Interview : A freelance MUA Jeremy Khoo

(Visual : Instagram : @jeremy_khoo / @mkup.byjeremy)

I wanted to take a dive into something different for this blog post, so I reached out to our friend Jeremy Khoo, a young talented Singaporean freelance MUA who are strongly passionate about make up and fashion. You can check out some of his instagram portfolio on :

Instagram : @jeremy_khoo

Portfolio : @@mkup.byjeremy

(Visual : Instagram : @jeremy_khoo / @mkup.byjeremy)

How did you start as a freelance MUA?

Jeremy : I started as a freelance MUA one year ago. However I’ve been doing makeup on myself for three years and I felt that as I am a guy, there are looks that I struggle to channel due to my stronger features(more manly). Hence, one year ago, I decided to start doing makeup on my friends, it lead to me doing shoots, collaborating with Photographers, from there it took flight. 

Where do you usually find inspiration for creating particular make up look? 

Jeremy : During the start, I depend heavily on other beauty guru’s works, especially @nikkietutorials ! But as the time goes by, I started relying on my own to come out with looks to ensure its originality! But I do look at Pinterest all the time so that I can continuously get inspired with doing new work! The tips on looking at Pinterest is to always use key descriptive words! Eg: “edgy” “editorial” “beauty” etc.

How do you develop your make up skills? 

Jeremy : I’m an avid viewer of YouTube videos, some of the channels that I love to watch are Jeffree Star, Keilidh MUA, and Refinery29 (their BeautywithMi series)! From there I pick up tips and tricks and learn the new techniques! But the most important thing in order to develop your makeup skills will be practicing! Even till now almost every night I’ll dedicate an hour or two to sit at my vanity and just play with makeup!.

What is the challenging part of becoming freelance MUA? 

Jeremy : The most challenging part of becoming a freelance MUA is connections. As a freelancer, you’re not attached to any brands hence opportunities don’t just come to you like that! At the start I did a lot of work for free just to get connections, and from there, you’ll know more people and words spread. Be patient and slowly work your way up and get paid jobs!.

In your opinion, What is the most important quality in a Makeup Artist/Freelancers? 

Jeremy : The passion and drive you have towards your art. During this journey, you’ll face a lot of challenges and obstacles, and I feel that so long as you’ve passion and drive, you’ll fuel through and come out as a better artist!.

Are there any make up artists that you look up to? And Why do you like them?

Jeremy : I actually admire these Taiwanese MUA (@saomakeup0130//@fio_na_Li)! As we all know makeup just like society comes in different forms and what I like about them is that they’re super original and creative and the best thing is that if you see their work somewhere it’s easily identifiable which I feel is what we should strive for!.

What is your future goal relates to the freelance MUA? Do you wanna pursue as a professional MUA? 

Jeremy : Currently I am enjoying the freedom I get being a freelancer, but we will never know what’s upcoming for us, but I feel that we should always do what we want, be it professional or freelancer.

Any advices for those who want to pursue as freelance MUA?

Jeremy : Never expect yourself to start up as someone or something, we all start somewhere! Be it big or small, remember the reason why we all started because we love makeup, and push through. I believe that there’s a place in the community for all of us, work hard everyone!.

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From this interview, It fuels my motivation as freelance MUA. The advice to practicing on your make up like he does 1-2 hours a day and find opportunity to create your original portfolio as much as you could by collaborate with friends and participate for particular fashion events will be the best opportunity for freelancer to showcase their skills. Finding inspirations on Youtube, Pinterest, and Instagram are crucial, since you need drives to become better MUA and up-to-dated on what’s on trends. I’ve learnt so much from this interview, and find ways to achieve my goals and develop my skills as MUA freelancer.

Thanks to the lovely Jeremy Khoo once again!. If you read this I admired you so much. XO