Life after graduation: Singaporean beauty blogger Roseanne Tang

WHAT’S life after graduation like? Jessica-Anne Lyons catches up with former Meld beauty columnist and well-known Singapore beauty blogger Roseanne Tang about her new ventures and the niche she’s carved out for herself in the beauty world. 

If you asked Roseanne Tang a few years ago if she could picture herself as one of Singapore’s best-known beauty bloggers, the former University of Melbourne commerce student might have laughed at you.

Once upon a time, Roseanne was completing a Commerce degree with a marketing and management major, while being the hair and makeup columnist here at Meld Magazine.

Although she’s now one of the most recognisable faces in the beauty world, she admits she never imagined herself as a beauty guru growing up.

But after becoming hooked on beauty videos on YouTube as a teenager, Roseanne decided to pursue her passion and spread her love of beauty with other women around the world by filming her own and starting a blog.

No matter how you look at it, beauty can always make a woman feel powerful enough to take on the world.” – Roseanne Tang

“I remember searching for a tutorial on how to do my prom makeup and I started watching lots of beauty YouTube videos,” she says.

“I wanted to start my own since I had my own take on certain products or certain ways of doing things”

But even though she made the switch from marketing and management to makeup, Roseanne says she still uses the skills she learnt at university.

“I still use some of the business stuff I learned and apply it to my career now, even if it is a different industry,” she says.

“Then when my focus turned to beauty, I found it was really through experience and self-learning that I learned the most.”

Roseanne practiced makeup artistry for three years before going to London to pursue a diploma in Fashion and Photographic Makeup. She is also self-taught in Photoshop, iMovie, Final Cut, WordPress, html, SEO and social media.

“You can’t really learn all of that in university. Life isn’t just about what’s in a textbook, it’s so much more than that,” she says.

You can’t really learn all of that in university. Life isn’t just about what’s in a textbook, it’s so much more than that.”

These days, Roseanne is a professional make-up artist who can be found beauty blogging, collaborating with brands, managing her online accessories store roseanne.sg, and creating videos for her more than 18,000 YouTube subscribers.

During her time as Meld’s beauty columnist, Roseanne fondly remembers writing beauty tutorials and covering the Marie Claire L’Oreal Beauty Workshop. Roseanne says she joined Meld to gain magazine experience.

“I thought it was great to be able to write articles and have them published to other international students in Melbourne,” she says.

Her biggest ‘pinch me’ moment as a Meld writer was the opportunity to see L’Oreal Paris’ makeup director Rae Morris in action.

“Learning so many valuable tips that were personal to Rae was amazing,” she says.

To Roseanne, makeup isn’t about covering up, but instead about bringing out a person’s inner beauty and confidence.

“No matter how you look at it, beauty can always make a woman feel powerful enough to take on the world,” she says.

The makeup guru has been affiliated with some of the biggest beauty brands in the industry such as Elizabeth Arden, Shiseido, Urban Decay, The Body Shop, Bobbi Brown, Maybelline and Benefit to name a few, and it’s no wonder. Roseanne’s voice is relatable and honest, attracting readers and viewers with an easy charm. She’s a brand ambassador’s dream.

So it comes as no surprise that Roseanne has tried hundreds of products in her time as a beauty writer. One of her top picks is the Bobbi Brown Stick Foundation.

“It handles humidity and sweat very well and looks natural, so it’s easy to use and provides great coverage. It’s a wonderful texture as well and I’m on my second one, even if it costs a bomb!” she says.

Being an online personality means her schedule is always packed, but Roseanne says the support of her fans is the most rewarding part of what she does.

“People come up to me a lot and tell me that they like what I do or that I’ve really helped them out. It’s really encouraging,” she says.

Her top tip for budding beauty bloggers is to stay true to your personality and get started on social media.

“From doing advertorials, to speaking, to hosting videos and even being a full time and professional make-up artist, social media and YouTube basically set up my life for me,” she says.

“It’s an important part of building brands.”

Want to recreate Roseanne’s favourite makeup look, the natural smoky eye?

Here are some tips from the beauty doyenne herself: 

1. Start by covering the lids with a neutral shade that’s matte or has just a little bit of shimmer and is slightly lighter than your skin tone.
2. Use a brush to shade halfway into the crease/outer corner of your eyelid with a darker color.
3. Add a bit of black/brown right onto the outer corner of your eyelid and finish with a little winged liner and mascara!