Megan Wang ’14 still has a photo of the list she made during her senior year at Wofford mapping out her life goals.
She and other chemistry majors had taken a break from studying to plan their futures on a whiteboard in the chemistry suite of Wofford’s Roger Milliken Science Center.
Medical school and a career following the path of her parents and many of her friends was at the top of the list. Los Angeles was nowhere to be found. Neither was a career as a fashion model, makeup artist and businesswoman, but that’s exactly where Wang is and what she’s doing.
“I didn’t consider myself a risk taker,” she says. “I was very good at being by the book. I got good grades; I had the test scores, but I just wasn’t fulfilled.”
Wang left Wofford and moved to Los Angeles, where she knew no one. She enrolled in makeup school, worked at Sephora, tended bar, took acting classes and began modeling.
“I spent those first few years making connections in the entertainment industry,” says Wang. “I was given a rare opportunity and stepped out of my comfort zone. As a result I grew personally and professionally.”
An aspiring actor and model, Wang has been in numerous commercials and advertisements. As a makeup artist, she worked for free for almost a year before landing paid jobs and establishing a client base. She has used every experience to observe and learn.
“I began to realize that skin is the foundation of everything in the beauty industry. Makeup is just an accessory,” says Wang. “I started doing research and came across Korean skincare. All of the products are made from plants, fruits and natural herbs — things you already put in your body — instead of chemicals.”
Wang traveled to Seoul, Korea, and studied Korean skincare brands and techniques. With that knowledge and a line of high-quality brands at her disposal, she launched Skinandseoulbeauty.com, an online store selling Korean beauty products curated specifically by Wang. While developing her brand and her own line of beauty products, Wang continues to model, act and work as a freelance makeup artist.
“I had to get out of the bubble,” she says. “I surprised a lot of people. … I surprised myself.”
By Jo Ann Mitchell Brasington ’89