Natasha Huang was the principal make-up artist for the pop opera Monkey: Journey to the West, written by Blur frontman Damon Albarn and cartoon artist Jamie Hewlett and directed by Chen Shi-zheng. The sell-out show, based on the Chinese legend, has just finished a run at London's O2 arena.
'It's a brilliant collaboration of east and west,' Huang says of the production, which, with a Chinese cast, is a mix of music - using western and eastern instruments - animation, visual effects and martial arts.
'I was responsible for the make-up for the female cast. It takes about two hours before each show and there were two performances a day. I'm happy to have had the chance to work with so many talented and fun people. Some nights, after the show, we would all go out for a drink and a chat. One night, I suggested Jamie get a 'monkey-style' hair cut - and he did.'
It's just one in a long line of freelance jobs the 27-year-old former student of Chinese art has taken since leaving Taiwan University and heading for London, where she studied special-effects make-up.
'Apart from Monkey - which I also worked on in the US - I have designed and created the make-up on many shows, including Le Corsair with the Bolshoi Ballet at the London Coliseum and the Miss China beauty pageants,' says Huang.
It's a long way from her first job at a wedding company in Taipei, where she worked part-time while studying.
'I loved art college. I started doing make-up for brides to earn some money. I found painting on faces much more interesting than doing it on paper. I liked the way the colours and lines changed when the face moved,' she says.