Nurse Juliette putting smiles on faces

Juliette Chin always knew she had a head for science, so choosing nursing at the University of Technology (UTech) felt like a natural fit. What she didn't expect was how deeply she would fall in love with the profession.

As she dedicated herself to caring for others, another passion quietly resurfaced--her love for art. Now, while she heals as a nurse, she lights up faces and hearts with her dazzling skill as a face painter.

"Face painting is another part of me, my next profession," said Chin, 38, who is also a fire dancer.

Originally from St Mary and now living in St Ann, Chin proudly balances both nursing and face painting.

"I really do nursing full-time, but after being in the entertainment industry, I saw a lot of face painters and I was good at art in high school. After that I decided to practise face painting and gradually became better," she said.

Chin graduated from UTech in 2019 after what she described as a demanding period of study.

"A lot of stress and no sleep, it was really a lot of work," she said bluntly.

But it wasn't until 2021, that she rediscovered her artistic side.

"I went to a birthday event and I realised that they were short of persons to paint but the paint was there. So I said, why not give it a try? And that's how I found out that I was really good at face painting."

Since then, Chin has fallen in love with the joy her art brings, especially to children.

"The children are great. I love working with them. It's good when you put a design on a child's face and they are so pleased," she said warmly.

Among the most popular designs she is asked to create are butterflies, unicorns, princesses, and superheroes like Spider-Man, Batman, and dragons.

"Kids love butterflies and unicorns," she laughed.

Chin also brings a selection of designs to events, allowing early arrivals to request custom options if time allows.

As a mother of two boys, aged 17 and nine, Chin said her younger son is especially fond of her work.

Balancing nursing and face painting has come naturally for Chin, thanks to her genuine love for both.

"There is a lot of potential for both careers, depends on which one I love more. Face painting, I kind of like it because I really love kids. I love nursing too, so I'm gonna try to balance both of them."

Looking ahead, Chin dreams of teaching others the art of face painting.

"I see myself teaching persons to do face painting. It's a skill that allows people to show their creativity but also allow those being painted how happy they are when it's done."

Chin believes there is an untapped opportunity for entrepreneurs in that area.

"I think people will start doing more face painting. They know that it's a prop to events now, so persons will start doing that," she said.