It's Pony Magic

The undisputed queen of K-Beauty vlogging, Park Hye Min – more famously known as PONY – isn’t just another girl posting makeup tutorials on YouTube. From the undifferentiated hordes of wannabeMichelle Phans, the petite PONY stands tall as a beauty juggernaut whose makeup mastery has earned her millions of followers across YouTube and Instagram. Her prowess is by no means average; one of PONY’s most popular videos – viewed more than 7 million times – follows PONY as she transforms her soft, South Korean features into a startling facsimile of the feline eyes and hard angles of Taylor Swift. Your run-ofthe-mill “How to get Kylie Jenner lips” tutorial, this ain’t.

But how did Park Hye Min transform into PONY? The former graphic designer was active on Naver (a popular social media site from South Korea), posting different beauty looks that she would do each day. She then got her proper start in the beauty industry when a publishing company approached her to do her own makeup book. Published under the equine mononym we now know her as and packed with useful tips and how-tos on everything from basic makeup to occasion-worthy looks, PONY’s books sold like hotcakes in Korea, cementing her ascendant status as a makeup superstar.

Technology evolved and YouTube soon beckoned, and PONY was one of the first to hop on the beauty vlogging train. The est, as they say, is history, but the real secret to her success isn’t luck, good looks, or timing – it’s an obsession with perfection.

We got a first-hand glimpse of this when PONY walked onto the set of our CLEO shoot. Just the day before she headlined our CLEO Society session at Etude House Bugis Junction, PONY walked onset fresh-faced and bright eyed. Heading straight for the makeup table we set up for her, she quickly unloaded her makeup kit.

At this point, we wish we could break down exactly what PONY does to create looks that are so artfully sublime. After all, she could take a million selfies with her fans (and she did, at our event) from every angle and still look flawless. How? the truth is, we don’t really know.

All we can say for sure is that her approach to the face is exacting, with an attention to detail that reaches a level of precision mere makeup mortals like us can’t even register. The way she puts on makeup does not look especially dissimilar to the way a regular person might do her makeup, but when it comes to the results, the distinction becomes clear.

If anything, the difference seems to be in PONY’s touch; her ability to blend makeup goes beyond words. So maybe it’s all in her hands. Maybe it’s in the way her design-trained gaze is able to break down the contours of the face. Or maybe it’s her knowledge of texture, colour and tools. But we know it’s not really any of the above. Because it’s not a science, or a formula that can memorised and mastered at will – as with all artists, there is an element that cannot be easily taught or replicated. That element is PONY’s magic.