Alvin Goh gives Michelle Chua a makeover

MICHELLE CHUA

Since last season, the lob hairstyle has become very popular in the West. Jessica Alba, Miranda Kerr, Jennifer Lawrence, Natalie Portman, Kim Kardashian, all of them have tried a shorter haircut. Even I wanted to have a go at it – and I haven’t cut my hair short for more than 10 years! When Alvin invited me as a guest, my first reaction was: will he cut my hair? And he did! Well, almost … he used a lace front wig and pasted it into my hairline and the hairstylist cut it short. The effect is so natural – unlike most wigs that I’ve tried, this lace front wig effect is extremely realistic.

It was surprising that he would know short hair suits me; I always keep my hair long because of my job. Long hair makes me look more mature, and less like a teenager.

Alvin’s make-up technique is just perfect, never overdone. Some simple eyeliner then mascara, even without false eyelashes, it’s already full of spirit. A little bit of concealer makes me look natural, without the feeling of heavy make-up. And it’s so amazing that he doesn’t even use foundation! This collaboration with Alvin Goh was really a great experience; it was completely transforming, the effect was unexpectedly good! Thanks to Alvin’s professional advice and with such a different look, shooting was very smooth and very enjoyable. I felt like a model when we were shooting! This was a very fun and exciting collaboration – I’m looking forward to the next time.

ALVIN GOH

A mutual friend of ours wanted to link us up and was enquiring if I would like to do make-up for Michelle. I was explaining to my friend that I thought it would be more fun to do a total image makeover instead of simply make- up for a dinner party. So, when I was invited to start this new makeover column for Prestige, the  first person I thought of inviting was none other than Michelle.

Michelle is not just a business guru but also a columnist and a jewellery designer. Googling her images gave me the impression that she was a very feminine and soft lady. Indeed, my instincts proved me right!

Michelle is just like a teenage girl, very sweet and always giggling and smiling away. Throughout the whole shooting process, all I could hear was laughter from this sweet lady and seeing her having so much fun made my day!

I wanted her to look sophisticated yet chic – after all, this is a lady of many talents, so why not make her a bit “fierce” instead of her usual girl- next-door look?

Michelle wanted references before this shoot but I told her I don’t really work with references. References to me are just a waste of time … my technique to creating great images is to trust my instincts, to fundamentally “feel” a person and encourage her personality to come out when I shoot her. There’s no point creating an image that she does not embody. I believe I created a character that is in Michelle, a confident and stylish role she’s portraying in these images.