New Chanel creative partner Valentina Li talks alien sea creatures, the power of being yourself, and navigating her wild visual world.
By Tish Weinstock
Photographs by Zhong Lin
Make-up and nails by Valentina Li
Musician: Tsunaina
New Chanel creative partner Valentina Li talks alien sea creatures, the power of being yourself, and navigating her wild visual world.
Valentina Li doesn’t like to think of herself as a make-up artist. ‘It’s not that I don’t like the term,’ she says, ‘but I don’t think it describes everything I do.’ She prefers the term ‘face painter’, although that doesn’t encapsulate the extent of her work either. Yes, she paints faces, but she paints nails and bodies, too. Not just with make-up or nail polish, but with face gems, flowers, feathers, crumbled stone and cracked Chinese porcelain, and her nails are more akin to sculptures, fashioned into miniature mobile phones or decorated with tiny dangling, designer handbags.
Born in Guangxi, a small village in southwestern China, Li belongs to a new wave of artists currently coming out of the country. It’s the same creative landscape that has produced photographer Leslie Zhang; stylist Audrey Hu, with whom Li regularly contributes to Vogue China; and designer Sensen Lii of progressive fashion brand Windowsen, for whose Spring/Summer 2020 collection Li created gigantic jewel-encrusted manga eyes, her most mesmerizing look to date. So remarkable was it that Instagram recreations are now legion and it has even become an AR filter.
Refusing to conform to the rules of taste or tradition, Li’s vision of beauty is inextricably linked to her preoccupation with love – her love of nature, the universe, and whatever extraterrestrial life that might exist beyond – all of which can be seen in the surreal semaphore that underpins her work.
Recently announced as part of Chanel’s new Cometes Collective – a revolving community of artists who will set the agenda for Chanel Makeup – System beauty sat down with 30-year-old Li to discuss her visual references and what excites her about the future.
Tish Weinstock: Both the natural and supernatural world feature heavily in your work, how do you account for this tension?
Valentina Li: I lived in a small, poor village, which didn’t have a good education system or any museums. There was nothing very interesting around, but there was a lot of nature where we lived. My mum would take me to the forest where she taught me about plants, flowers, and living things. I was surrounded by wonderful colours and creatures. I collected leaves and flowers that I would then draw and paint back at home. I also used to read a lot of sci-fi magazines and manga comic books. I loved anything supernatural; it shaped my personality into a girl who likes to dream. I have this theory: the deepest part of the ocean must connect to outer space and that’s why some sea creatures look like aliens.
At what point did make-up become important to you both personally and professionally?
Valentina Li: My aunt was really good at make-up. At primary school, we would go on stage and perform dances, and my mum would always ask her to do my make-up. Other kids would just get the teachers to do it, but I would always have specific requests for my eyes. I knew, aged six or seven, what make-up I liked and what I didn’t, from the type of eyeliner to the colour on my cheeks. But I didn’t own my first mascara until I was in high school. Where I grew up was quite uptight and it wasn’t OK to wear make-up to school, but in the second grade, I joined the cosplay club, and saw that I was good at make-up. I went on to study journalism at university, but hated it. There was always a Vogue under my table and I loved looking at the make-up. That’s when I realized I wanted to be a make-up artist, so I asked my parents if I could go and study in Paris.
How would you describe your approach to beauty at that time?
Valentina Li: I was studying in the north of China, which was quite conservative. Everyone looked the same, but my hair was yellow and I wore green contact lenses and coloured mascara. At the start, I was a bit afraid, but then I started listening to my inner self. I was tired of being the same as the others; I wanted to be different.
‘Make-up is a part of my life, but I think my visual world is bigger.’
After Paris, you returned to Shanghai in 2015. How did the two cities’ beauty landscapes differ?
Valentina Li: In Paris, we did a lot of contouring and colour on the face, but in China, it was all about clean make-up. After three years working there I felt quite lost. There wasn’t any colour in my work, so I left China and went to assist Erin Parsons during various Fashion Weeks, to try and put myself back into the student mindset. I learned so much from her and when I came back to China, I had a new attitude. Before, I had been so afraid of the industry and society; I thought they would criticize my work, but I finally realized I needed to be myself. That year, 2018, marked a big change in my life. I did the presentation for my friend Windowsen, who like me is obsessed with aliens and sci-fi. He didn’t give me a brief, but just let me create. That was what I had been waiting for. I don’t like to be limited by rules. In the end, I got really good feedback, which gave me the confidence to be myself and not hold back.
Why do you use so many unexpected materials in your work?
Valentina Li: For me, make-up isn’t just about colour, it’s also about texture. I don’t see make-up as being just for the face, either; I see it for the whole body. I also use a lot of accessories, like my seashell earrings, and I’ve been working on some sculptures made from recycled water bottles. Make-up is a part of my life, but I think my visual world is bigger.
The beauty landscape has shifted quite a bit in the last 10 years. What changes have you been most excited about?
Valentina Li: We’re seeing a lot more AI and filters. Before, it was all about glamour, and now people are more willing to try different things. That’s why they use filters; they’re curious about how they will look with blue or green lashes, or face crystals. People feel free to express what they like. It’s not just contouring and nice highlights. It’s really positive. Why does everyone need to look the same when we are all different? I have a lot of LGBTQ friends and I’ve been to drag shows in Shanghai. Watching them in their heavy make-up and wigs, I was touched by how confident they were in expressing themselves. That’s why I love make-up so much.
What’s next for you?
Valentina Li: I’m facing a big career change with Chanel, which I did not expect, but I’m super happy about it. Beyond that, I want to do something with film, like crazy music videos or design characters for films. Something like Star Wars 15. I don’t just want to do one thing. That sounds kind of greedy, but I don’t think make-up should be that narrow. I want to do everything in my power.
Taken from System beauty No. 1 – purchase the full issue here.
Styling: Vincent Wong. Hair: Ryo Narushima at Saint Luke using L’Oréal Professional Paris. Photography assistant: Yuan-Ling Wang. Make-up and nails assistant: Yi-Han J.