Conversations with Arya Hoo

Today we’d like to introduce you to Arya Hoo.

Hi Arya, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
My interest in makeup began with my mother. She was my first source of inspiration and the reason I became curious about makeup in the first place.
I started creating my own makeup looks in 2018, while I was studying product design at university. My technical skills were still developing, so I spent a great deal of time teaching myself through videos on YouTube and Bilibili. It was a gradual process of learning and practicing, driven by a deep enthusiasm for makeup. I also wanted a way to express my own feelings and creative ideas, which led me to start sharing my looks online.
A major turning point came when my mother bought me a mirrorless camera. It allowed me to capture the details of my makeup much more clearly and share my work closer to how I intended it to be seen. That camera made a real difference to my creative journey, and it remains a meaningful part of my story because it came from the person who first inspired me.
Today, some of my looks begin with a fleeting moment of inspiration, while others are built around characters I imagine, using makeup to tell their stories. Although the starting point varies, my work mainly explores people and nature, and the relationship between them.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It hasn’t always been a smooth road. One of my biggest challenges is having a clear image in my mind but not yet having the technical skills to bring it to life. Working through that gap means continually learning, experimenting, and trying again.
For the first year or two, I also struggled to find my own style. I had plenty of ideas, but they were often scattered. I would overthink things or try to fit too much into a single look, which sometimes made the result less clear rather than more expressive.
The attention my work receives and the feedback people leave can also affect my creative state of mind. I’m still learning and growing, and I don’t feel that I’ve fully developed my own way of working yet. At the same time, I have mixed feelings about turning creativity into a fixed process. I want to become more confident and consistent in how I bring my ideas to life, while leaving room for spontaneity and discovery. I’m open to commercial creative work, too; I don’t see that as inherently at odds with personal expression.
Another ongoing challenge is balancing my job with my own creative practice. I create in my spare time, so finding the time and energy for both is something I’m still working on. These aren’t challenges I can say I’ve completely overcome—they’re part of where I am right now as a creator.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I create makeup looks as a way to explore emotions and tell stories. Some begin with a fleeting moment of inspiration, while others grow out of a character I imagine. When I create around a character, I think about who they might be, what they might feel, and the world they might inhabit. Makeup becomes a way to make that imagined person visible and suggest a story without having to explain everything in words.
People and nature are recurring themes in my work. I’m interested in exploring the relationship between them through these imagined characters, allowing human emotions and elements of the natural world to become part of the same story. Each look gives me a chance to approach that relationship from a different perspective.
What I’m most proud of is the progress I’ve made in bringing my ideas to life. When I first started, I often had more ideas than I knew how to express. Through continued learning and experimentation, I’ve gradually become better at translating what I imagine into makeup, even though there is still so much I want to learn.
I don’t consciously set out to make my work different from everyone else’s. What matters to me is that it feels connected to something I want to express. I hope viewers can sense the character or emotion behind a look, while also finding room for their own interpretations.

Let’s talk about our city – what do you love? What do you not love?
I haven’t had the chance to visit Los Angeles yet, so I can’t speak from firsthand experience about what I like most or least about the city. I’d prefer to leave this question open until I’ve had the opportunity to experience it for myself.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aryaflare/
• Other: https://www.xiaohongshu.com/user/profile/59f0956b11be103540af6787?xsec_token=ABVdJvbbR8b12TiFsUs1qeML-i9aYrY2U_StezgZUHPm4%3D&xsec_source=pc_user

Image Credits
Aryaflare