Tina is me who lived this story,
the happiest, the brightest shining star
on her wedding day.
Tina is also you because you know this is the story
living in the deepest corner of your heart.
Hello, my name is Tina Shin.
I am a bridal makeup artist.
I will be right there in your story.
We will make it happen.
So no worries! Just go ahead.
Shine, Tina!
Tina is me, but Tina is also you.
Tina was just an ordinary girl who would daydream about her
future wedding on those boring days at work.
Nonetheless, she said to herself that one day, when she meets
that right person, she would make one beautiful 'extraordinary' bride.
Sometimes, magical things happen in life, and so did in hers.
She started sketching out every detail the moment she got engaged,
from what kind of luscious flowers her bouquet would be,
down to how graciously her veil would fly in the wind.
Finally the day arrived. There she was, walking down the aisle,
shining like an angel with her dream dress as her wings.
Her makeup was glowing, and her hair was flawless.
She looked stunning, and yet, she appeared effortless.
This blissful, very precious day was thoroughly shared with
the people whom she loves dearly, and who appreciate her.
She did not need to worry about a thing,
for all went just as she had imagined them.
It was like a dream, how everything was unbelievably perfect.
*Tina when she got married, 2013.
Who's Tina?
Tina's (auto)biography
in one-ish page.
definitely longer than a 3-min elevator pitch.
This is NOT a list of qualifications/achievements.
It is Tina's life story, a series of lifetime events, decisions (good & bad) , screw-ups and
clean-ups that shaped who Tina is now.
It's a narrative that shows her character, philosophy, weaknesses and talents (which may or may not
have anything to do with makeup and hair),
and how she ended up where she is now.
Anything that might be considered as "resume" material is bolded, so skip right ahead!
Should you hire her?
You be the judge!
1986 - 2001
The Greatest Makeup Artist was bo.......
Okay so that's not true, yet, but she'll get there at one point in life. Tina was born in Seoul, Korea, and lived there until she was 14 years old. She loved drawing women's figures and faces all along her elementary school years, so she'd draw pretty girls for all her friends. She had a dream of becoming a comic book artist all throughout her elementary school years, until she was 12 years old when she found out that they don't make that much money unless you are super famous. So then she became a depressed, dream-less girl for about first 2 years of middle school, and studied her butt off just in case having good grades at her hands matter later in her life. As a result, she hit top of the class in her middle school at her grade level (but only once) and soon she lost interest in studying. At the end of her second year in middle school, her US green card came out, at which point her mother decided to move to Maryland, US.
2001 - 2005
Brutal teenage years, but a new dream blossomed.
Starting the most volatile years of her life in a brand new continent away from home with zero working knowledge of their new language was way more brutal than she had thought it was going to be. However this is also when she first noticed her mom's makeup and started to wonder why she'd put blue shadows when something like khaki green would compliment her skin tone better. (That greenish gold brown looked so much better than blue FYI.) She didn't hesitate to experiment on her mom and two aunts, and of course on herself, and soon realized that she doesn't feel depressed about her no-friends-no-english status in her middle school when she plays with makeup. As her list of friends grew in her new home and high school, the range of her experimental models expanded as well, and decided on her fourth year of high school that she'd want to go to an art college. (Miserable AP Calculus class definitely helped in choosing this direction.) Luckily she'd taken art classes all along and had plenty of portfolio materials, but she needed a punch that would give her better chance to get into MICA (Maryland Institute College of Art) and she had 2 weeks to build it. So what did she do? She got a brand new DSLR ($$$$), took photos of beautiful Maryland's fall foliage and landscape, and applied as a photography major. How she got into MICA is still mysterious since her preparation was so lacking, and this became evident once she started her first semester.
2005 - 2010
Art was fun, but the competition was high.
Taking college-level art classes opened up her eyes so much, but also made her realize how sheer genius some kids were and, at the same time, how unprepared (or un-genius) she was among those purely talented group of people. She soon realized how expensive her college tuition was compared to her level of pure artistic creativity and potential of success after graduating with a photography major; money didn't add up! One thing that she did take away though, for life, was this attitude, the way of perception that she's able to find beauty in almost everything she encounters. On the final week of her first semester in MICA, she abruptly and decisively announced that she'd quit MICA and transfer to UMCP (University of Maryland College Park) and build a better chance for her life, and then UMD said, okay! After the first few years of college life where clubbing and hanging out with friends until 5 am on random Wednesday night through Sunday was norm, she started to study her butt off again and decided to major in Biochemistry (because it sounded more complicated than just Chemistry or Biology) and then double-degree in General Business (because it sounded like she'd use it at some point of her life). All while this was happening, she continued learning and experimenting makeup and worked as a makeup artist at Bloomingdale's Shiseido counter, then was soon promoted to a Bobbi Brown makeup artist. Choosing Biochemistry was with an intention of becoming a cosmetic chemist, but because of the lack of internship experiences in that field, upon graduation, she somehow ended up getting hired as a chemist at DuPont in Delaware. New, no-friend status began in a new state.
2010 - 2016
How did a chemist turn into an artist? Or, was she both all along?
At DuPont, Tina worked as a chemist, running reactions and blowing things up (just kidding, she wishes she'd had that much fun), and on her second year as a grown-up, she met her husband, lovingly nicknamed Penguin. Knowing that Penguin was exactly what she was looking for in a man, she proposed to him and they got married in exactly 6 months in court. (People, don't do this.) She still wanted a wedding, a small but charming one, but she knew she was as picky as your mother's unrealistic standards in your boyfriend, so she started planning her own wedding from A-Z, exactly in 2 months time. (She even did florals herself, the night before the wedding at a hotel room with her lovely friends. People, don't do this. Stress is un-real.) She did want to get her makeup done by someone else other than herself, knowing how stressful it would be to do it on her own wedding day, so she went through a trial with a local artist for her engagement shoot (Again, people, don't do this. Plan a separate one for a trial.), which didn't end well for her. So, she ended up doing her own makeup at her own wedding. This is when she realized that we the (Asian) people need a makeup artist in this area who truly understands Asian facial features and how to work with them to bring out their natural beauty. (FYI she can do anyone's face regardless of their race and/or skin tone.) After successfully executing her own wedding, she ignited a little candle light of Shine, Tina! in 2014 as a side gig on the weekends while working at DuPont, and as her portfolio grew, so did the demand for her "magic touch", as many of our clients lovingly put it. In 2016, she quit being a comfortable, salary-receiving chemist at DuPont and began her journey of unsteady, unpredictable freelancer life and turned Shine, Tina! into a full time career.
2016 - Now
And there was the artist, Tina Shin. Shine, Tina!
Working as a freelancer makeup artist definitely is one hell of a ride, but it also is very rewarding, and she's enjoying it so far. Since she turned into full time makeup artist, she got to take care of many of lovely Maryland and Virginia brides, and (literally) got her hands on some of the famous people here and in Korea. Pics, or it didn't happen! Here are some people you might recognize.
Whee Sung (Real Slow) 휘성
Kim Jo Han 김조한
Roy Kim 로이킴
Kim Tae Woo 김태우
Choo Shin Soo & Ha Won Mi (MLB All Star) 추신수 & 하원미
Baek Zyoung 백지영
Things you don't need to know about Tina
Buuuut... you might want to know.
Tina is very decisive.
If you ask her for her opinion about your earring choices or hair pieces, she'll give her very honest, raw opinion and will choose something for you if you are an indecisive person, but in the end, it should be what YOU want and like, and she'll lead you to your own conclusion by asking right questions.
Tina doesn't hesitate.
If Tina doesn't like how the foundation is laying on your skin, or if the color of the eyeshadows she used on you doesn't seem to play well with your skin tone, she'll take it off completely. Even if the look is almost done, even when she knows it'll look decent in other people's eyes, even when it's your wedding day, and re-do it. (Sorry for the run-on, incomplete sentences.) AND complete everyone as scheduled. Happened before.
Tina cares about your experience and her artistry. A LOT.
Tina has had a less-than-perfect trial session with another artist during her own wedding planning x years ago and had to fix her makeup in the car before her engagement shoot began. She's had many, many clients who's had similar experience with another artist, ends up coming to Shine, Tina! and be very impressed on what can be achieved on them. She's had a client where her other hair stylist showed up 2 hours late on her wedding day, without any heads-up, AFTER leaving one too many voicemails, due to an "emergency". Tina's been through a lot of situations and really understands how harsh the drama and the stress associated with wedding planning can be on the brides, that she never, ever wants to cause or add more of them for her clients. This is why she works her hardest to meticulously plan ahead so that most causes of the stress are eliminated at roots. She genuinely strives to become one of your most reliable & valuable resources among your wedding vendors.
Tina is meticulous and prompt.
She'll prepare a very thorough schedule and show up when she is scheduled to show up, and you'll know EXACTLY what'll be going down on your event day. Also, she replies to your inquiry within that day most of the times. How refreshing is it to get responses from people? Can people be THAT busy or are they just ignoring us? (Looking straight at that internet service provider that puts you on hold for an hour, that service maintenance guy who never returns your call, and that wedding vendor who never replies to your email. Annoying.)
Tina believes that there should be a very good (or even half decent) reason or logic behind every decision made in life, in general.
Therefore, there's a very high probability that a very good reasoning was done on why her prices are set up the way they are. Therefore, there's a very little chance (read: almost none) that she'll give you the discount that you might have/are going to asked for, unless you come up with a very, very compelling reason on why the discount should be given. Even then, most requests lack good reasoning, she finds. Please be respectful to her and her pricing. There were lots of consideration that went into these things.