried. And that’s essentially my whole mantra, that’s why I shaved off my hair, why I’ve gotten all these tattoos, and I’ve worn some pretty questionable things. If I attempt to don’t prefer it, a minimum of I do know. My advice to MUAs could be to not get discouraged. I’ve seen lots of my friends attempting to grow online and it’s just not happening. Once I began my Instagram, I got one follower a day or then lost a bunch after which in the future it just modified. It’s just learning to be patient. Try all the things once, exit of your comfort zone and just experiment with different makeup styles. 

How do you think that the sweetness industry has been impacted by TikTok and social media? 

Mei Pang: It’s insane. One person can say one thing about this one product and next thing you recognize it’s sold out immediately. I feel like the sweetness industry has also grown in that if we didn’t have social media, I’m undecided we’d have the variety. Whereas before it, even going into drugstores and on the lookout for your foundation shade could be so difficult. Whereas with social media, there’s so many alternative faces and voices; it’s expanding and giving so many opportunities for thus many. What I hope for during this time that folks are stuck at house is that while they’re baking bread and making pottery, I hope that lots of people have began fidgeting with makeup and having fun. I hope to see latest faces on my Discover page. 

“Try all the things once, exit of your comfort zone and just experiment with different makeup styles” – Mei Pang 

For those who could collaborate with anyone dead or alive, who would it not be and why?

Mei Pang: Definitely be Leigh Bowery, the icon of the Club Kid era. There’s one look where Bowery had acrylic paint just dripping from their head down and I believed it was the sickest thing I’ve ever seen in my entire life. 

What does ‘beauty’ mean to you?

Mei Pang: The concept of beauty to me is whatever makes people feel comfortable and cosy. I dress quite subtly but that is just how I feel beautiful – it’s having no hair and having a bunch of tattoos that makes me truly feel like myself and at peace.