'King of lipsticks' to be a Shanghai resident

Chinese beauty livestreamer Austin Li, or Li Jiaqi, who was dubbed as the “king of lipsticks,” will be granted residency by Shanghai’s Chongming District.

The list is of the first batch of special talents to be permitted hukou in Shanghai this year.

For those seeking to settle in Shanghai long term, a local hukou is deemed necessary as it provides you convenience and benefits in areas such as house purchase, pensions and children’s education.

Li’s recommendations often sell out instantly and become the holy grail for thousands of beauty lovers.

Many are impressed with his pitching phrase: “Oh, my god! This is so gorg, buy, buy, buy!” whenever he is stunned by a new lipstick.

Born in 1992 in Yueyang, Hunan Province, Li began work as a beauty consultant for L’Oreal after graduating from college majoring in art design.

His career took off in 2016 when he was signed as a livestreamer on Alibaba's e-commerce platform Taobao selling beauty products. In 2017 he had the most followers on the platform. 

He is in the Guinness Book of Records for his ability to try out most lipsticks within 30 seconds and even outsold Jack Ma in lipsticks during the 2018 Double 11 shopping festival organized by Ma. In 2019, he was on Forbes China’s “list of elites under 30.”

Li holds 99 percent of the shares in Shanghai Qisheng Management and Consulting Co, which was founded in June 2019 in Chongming.

Li once said in an interview that the booming business of Shanghai was the major reason for him to want to settle in the city.

“My former brand company was located here. After I came to Shanghai, the eclectic beauty brands here have shown me endless possibilities for my team.” Li said.