Meet Anh Pham: Makeup Artist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Anh Pham and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Anh, what principle do you value most?
Being authentic is probably the most important principle to our brand. We pride ourselves in the work that we do, we are very honest about our capabilities and we do not stretch our time with our clients. We publish our pricing and do not have any hidden fees or costs to keep ourselves 100% transparent. I think, especially in this industry, budgets are being pushed higher and higher. We don’t want our clients to feel like hair and makeup should cost outrageously so we try to be as conscious of our pricing as possible but we also want our clients to feel connected with our artistry as well. We specialize in natural glam, focusing on enhancing features. It’s our best kind of work and we always want to be able to provide that for our clients so we ask our clients to view our portfolio, schedule a trial, and make sure our work fits what their vision is. We never want to overpromise and under-deliver so being true to our work and authentic is so important to us.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
We are a hair and makeup duo that specializes in natural glam. Our aesthetic and brand is all about enhancing your features and keeping true to yourself so when you look in the mirror after we are done, you still see yourself. We are so proud that we are able to keep our brand going, even after a small hiatus in 2019 and 2020. I believe that our work and our ethos really sets us apart. Since we do hair and makeup as a side job, it goes to show how much we really love what we do. We work our 9-6 jobs during the week and we do not mind waking up as early as 3am to get to an event and give up our weekends. We never stretch ourselves thin by over-booking, giving our clients all our time. Unless it is a very rare occasion, we will only book one wedding a day so that we can make sure we cover all our client’s needs. We never over promise and under-deliver and we only take events that we know we can cover 100%. Professionally, it took us a while to develop our clientele since we are part-timers in this industry. However, we truly believe that our work speaks for us so a lot of our success come from referrals of past clients or wedding vendors. We really cannot be where we are today without our clients and our vendor friends. Truly, a successful event is when all the moving parts work in sync and with our amazing vendors, we never have to worry about any hiccups. Being authentic to our brand is so important and it ensures success for every event so we always encourage our clients to book a trial and make sure we are able to execute their vision. We always want to do our best work and we want our clients to walk away feeling beautiful, therefore we are always authentic to our brand and our ethos.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
So Dallas has some BOMB barbecue. We would definitely take them to Deep Ellum for some Terry Black’s BBQ and stop by Bobaddiction afterwards for some bubble tea, because there is ALWAYS room for bubble tea. Then we’d check out some cool graffiti in Deep Ellum, some vintage shops as well while we’re there. Pre-COVID, I would suggest hanging out for some after dinner drinks at High & Tight, which specializes in gin-based drinks/cocktails, but since we have to keep it safe, we would probably go to an outdoor hangout like Trinity Groves and get some margaritas at Beto & Son (and stop to take a photo of the Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge, a Dallas MUST). A trip to Dallas without eating some of the best asian food isn’t a complete trip. A plethora of amazing asian restaurants exist in Dallas and surrounding Dallas suburbs (listed below). One of my favorite parts of Dallas is the art scene. Visiting the Dallas Museum of Arts or even taking a drive to the Kimball Museum in Fort Worth is worth the trek. The Perot Museum just opened again and I love the interactive parts of this museum. And after visiting the DMA, chill at Klyde Warren Park across the street and pick up some food truck food to satisfy any kind of cravings. But the small arts are part of the charm of Dallas as well. Pocket Sandwich Theater has amazing local shows along with dinner! So if you’re in for a laugh, I always take some artsy friends to take in a local show. And after dark, take in a burlesque show at Viva Dallas or a drag show at the Rose Room in S4 off Oak Lawn (when it opens again). Or if they’re into immersive art for the ‘Gram, Sweet Tooth Hotel and Rainbow Vomit will yield some cool content. And of course, finding a rooftop bar to get that Dallas skyline photo, I like the Green Room in Deep Ellum, which also has some good late night eats. And of course, a visit to Dallas isn’t complete without shopping. Dallas has the most shopping in the nation per capita so whether its just mall shopping at Northpark or Galleria, high end shopping at Highland Park Village, or boutique shopping in Uptown Dallas or University Park, I always take my guests to visit local boutiques if possible. Sushi: Nori Handroll Kyodai Namo Tei-An Sushi Robata Tei Tei Yama Sushi Uchi really the list can go on. Ramen/Udon: Wabi House TEN Ramen Hinodeya Ramen Bar Ramen Hakata Korean: Ari Korean BBQ GEN BBQ Ddongggo Tx Arirang Korean Restaurant Paik’s Noodles Seoul Garden Thai: Thai Thumbz Thai Star TooThai Sabaidee Lao & Thai Street Food The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
We want to dedicate our shoutout to our clients and fellow vendors in our industry, especially our Asian-American community. Being Asian-American, our features are little different and our culture and traditions hold great value to the wedding festivities. It is so amazing to have an Asian-American community of wedding vendors that can navigate the intricacies of these events. Not every photographer or wedding planner has had to plan and execute a traditional tea ceremony and especially since the tea ceremony varies so greatly amongst different ethnicities within Southeast Asia, we really have to thank our vendors for inspiring us and keeping our traditions strong all while evolving it modernly. Because of these amazing vendors, we are able to be successful at what we do within this amazing community and we are so thankful for them.

Website: www.akp-artistry.com
Instagram: instagram.com/akpartistry
Facebook: AKP Artistry

Image Credits
Hubert Huy Photography White August Photography