Makeup By Sapphire Shen – An Inspirational Journey to Success

Makeup can do wonders – it's a work of art that can enhance facial features, bring out personal confidence and accentuate an overall outfit and look. To be a professional makeup artist brings a wealth of experience that can truly transform a person in the best way possible.

For Sapphire Shen, it's a passion and lifelong career, and with time comes expertise. Sapphire is a Hong Kong-based makeup artist and creative director with experience in editorial and creative makeup and it all began when she joined a rock band years back. Since then, she has overcome her own personal barriers, from her autoimmune disease lupus – which she has fought and learned to live with – to the mental health side effects that came with it. Now, Sapphire battles strong and has come out with a more positive, driven attitude backed by her company Makeup By Sapphire Shen. We speak to the entrepreneur on her inspirational journey to success.

Could you tell us about yourself and how you got into makeup?

I am a Hong Kong-based makeup artist and a creative director, who is enthusiastic and passionate about editorial and creative makeup. After working as a makeup artist for more than 7 years in this field, my belief in makeup never changed. Makeup goes beyond beauty, it can be a form of art, self-expression, empowerment and manifestation of values and beliefs. My very first opportunity to do makeup on someone was designing and creating an abstract creative makeup look on an actress for my secondary school drama performance, I was fascinated with the power of Makeup. Makeup has the power to create and shape the character and with makeup, you can see how it empowered the actress to get into the character. And makeup is not confined to a beauty look, we are somehow like a painter, just that our canvas is a face instead of a piece of paper. With the uniqueness of every single face, there are unlimited possibilities for any sort of creation.

Makeup goes beyond beauty, it can be a form of art, self-expression, empowerment and manifestation of values and beliefs.

I was a self-taught makeup artist at the very beginning, and I realised my foundation skills were inadequate and needed to be refined. I was lucky enough to be introduced to and learned makeup from a well-known makeup master Sukin Lui in Hong Kong when I was in university. At the same time, I was officially diagnosed with SLE Lupus, an incurable autoimmune disease. Lupus changed my body and appearance tremendously. With the illness itself and the side effects of the medication, I experienced hair loss, rashes, swelling and breakouts on my face, as well as weight fluctuation. With all these changes, I started to develop symptoms of depression and having suicidal thoughts.

Makeup saved my life more than once. With the assistance of my family, friends, mentors and doctors, I was very lucky to have my lupus under control. And being able to do makeup on myself again. It reminds me I am stronger than the illness, and I can take control of how I want to look and present myself in front of others. The helplessness and loneliness started to fade away when I took up makeup sessions with myself as a therapeutic session, to focus just on yourself and appreciate your beauty, from the inside out.

After graduating from university, I worked at Urban Decay as a makeup artist in Hong Kong where I learned a lot and was strongly influenced by their ex-national makeup artist Jess Yung. The biggest lesson I have learned from him is to “be humble and never stop learning”.

While I was at Urban Decay, I founded an online patient support group – My Lupus Diary with two other patients, after four years we are now planning to become an NGO. Within these four years, we tried to raise awareness and promote body positivity through empowerment. We have organised makeup workshops and beauty talks, spreading the message of “never let lupus take your right to live beautifully”. During the events and workshops, it reinforced my beliefs in the empowerment of makeup. The fact that makeup can help one to regain confidence and control in life simply amazed me and fortified my faith and passion for makeup.