Makeup Artist Transforms Her Face into Unreal Illusions

While some artists rely on canvases to create art, Mimi Choi uses her own face. The Vancouver-based makeup artist is famous online for her masterful ability to completely transform her own visage into mind-boggling illusions. From decorating her skin with extra eyes to rendering a black hole of negative space, these paintings inspire awe as well as curiosity.

There seems to be a neverending supply of imaginative ideas for Choi's 3D makeup looks. Even the types of looks that she tackles vary from surrealist faces to larger-than-life food and beyond. She brings each idea to life by painting her face with layers, creating light and shadow where needed to enhance the illusion. For instance, in one look, she contours the side of her face into the shape of a woman, even going so far as to style her hair so that it blends in with the head of the painted version.

And while Choi is perfectly capable of mimicking reality with color, she sometimes adds accessories to enhance the three-dimensionality. For example, when she covered her face with dozens of eyes, each one was given a set of false lashes, making Choi's real eyes blend into the collage. Likewise, when she transformed her face into a giant mouth, Choi explained that she cut out a piece of paper and glued it to her skin to create a large tongue.

Scroll down to see more incredible illusions, and follow the artist on Instagram for even more insight into her process.