*Tina in her studio, 2022.
Tour Our Studio!
Shine, Tina! Studio
Trust me when I say this mess is an organized chaos...
This is where all the magic happens! Weddings, trials, makeup & hair for any events such as engagement photography, family portrait sessions, professional headshots, you name it. We also hold artist makeup & hair workshops regularly to stay on top of the new trends and techniques.
Mostly built on Ikea kitchen system, with a few items from HomeGoods, Target, Industry West, Regina Andrew, Etsy, and a few custom-built pieces spread across the space. It seems like a mess at a first glance, but if you look closer, there's an order and most importantly a purpose to every section of this studio.
Welcome Area
This studio is Korean-owned, which means "please take your shoes off!"
This is the waiting area for the guests, with a coat rack and a small bench, shoe/slipper rack, some magazines in a basket, and finally a small but mighty snack bar. We also have a restroom available.
You're welcome to enjoy our snack bar, don't even ask! Sometimes wedding and trials held here at our studio runs for hours and hours; we don't want you to be sugar low!
Media Console Area
We can't work without an awesome background music, can we?
We simply refuse to work without a great background music, so we have to have a computer nearby. We also complete any outstanding bookings for our wedding clients if they prefer doing their trial first and then reserve their services for their special day. (In most cases, our clients book their day-of services first and then schedule their trials at a later date, FYI!)
This console table is custom made by Austen Morris Furniture, and the chairs are from Industry West. Tina adores these pieces, hence this area deserves a separate text box ♥
Makeup Area
Our makeup set-up seen from the reception area
Tina's dream-come-true! ♥ Tina forever wanted a custom-fit drawer sets dedicated to the makeup products, and now she has it!
The big table on the left side with the custom-made lighting (by Tina's husband) & mirror is height adjustable, so it can be lowered to accomodate 1:1 private makeup lessons or made higher, as shown above, so that her clients can see herself in the mirror while getting their makeup done at the high chair on the right side.
This design was very intentional and has always been this way since Day 1 of Tina's career as a makeup artist; she's a firm believer that every single step of the makeup should be enhancing, and therefore, there shouldn't be a prolonged stage of "it looks worse before it looks better" (at least for Tina's bridal makeups anyway). We don't hide the mirrors because we are not afraid to show the progress. This set-up reflects her philosophy, by letting the client see themselves in every step of the way so that they can enjoy the experience rather than wondering (and worrying) if the service is going well, and this also allows clients to have their live feedback so that our work becomes custom-fit.
(This also comes from Tina's own experience as a client long long time ago, before she became a bridal makeup artist. When Tina went for a makeup trial for her wedding, the makeup artist hid the mirror until the end of the session for the "wow" effect, the big reveal. Let's just say that Tina was wow-ed with a quite different sentiment when she finally got to see herself in the mirror... This experience made her realize that hiding a mirror prevents clients from being able to share their input throughout the session, which can be incredibly anxious for the client. More on this topic here, under "Shine, Tina! philosophy")
We HAVE TO talk about these drawers and cabinets!
All the liquid foundations and lip products that Tina owns are displayed in this area, and all other powder products such as eyeshadows, blushes, pressed powders, etc are hiding in the drawers below the display case, but we'll let you take a peek at what we have here.
Can you believe that this is only a part of her array of products? All of our artists have their own travel kit, way more condensed and efficiently packed for easy traveling!
Can we preach HYGIENIC PRACTICE? Using disposables whenever possible, sanitizing metal & plastic tools all the time, scraping products off of the palette rather than dipping the brush into them, shampooing and thoroughly drying brushes once used, etc...
Hair Styling Area
No look has ever been complete without an amazing hairstyle
This wall where the two sconces and mirror are hung has been through sooooooo muchhhhhhh (if you are curious, go check out Tina's @shine_tina instagram page and click on the story highlight called :: studio ::. You can see ALL OF THE PROGRESS that has ever been made for this studio ♥)
We are so glad to have storage drawers where we can hide our 20,534 (this is an estimate, jk jk) tools and products. Compared to our makeup set-up, our hair set-up is much simpler because we need all of our hot tools, hair pins, hair sprays and waxes spread over a tabletop space for the entire time while working on a hair client, until they can be tucked away when the job is finished.
Again, the mirror set up in front of the client is CRUCIAL. For the reasons stated above. Yes we are that confident.