Anna En Spills The Tea on Makeup, Styling, and Working at NOC

Anna En is a makeup artist, stylist, and actress who is known for her amazing makeup skills and skits at Night Owl Cinematics (NOC). She is positive, cheerful, and a delight to speak with. Recently, Beauty Insider got the opportunity to interview the beautiful talent, to learn more about her work, passions, and some exclusive beauty tips that we think are incredibly insightful, especially when it comes to makeup! 

If you’d like to know what we found out, keep scrolling to read our full interview with Anna En. 

Anna En on Her Career

You hold multiple jobs from being a makeup artist to working with night owl cinematics. What part of your everyday work do you enjoy most? 

All of the work that I do has one thing in common which is meeting with new people. I do enjoy meeting new people and connecting with them all the time. As a makeup artist, I do it on a project basis which allows me to always meet new clients. As for my work with Night Owl Cinematics (NOC), there’s always new cast members coming on to film the videos hence, giving me the opportunity to socialize and connect with others. Sometimes on set, there are people that I work with often and other times I get to meet others that I haven’t seen in months. So, I always enjoy catching up with them and reuniting after a while. 

On certain occasions, I also get to do makeup on set for NOC using special effects makeup. Special effects makeup is something that I enjoy doing a lot, and I prefer it more compared to beauty makeup. So it’s always a good time when I get to do that kind of makeup. 

Creating content with nightowlcinematics looks like a fun and exciting task. What do you love most about it? 

I do love the comedy aspect of working with NOC. They always bring comedy into all of their content which I enjoy a lot. The way they bring in comedy, make their content light hearted, and relatable to, especially people our age, and even those who aren’t, which I’m sure there are some that aren’t in our age group who watches it as well, it’s a less formal approach. I love how NOC can make things relatable in a way that is chill and informal. It feels like you are having a conversation with a friend when talking about certain topics that could oftentimes be heavy or serious. 

I also love learning a script, and getting into character. Finding out what character I’m playing and exploring it is always a fun process. I can honestly say that working with NOC, there is never a dull moment. 

On your website, it is stated that you not only fulfil your responsibility but also inspire and lift the morale of everyone around you to achieve their greatest creative capabilities. How do you believe you do that and in what way? 

This is something that I totally believe in. As a stylist and makeup artist, it is a service oriented job. To do makeup and styling is one thing, but to provide them comfort with words, communicate with them to assess their level of satisfaction and comfortability with the look and feel of the entire look, as well as preparing them emotionally for their day is something that often comes with the job. 

Some instances with clients or talents that are playing their roles for the first time, I am the first person they converse with. Therefore, my goal is always to provide them with comfort and encouragement. 

Anna En Unwinds

How do you usually unwind from a busy day or week? 

After a busy day, I tend to lean towards a dinner or supper that is slightly unhealthy. I think the whole rewards system is fun. I would order some fried chicken or just get myself some extra oily food from the coffee shop. I do like the idea of perspiring all day at work and then coming home, lighting a candle, turning on the air conditioner, and just enjoying a bit of “naughty” food while zoning out on a good Netflix show. 

Anna En On Being A Content Creator

Being a content creator comes with a lot of ups and downs. According to your personal experience, what is the one thing that you dislike most about being a content creator? 

One thing that I dislike the most is when I have to please another party or client that has certain guidelines. So, in fulfilling those guidelines I have to compromise on my jokes or certain bits to meet them which makes the content less “myself” and losing my freedom to create the content that I want. Therefore, I love clients that give me creative freedom. 

As a content creator, what is one thing that you have not explored yet but would love to in the future? 

I’ve been hearing a lot about Twitch which I would love to explore. I’ve been talking to several people who have been active on the platform and they are encouraging me to join Twitch. There are endless types of content we can do on Twitch so I’m definitely looking to explore it one day. 

Anna En on Makeup and Styling

What made you decide to be a makeup artist? 

It’s quite a peculiar story. I did not intend on becoming a makeup artist initially. I was trained in fashion, and became a fashion designer after finishing fashion school. When I was a fashion designer, I would be invited on set to ensure that everything went smoothly with my designs. Through that, I became a stylist which was when I met a lot of people who assumed that being a stylist also meant that I could do makeup. Some of my clients had personally requested that I did their makeup too. So eventually, after some convincing I fell into being a makeup artist. I started providing makeup services actively, but for the first two years I did not dare to call myself a makeup artist just yet, as I have never received any training on it. But then, others referred to me as a makeup artist, so I decided to call myself one too. 

And it’s been more than 10 years now, and that was how it all started. As a stylist I had the opportunity to work with other makeup artists, learned from them, and trained myself through observing and my experiences. 

What do you love most about makeup? 

On myself, it instantly lifts up my mood because makeup helps me look glowy, and healthy. It makes me kick start the day with a good mood and confident spirit. When I do makeup on others, I enjoy transforming people especially when it comes to special effects. I love storytelling through makeup too. 

As a makeup artist and stylist, you’ve worked with a lot of celebrities and known personalities. Who would you say you enjoyed working the most with and why? And who would you love to work with in the future? 

I loved working with Micheal Bolton. It’s always interesting to have a glimpse into the life of the rich and famous. To be able to enter into his trusted circle, I had to be approved by his manager, and bodyguards as trustworthy. It’s always nice to see the extra perks that someone of his caliber gets. Additionally, it was fun to get to know and hear stories from his manager, and others around him. Michael is really sweet and he puts his trust in me. Sometimes, he doesn’t check the mirror anymore after I’m done and it is a huge compliment to me. 

I also enjoyed working with Yvette King from E! Entertainment who is beautiful with  an amazing personality. The trust that she has in me is very comforting. 

Another person is Paul Foster who has an amazing and infectious positive energy. He is very nice and respectable to people on set. 

As a makeup artist, what is your favourite beauty product? 

My favourite beauty product is a colour correcting palette. Colour correction is important to me especially when avoiding piling on a lot of makeup. It is everything to me, colour correction is key. I think it is a very powerful product that people should talk about more.

If you could give one advice about makeup to aspiring makeup artists, what would it be? 

Always put hygiene first, and skills come second. Art is subjective, so always be open and ask for constructive criticism when someone does not like your work. If they can’t come up with anything, then don’t give up because there will always be future clients that will like your work. Plus, you should always be open to new trends and explore them. This will help you improve your work and widen your range. 

What is one makeup tip that has helped you improve your makeup skills?

Sometimes when a client tells me “Anna, make me look pretty!”. It is quite a hard task to fulfil because beauty is subjective. So what I do is I usually go for a youthful look. I do this by using a colour corrector. I would colour correct signs of fatigue, and hollow areas on the face to make it look more filled and plump. I would also opt for a lip colour that will create the illusion of youth. 

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