Riding high
A DAY IN THE LIFE OF RENOWNED MAKE-UP ARTIST HUNG VANNGO IS A REVOLVING DOOR OF CELEBRITIES, FASHION SHOOTS AND RED CARPETS, ALL TACKLED WITH HIS INNATE FLAIR AND LOVE FOR MAKE-UP. THE BEAUTY PRO TALKS TO EMIRATES WOMAN ABOUT THE LATEST LONG-LASTING LINER
72 Riding High: Hung Vanngo.
Hung Vanngo first emerged as a global make-up star when he moved to New York in the Noughties and started building an impressive resume of magazine covers. “People started to notice me when I got the chance to do an ID cover in 2009 with the ‘supers’ – Helena Christensen, Claudia Schiffer and Eva Herzigova,” says Vanngo. “Right after that I saw a turning point.”
With fashion shoots firmly under his belt, he embarked on the world of musicians and celebrities, painting more A-list faces than you can name for music videos and VIP events. And if that wasn’t enough he has recently became the global artistry ambassador for Marc Jacobs Beauty.
On a two-day stint in the desert with Marc Jacobs Beauty X Sephora, Vanngo took some time out of his busy schedule to speak to us.
ON HOW IT ALL BEGAN
“When I was young, I was painting and sketching faces but when I finished high school, I went to hairdressing school because I thought I wanted to be a hairdresser. After graduating, the hair salon I started working at had a make-up station and I began playing with the products. It was then I realised this was my true passion. I just went from there and never went to make-up school. For me make-up is like art. People can teach you the basics but it’s really up to you to play with texture and colour and how you see a face when you apply make-up. No one can really teach you this.”
ON HIS BIG BREAK
“I was doing well in Canada and then when I moved to the US, people started to notice me. I got a chance to do an ID cover with three 1990s supermodels, shot in London with photographer Kayt Jones and right after that I saw the turning point. I started in fashion before I started working with celebrities.”
ON HIS LOVE FOR THE JOB
“Right now I’m really into three different fields – models, celebrities and musicians. At first I wanted to do fashion and then I got into working with celebrities and musicians. I love it all. It keeps my job exciting. I wouldn’t do what I’m doing, especially with all the travel, if I didn’t love it. The best part about my job is that it’s always different. One week I was in LA shooting music videos with Katy Perry and Selena Gomez, the next I was in New York for the Met Gala with Selena, Giselle and Emily Ratajkowski, followed by two big editorial shoots and then I flew here to Dubai for Marc Jacobs Beauty – and then it’s back to NYC. I know it sounds exhausting but it’s exciting for me.”
ON THE IMPORTANCE OF PREP
“The key is prepping the skin before make-up. I find there’s a lack of dedication that people forget. Everyone should be exfoliating the skin three to four times as week. It’s so important. One scrub I love is Lancer The Method: Polish and a simple one from St Ives. Both are really nice and with low and high price points.”
ON TACKLING DARK CIRCLES
“We all struggle with dark circles from lack of sleep and lack of water – I have them now from travelling. I find colour-correcting concealers are a little tricky for home use because if they aren't used correctly they can look wrong. I'm a realist and I don't want to recommend stuff that's tricky to use. I would definitely use a brightening pen to brighten up the area first and then apply concealer on top. This will give the illusion of a brighter eye instead of trying to cover up too much. If you apply too much product in the area, it will look too [obvious].”
ON SELENA GOMEZ
“Selena is a dream, she lets me do anything I want. Usually I say: ‘Selena, I want to do this' and she says: ‘Go for it'. She has never once said: ‘Hung, you can't do that.' For her Met Gala look I used a bright pink shade, Highliner Matte Gel Pencil in Popular. The consistency is a cream shadow so I worked it onto the eye and blended it around, added more and blended again and it didn't crease.”
ON THE COMMON MAKE-UP MISTAKE
“A lot of people think because the weather is hot they don't need to use moisturiser but that's a big mistake as that's the time skin dehydrates the most. Moisture is everyone's best friend. You should moisturise skin first, prime, then add a little of Re(Marc)able Full Cover Foundation. It sets fairly matte and you won't need powder to finish.”
ON GLOSSY LIPS
“I'm not a lipgloss person. If I do use it, I only use a hint. It's just my personal preference. A lot of people love liquid lipstick but I just haven't gotten into it. I think for a photo shoot it's fine but for red carpet I always get nervous because there's nobody there to touch it up.”
ON LONG-LASTING LINER
“My top trick for tackling hot weather is the Marc Jacobs Highliner Matte Gel Pencil [Dhs100 exclusive at Sephora]. With any other pencil, minutes after you go outside, you'll find it will melt but this one is long-wear. You have 15 to 20 seconds to blend it in any way you want and once it sets, it doesn't come off. This is the reason I used it on Emily Ratajkowski's eyes for the Met Gala. I did her makeup at 11am, hours before the event and it stayed put.”
ON GISELLE’S MET GALA LOOK
“Giselle, of course, knows what she wants. She said: ‘Hung, I want to look like a goddess. I want to feel like I'm going to the Oscars, not the Met.' She wanted to look beautiful, not costume-y, without too much make-up. I worked two neutral colours, one on the lid and one smudged into the lash line.” n