Christina Choi, CCC Founder and Makeup Artist
CHRISTINA CHOI COSMETICS is a San Francisco, CA based lifestyle beauty brand providing makeup services, virtual makeup education and multi-functional cosmetics. Christina Choi is a celebrity makeup artist & educator for over 23 years. She focuses on helping women feel the best through makeup artistry, her cosmetics line and catering her makeup education for the underrepresented groups, typically ignored in the world of beauty.
Want to learn more about Christina and her makeup line? Join me in my conversation with her about discovering her love for makeup, her passion for makeup education and her mission to help women “Celebrate Your Unique Beauty” through makeup!
Featured CCC Brushes | Photography by Jung Fitzpatrick
How did you discover your love for makeup, and how does your background influence your line?
As a Korean-American woman, I have experienced my share of beauty struggles. I noticed there was a lack of attention to my unique eye shape and features within the beauty industry. Asian-American beauty continues to be ignored in the media to this day. As a result, I was interested in makeup artistry at a young age. I remember going to a makeup counter at 17 years old to get my makeup done for my senior portraits. The makeup artist had no idea how to do my eye makeup, creating a false crease line on my eyelid trying to mimic western eyes and features. I remember feeling awful about myself as I wiped off the makeup, but at that moment I realized that I had a special talent with Asian makeup artistry.
Being in the industry for 23 years now, this is a common story I hear from Asian-American women that is not really talked about. Wanting to remedy this bad makeup experience actually launched my career in cosmetics. I made it my mission to share my makeup artistry talents and show all women--from all backgrounds and ethnicities--how to define and honor their own unique eye shapes (monolids, hooded eyes, smaller crease lines) and facial features. I started my early years in my career at MAC Cosmetics, and I then became The National Makeup Artist & Designer of Makeup Artistry for Bare Minerals before launching my company Christina Choi Cosmetics (CCC) in 2012.
Featured CCC Shadows | Photography by Jung Fitzpatrick
Tell us more about you and Christina Choi Cosmetics.
With over 20 years of industry experience, my continued passion is to make each client the best version of themselves through makeup artistry. "celebrate your unique beauty" is a mantra that I instill to all my clients. Having toured around the country meeting clients and performing makeovers on thousands of women over the past 20 years, I quickly learned how much I loved educating and sharing my artistic talents. I listened to my clients' beauty struggles and helped them address their beauty questions while developing strong friendships. I've taken my makeup artistry experiences throughout the years and translated them into my product line. I love makeup; I love working with it and wearing it. I have enjoyed taking my passion and applying it to the development and art direction of my brand, which I can then share with my clients to connect in a personal way. It has been a privilege to be included in so many women’s lives. It is a responsibility I don’t take lightly. I want to make sure they have the best quality products that are versatile, multi-functional, and long-lasting. Through my makeup line, I can help provide this as well as the skills and tools that enable them to be the best version of themselves.
What inspires you to create your products?
I have used my years of experience helping clients across the country, and I have dedicated my makeup line to their needs and suggestions. I also use my Korean heritage to help inspire me with color-crafting of shades and naming products like “K-Pop,” “Seoul Mate,” and “Namu.”
Featured CCC Luxury Glosses | Photography by Jung Fitzpatrick
Where do you create your products?
We have partnered with an amazing lab to help us create our beautiful colors and shades. All our products are created and developed here in the USA. Our CCC makeup studio/ showroom is located in Union Square, San Francisco, and it is where we feature and showcase our collection to clients, customers, and buyers.
CCC Studio | Photography by Jeremy Jachym
Where can people find you and learn more about your brand and your products?
You can head to our website www.christinachoicosmetics.com to learn all about CCC and shop our makeup. You can also visit us directly at CCC makeup studio/ showroom located in Union Square, San Francisco. It’s by appointment only if you want to schedule a makeup appointment or schedule a “Swatch & Shop” appointment to safely view and shop our products.
Bonus Question: What are your makeup pro-tips for the holiday season?
My holiday pro-tip is to get back into a makeup routine! During this pandemic, it’s been hard for people to keep up with a daily beauty routine, which I totally understand. WFH, homeschooling, etc. is just plain exhausting, and it has put a toll on everyone, including myself. Try wearing a lip color again, swipe on some eyeshadow, or put on some BB Cream to refresh the face. Pamper yourself, even if it’s just a little, during the holiday season. Makeup has been an instant mood-lifter for me and hope it does that for you!
