5 Minutes With Emma Chong Johnston, Editor-in-Chief of Tongue In Chic.

A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to hang out with some of the juries of L'Oreal Paris The Brush Contest Malaysia. They were a group of highly talented people in their own industry and it was fun to be able to talk to them more about the world's first international makeup designer contest happening exclusively on Youtube! 

If you don't know about The Brush Contest, it's a contest introduced by L'Oreal Paris as a platform for makeup enthusiasts to show off their skills, and be in the running to win a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to become a L'Oreal Paris Makeup Designer. For more information, visit The Brush Contest website and get latest updates by looking up #TheBrushContest on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. 

I was excited to have the opportunity to speak to Emma Chong Johnston, Editor-in-Chief of Tongue In Chic one on one. We spoke about her background, career life and of course, her expectations for The Brush Contest. 

Emma Chong Johnston, Editor-in-Chief of Tongue In Chic

How did you get into fashion?

I’ve always like fashion but it wasn’t my intention to be in fashion. It just somehow, happened. I interned in TimeOutKL and they offered me a job when I graduated. After a while, I became the shopping Editor and it was a really exciting position because everyone gets the most joy out of buying something. Then, I was also with Elle Malaysia before coming to Tongue In Chic (TIC).

How does it feel to be working in TIC?

I really enjoy working where I am right now because it’s a slightly younger target audience. We have a lot of younger readers. Thus, it’s usually fun because it’s not always too fancy and things can be cute but still practical.

Being in TIC allows me to be more adventurous with my ideas as I’m not tied down to rules and structures that were passed down due to the possible endless processes. We're very casual with our tone and we're always looking for different ways to present things. It’s nice to be able to experiment with new ideas and new ways of doing things.

How do you all work with such a small team?

It’s tough but it helps in a way because we don’t have rigid office hours, it’s not a 9-5 job, so we all work on the go. Thanks to smartphones, everything is easier now when it comes to communicating with each other. Of course, in the midst of all the events to attend, it’s also really important to know how to set aside time to just sit down and do your writing. It’s a balance you’ll have to work with.

For us, there’s an understanding that we all takes turn to go for events and stay in the office. Generally, there should be always someone in the office to settle office matters. 

How did TIC get involved in The Brush Contest?

One day, L’Oreal called me and asked if TIC would like to be involved. I pretty much say yes right away. I have a feeling that it could be because TIC has a strong online presence and this contest is very much online driven.

TIC is grateful to be able to work with L'Oreal as they are a known brand and their products are something that our target audiences love and able to afford.

Any advice for the contestants as an Editor point of view?

In TIC, we try to make beauty very accessible to women. There are still so many women who are afraid because they don’t know how to apply skincare or makeup. That’s what we are trying to do, breaking it down into simpler methods for people to learn.

That’s what I think the contestants should look into because they have all the knowledge and expertise. The next step is really to be able to communicate beauty, making it understandable to a wider audience. Also, they’ll need to use their personality and creative skills to push their work forward.

Do you think Malaysia is ready to penetrate into the YouTube Beauty Guru industry?

Is hard to tell but there’s really no reason why we can’t. It’s possible because brands all around the world know that the Asian market is a huge one to tap into. The nice thing about having content creators in Malaysia is that we can create looks specifically for Asian features and skin.

Do you think there will be more YouTubers in Malaysia?

I hope so, there are a few good ones so far but the thing is that Malaysia is always a little behind than everyone else. Even YouTube itself took a while to catch on here. I think we are going to the right direction and definitely will be more in the future.

For more information, visit The Brush Contest website and get latest updates by looking up #TheBrushContest on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. 

xo, 

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