Base Instinct
Make-up is hardly breaking beauty news, but this new cosmetics line has us buzzing with its oriental wisdom.
Make-up is hardly breaking beauty news, but this new cosmetics line has us buzzing with its oriental wisdom.
INSIDE StageAsia Cosmetic’s Shah Alam warehouse, models and make-up artists converged, their beautiful painted faces bathed in orange glow. “Skin is king. If it’s not, then nothing will look nice,” murmured an artist in halting Thai accent, as she swiped some amaranth blusher on a woman’s cheekbones.
She was among the four Bangkokbased beauty personnel who flew into Kuala Lumpur especially for the launch of Arty Professional – one of the top three cosmetics giant in Thailand – last month.
Founded in 1999, Arty Professional was initially developed for make-up professionals who rely on heavy duty, good quality make-up products able to withstand hours of studio shoots, with high colour pigments, at the same time allowing the artists to be creative with their visual effects and looks. Soon, it took the domestic market by storm and the brand was restaged to cater for the novice and professionals alike.
It was only last year when, during a working trip up north, chairman of homegrown make-up brand StageAsia Cosmetics, Loo Kai Nan, spotted the label. Suitably impressed, Loo decided to bring it to Malaysia.
Despite it’s tongue-in-cheek name, Arty Professional take its make-up seriously. It’s philosophy revolves around creating the perfect look like how the professionals do it, according to its brand manager Nichapa Piriyapokin.
“It advocates that all make-up can look great, but only if the base is perfect,” she said.
The key, it seems, was to have flawless skin, sculpted in a warm palette of caramel, honey and cream à la Cate Blanchett. For that, Arty Professional has come up with its star product, the complexion modifier. Formulated to – you guessed it – modify skin tones, this magical emulsion, when used as a primer or base, will naturally brighten, neutralise and rebalance your skin and minimise imperfections to give it the softness and texture of velvet.
It also goes wonderfully with the classic make-up style so favoured by Asian women, said Piriyapokin.
“Asian women prefer natural-looking make-up with a dewy, luminescent glow with well defined eyes and pouty natural lips with a sweep of peachy blush on her cheeks. A good “corrective make-up” base can be used for highlight and shading purposes, creating an illusion of depth, distance, and even form and shape without having to resort to plastic surgery,” she explained, adding that colour correction is a make-up artist tool practised by professionals for decades.
Backstage, the radiant complexion was seen as a blank canvas on which all manner of creativity was expressed. Gleaming cheekbones, plumped lips and colourful lids were everywhere. The array of rainbow colours from Arty’s line of highly pigmented and ultra-blendable eyeshadows were balanced with hints of earthy neutrals and achromatic tones to achieve an equilibrium of perfection unique to the brand.
These days, the brand still works closely with a team of professional make-up artists who test every single formula and texture. Being Thai, they have a thorough understanding of
Asian skin, as well as what works and what doesn’t.
“The foundation and powders, in particular, are developed to suit all Asian skin tones, from white-pink tone to yellow olive ones,” she said. “In the event of an in-between shade, one may be required to do their own custom colour mixing by using two to three shades and mixing them up together.”
Most Asians prefer lighter textured products with longwearing benefits because of Southeast Asia’s tropical climate and humidity. The cosmetics from Arty Professional, in Piriyapokin’s opinion, provide exactly that. Every single product developed is also formulated with many skin-loving ingredients – from coenzyme Q10 to witch hazel extract to vitamin C and E – to battle premature aging and neutralise free-radicals.
With these in mind, it’s no wonder why Arty Professional played an instrumental role in the biggest modelling pageant in Thailand. The brand has conducted make-up workshops for the Thai Supermodel Contest, teaching and grooming participants on how to create their own signature looks.
Their show in KL, however, proved that it doesn’t take much to have the face of a supermodel. Half the battle is already won when one has skin that shimmers.
The Arty Professional range is now available nationwide in all Stage and StageAsia outlets. Prices range from RM45-RM135.