Margaret Zhang on race, beauty and why plastic surgery terrifies her

Despite having one of the most fabulous and well-known faces in fashion, Margaret Zhang says she constantly faces discrimination – and she’s irked by it.

The 22-year-old Shine By Three blogger, photographer, model, creative director, writer, law student and now face of Clinique’s #FaceForward campaign, says particularly in Asia, her skin tone can be frowned upon.

“I’ve had people in very high places and from big corporations comment on my skin and be like ‘Oh, you’re kind of dark – that’s weird’ and I tell them I’m Australian, and in Australia, a tan is seen as healthy because you’re outside exercising,” she says.

“A tan in Europe means you have enough money to go on holiday, but in Asia it’s different – having a tan is associated with working outside in a field or it means you can’t afford beauty products. It’s idealised to have beautiful, white porcelain skin and there are some really unhealthy skin products that bleach your skin on the market over there.”

Zhang’s down-to-earth attitude is just one of the reasons she’s been cast alongside teen blogger and actress Tavi Gevinson and DJ and modelling sensation Hannah Bronfman as the face of Clinique’s #FaceForward campaign.

As part of the campaign, Clinique hopes to reflect the sprit of the individual, celebrate accomplishments and ignite a movement to spark dialogue for others to be inspired.

“What Clinique does is actually embrace diversity,” Zhang says. “They found these people that they really believe in on a personal level.

“It’s not about just sticking a celebrity face on a campaign – it’s about what we do, not just what we look like.”

Apart from unrealistic beauty ideals, the Chinese-Australian also doesn’t like being ‘the token Asian girl’.

“I get really uncomfortable when I see a runway casting full of Caucasian [girls], and your token Asian girl and your token African American and your token Hispanic,” she says.

“It gets really awkward because you know the casting director just needed to tick those boxes and actually doesn’t care about the girl.”

Perhaps one of the most refreshing things about the millennial influencer is not only her attitude, but her no-nonsense, low-key approach to beauty.

“Beauty isn’t dependent on whacking a bunch of products on your face,” she says.

“I have a pretty boring makeup routine. Day-to-day my hair is always back and I apply coconut oil to my face last thing at night. I also use apple cider vinegar for my hair – it keeps it shiny and healthy while keeping split ends at bay.”

Her secret ingredient? Coconut oil, which she uses as a both a makeup remover and as a night cream on her face to keep her skin smooth.

Meanwhile, her one makeup star is her Clinique Chubby Stick Sculpting Highlight. “I love the highlighter chubby stick, you can draw it on your face, almost like colouring in,” she says. “I’m not a huge fan of hectic contouring because I think that you shouldn’t try and change the way your face looks.”

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Rest assured, Zhang won’t be considering any ‘cosmetic enhancements’ anytime soon.

“I’m terrified by the idea of plastic surgery,” she says. “Your face or your skin is perfectly healthy and there are complications that can happen from having surgery done – I probably wouldn’t take that risk just to feel a bit better about myself.”