How Cindy Chen went from a Silicon Valley job to viral makeup videos
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Photo: Courtesy of Cindy Chen
Cindy Chen's designs are a showstopper — her face is a canvas for intricate designs inspired by nature, pop culture and personal histories.
The big picture: The avant-garde makeup artist is our second featured subject of "Made in the Bay," a series spotlighting content creators with ties to the Bay Area.
Zoom in: Chen was working as a designer at a Silicon Valley startup when she lost her job in 2020 and gave herself three months to try out content creation.
- Though the money "wasn't good at first," she tells Axios it was "thrilling" to know she could potentially make a living through her art and storytelling.
- Chen, who has amassed over 2.1 million followers on TikTok, has since moved to Los Angeles but refers to the Bay Area as "my sweet little escape."
The following answers have been lightly edited.
When did you realize your content was starting to blow up?
I started posting short videos of my makeup art on TikTok as a way to stay creative ... within a few weeks, I started to wake up with thousands of new followers flooding in each day. Then one video in particular (me removing 6 hours of makeup) reached 10 million views and pretty much skyrocketed my account.
What's one part of content creation that you love but people might not realize takes a lot of effort?
I film a lot of different videos at the same time for one look. ... One photoshoot can lead to a makeup transition, a storytime, a behind-the-scenes vlog, skit, random trend, and makeup removal.
How has living in the Bay Area impacted you?
Honestly, it was a nice escape from noise. I was in Redwood City when I got started, and then I moved into the SoMa area a year later. ... I was always close to nature or a park, which was rejuvenating to me.
If you took someone on a one-day tour, where would you go?
Japanese tea garden to ... have udon noodle soup, mochi, and hot jasmine tea. And then take an electric bike to explore Golden Gate Park. The botanical garden is my absolute favorite to stop by. ... At night, go bar hopping in the Castro.