Shu Zhang is no stranger to success. She worked on the award-winning film Death in a Day. She did the makeup for Chinese celebrity Li Sisi for none other than the Academy Awards. She was the first Chinese makeup artist to work with NBA players, and did the makeup for DeAndre Jordan, Chris Paul, and Blake Griffin of the Los Angeles Clippers. She also was celebrated on the international stage for her skills in competition, winning first place at the “Battle of the Brushes” for the International Makeup Artists Trade Show (IMATS), the largest convention in the world for her trade. Her work has been featured in Vogue Italy, and Dark Beauty magazine. There is no doubt that she is one of the best makeup artists ever to come out of China.
Her talent as a makeup artist is continuously recognized, and she is sought after for many projects by many high-profile individuals. This includes film producer, actress, designer, and martial arts artist Chris Yen. After working with Zhang on several red-carpet events in China, she reached out to Zhang to be the lead makeup artist for her personal fashion photoshoot, presenting her own martial arts inspired sport clothing brand called CY-Fusion. Zhang decided to volunteer for the project, knowing that the success of the photoshoot was important to the success of the clothing brand, and Yen needed a makeup artist that could contribute to its success.
“Shu’s talent as a professional make-up artist on fashion photoshoots and red carpet events is undeniable,” said Yen. “She is easy to collaborate with, extremely knowledgeable, and a great pleasure to work with.”
Yen is very selective of the talents she chooses to work with. She is a member of Bullet Films Production Ltd. in Hong Kong and she runs an online boutique, so she knows the high level of importance of these type of photo shoots. Together, she and Zhang have talked and designed four sets of looks. Shu has a background in art and art history, and possesses a high-quality skill set, combined with an East and West background.
“As a martial arts artist, Chris is very careful about considerate about the makeup for her shoots. Martial arts have a long history in China, and my knowledge of this combined with my skills made me the perfect person to join her project,” said Zhang. “There was one scene where she wears martial arts fusion clothing. I wanted to show her charming looks in the photo, but charm and elegance are not always related with martial arts, martial arts always show spirt of strong and brave. I came up with the idea to create her an extremely heathy glowing skin instead of heavy foundation cover. Nothing should stand out too much, so I focused on the eyes, giving simple dark liner insider of a water line, with real hair false lashes attached to make her eyes show more wisdom, but still looking like there was no make-up on.”
Keeping the integrity of the shoot was extremely important to all involved. The shoot was done with Hollywood’s talented young photographer Haoyuan Ren, who has shot for many movie stars. Of all of the photographers she has ever worked with in her 10 years in the industry, she says Zhang is the most talented.
“Shu has lots of talent, and ideas for a photoshoot. She is talkative, and always does extensive research before a photoshoot to ensure everything is perfect,” said Ren.
The final product was published in many magazines around Hong Kong, where the fashion line was being sold. There is no doubt that the shoot, and the makeup, directly contributed to the success of the CY-Fusion line.
“I totally feel honored to be Chris’s personal style designer and doing her makeup for the whole shoot. I feel it’s my personal responsibility to make sure people are very satisfied with my design and application, and it has really helped promote their careers,” Zhang concluded.