Auckland-based artist Mona Sanei AKA Chaii is no stranger to transformation. A true multi-hyphenate, she blends genres in her music, and can jump from rapper to producer to director all in a day.

Along with her work, Chaii has been on a journey with her beauty identity. Luckily for her, she’s been joined by her longtime friend and makeup artist Liz Hyun for a large chunk of it.

“It takes a confident makeup artist and an open minded music artist to try new things and we make such a great team,” says Sanei. “We just have fun and always follow what we feel best suits the era we’re in. I feel like my life stage and my music sound affects the pocket of beauty I end up in.”

While a best friend in the beauty industry certainly helps, Sanei has been drawn to makeup her entire life. “I’m Persian, and Persians are known for their love of beauty,” she says. 

Discovering eyeliner was a pivotal moment for her – it’s been a tool for self-discovery over the years, taking her from the tightlined emo look of her former band days, to the perfected almond-shape she wears now. 

Chaii’s current beauty look represents another pivotal moment. She released her debut album, SAFAR (which means “journey” in Persian), on August 16 – a project that’s been three years in the making with her creative partner and husband Frank Keys.

She’s put a lot of thought into her self-presentation lately. “Liz, Evan Xiao (photographer) and I decided to work together to figure out my current beauty era. We did a shoot to try some new looks and have a play, from there it came to life.” Her album visuals are the result of another local collaboration, with Hyun and photographer Apela Bell. 

You clearly love to experiment with your music, and your beauty looks. How have they changed over time? 

I’m very lucky to be on my beauty journey with my friend of 20+ years who is the most incredible makeup artist. We have both grown in our industries and developed our skills as we have been able to experiment a LOT. 

Liz often shows me references of what she reckons we should try out. Sometimes it’s a full look, other times it can be a new blush placement or a new lip combo that she has created, or a customised eyelash combo she has formed. After we try things I tend to really obsess over certain parts and we then start making combos of that look and evolve different versions of it together.

I’ve always been very adventurous with my hair, too. I have tried many looks that have and haven't worked. When I was at University I cut my hair a lot, side shave, fringe, Bieber cut, mullet, highlights, you name it I did it. No regrets. Recently, I’ve figured out what suits my face shape and makeup looks best - curly big hair, four buns, buzzy braids, I love all the looks. 

What is your earliest memory of beauty? 

I’m Persian, and Persians are known for their love for beauty, I think in that sense it’s in my blood and I've naturally been drawn to makeup through my culture. The Persian beauty standard has always been elegant, classy, boss lady vibes. I also come from a visual arts background so I used to draw and paint a lot and I've always seen the face as a canvas where you can have fun and highlight your favourite features. 

Who are your biggest beauty influences? 

Growing up my sister was the biggest beauty influence. You would never see her not looking her best. Ever since she was very young she was always drawn to beauty and fashion. I used to steal her makeup a lot and always got excited to see what products she would buy next. 

Currently some of my biggest beauty influences are FKA twigs, Rihanna and [J-Pop group] XG.

What was the first beauty product you fell in love with? 

Eyeliner. I remember in my teens the first time I tried eyeliner and got hooked. My three products were eyeliner, foundation and mascara. Back then the waterline eyeliner look was in and I was in bands at the time so I thought I looked really cool.

What is your ethos when it comes to beauty? 

There was definitely a period of time where I got used to wearing makeup to cover up any skin imperfections, but then I realised I was using makeup to hide and I didn’t like comparing myself with and without makeup. As I got older, I started to really feel good about myself and learnt to wear makeup to highlight the features I liked rather than cover or change ones I didn’t. 

This naturally happened as my skin got better and I learned more about beauty products. Before I turned 30, I was always so busy I felt like I never got the time to really dive deep into reflecting on looks. Probably after I turned 26, I started looking after my skin and maintaining it the best I could so that I’d feel more confident without makeup.

More recently I’ve been loving unconventional makeup that challenges normal beauty standards. The same way I experiment with my music and how it’s not mainstream, I try to be the same with beauty. My music has played a big role in me wanting to lean into unconventional beauty looks, I always felt my look didn’t match my sound which is also unconventional. 

Do you follow beauty trends?

Yes and no. I think to a degree we all follow trends. We see them everywhere so it’s very likely we will get excited about trends and try them. I’d say in my day to day beauty, yes, I like the winged liner, slightly darker overdrawn lip liner, higher blush placement and blush on the nose.

But when it comes to my music videos or performances, not really. Trends might be incorporated but most of the time Liz and I would lean towards trying new things. She has a great eye for what's about to trend, especially because the beauty world is her professional field. I always feel like I'm in great hands for new looks.

Are there any beauty looks you would love to try that you haven't yet?

I personally would love to try different hairstyles, big curls and experiment with wigs. 

How do you want to approach ageing, in terms of beauty? 

Ageing is just part of life, it’s about how we embrace it. I look up to my mum, she has a very simple beauty routine and she has always embraced ageing with grace and sees it in a very positive light. 

Skincare has become the number one thing for me and figuring out what natural things I like most. I stopped shaping or plucking my eyebrows for a few years now as my eyebrows naturally don't have a lot of shape and I feel my face suits it better. I’ve had people say I look younger than I did 10 years ago and I think one reason is my eyebrows being in their natural state. The other is makeup application being much better, and better hair choices that best suit my face. 

Liz has introduced me to a lot of amazing skin care and makeup products. I’ve got the most game-changing face moisturiser from Sandy at Bare Beauty. The combination of Korean skin cleansers and this moisturiser have made a massive change in my skin. I still have a long way to go but it’s all about forming good habits and expanding from there. My next step is going to see Sandy for some skin sessions.

Do you have any beauty must-haves when you’re on tour? 

Stick-on nails. I've started doing stick-ons because I like having long nails on tour and for shoots but I only want it temporarily. Also I like to have different nails with different outfits and most times I'm wearing a different outfit each day on tour.

My skincare essentials are the Innisfree Volcanic Pore BHA Cleaning Foam as a face cleanser and my Dermaviduals DMS Mask with Vitamins as a moisturiser. I carry the Kahi Wrinke Bounce Multi Balm as a moisturiser on the go and also my lip balm, the Torriden Ceramide Lip Essence. For makeup I always have Benefit Crystah Strawberry Pink Blush and my go-to everyday lip, Makeup Forever Lip Liner in the shade Anywhere Caffeine. 

What is your most sentimental beauty product? 

The smell of certain foundation and face moisturiser brands can take me right back to my high school days. These smells are mostly linked into good memories of socialising with friends and going out etc.

What’s the best beauty lesson you’ve learnt?

We all have our go-to looks and we get so used to doing the same thing. The toughest thing sometimes is trying new things, especially ones you are not used to. I’ve learnt from Liz and also as I've gotten older that it's good to try extremely different looks because you never know, it might be a start of something new.

What beauty item or look makes you feel like your true authentic self? 

I always love having an almond shape eye makeup, that suits me best. I love lashes that are fuller on the ends to lean into that look. I like the brushed eyebrow look. I like the more matte and bright white eye shadow in the inner corners of my eyelids, it’s fresh looking and helps make the eyes pop. I love an overdrawn lip with lip stain and a combination of few other products that Liz does. Blush on higher cheekbones and on the nose.

If you could create or collaborate on your own beauty product, what would it be?

I would do an on-the-go stick where one end is the moisturiser and the other a blush. I would want the moisturiser and blush stick to both be lip friendly. This is all I would need in my bag that I’d carry around everywhere, everyday.

What’s on your current beauty wishlist?

Fenty Treatz Hydrating + Strengthening Lip Oil in Black Cherry, $50 

Ghd Unplugged Cordless Hair Straightener, $447

Fenty Beauty Gloss Bomb Heat Lip Plumper in Fussy, $54

Fenty Beauty Body Sauce Luminizing Tint, $80

Pixi Rose Tonic To-Go toner pads, $37