LA make-up
Kat Von D launches her collection in Thailand
Clad in black, Kat Von D creatively batted asymmetrical eye make-up with a different colour on the left and right eyelid. Her followers can copy the look by watching a tutorial on her official YouTube channel, where another video has her talking about a tattoo concealer.
The Los Angeles-based beauty is literally dressed in tattoo, a body art that extends to her face with twinkling tattooed stars around the eye.
“Because of the tattoo, on the outside, I might look really tough, but on the inside, I’m quite sensitive and emotional. I like that juxtaposition. At heart, I’m just a girl, who likes to wear make-up and high heels,” said the tattoo artist and star of the reality show LA Ink.
“People have always asked me what I would be doing if I wasn’t a tattooist, and the only thing I could imagine being as fulfilling as tattooing would be doing make-up,” said Kat Von D, whose cosmetics are exclusively retailed at Sephora stores.
Wearing make-up though is not so much about enhancing beauty and she loves it as a form of self-expression.
“Lots of girls wear make-up because they want to look cute,” she said. “I always wear my make-up kind of pretty wild. I wear black eyeliner and nail polish because I felt inspired.”
Her audacious make-up style is influenced by punk rock, which she listened to as a teenager. To her, this music genre is not necessary rebellious but about having a voice. The music and tattoo art influences are reflected in the black packaging of her cosmetics launched in 2008. The debut make-up was four shades of red lipstick, which has expanded to 39 colours in the Studded Kiss lipstick range.
“Red lips have always been a signature look for me. I love red because it’s a classic symbol of femininity, with beauty icons from Cleopatra to Marilyn Monroe having made it a signature look too,” she said.
Now with a wide range of make-up products, they stand out in being highly-pigmented, bold colours with staying power.
“Even though the range offers wild colours, most of my hero colours are in nudes, of which there has been a good response here in Southeast Asia,” she said.
Last month’s launch in Bangkok was marked by the Studded Kiss Lipstick installation art, which towered two-storeyshigh at Quartier Avenue, The EmQuartier.
She was in Bangkok to introduce her range, of which the Lock-It primer, foundation and powder are ideal longwear formulas for Thailand’s hot and humid climate.
Boasting a beautiful complexion, however, is also from inside out, with Kat Von D owing her smooth skin to being a vegan.
“I’m a vegan for the environment and animals, more than anything. When I cut out dairy products, there was a very noticeable and positive change to my skin,” she said. “Veganism changed my life in a lot of ways, not only about what I eat, it led me to compassionate living.”
Although there isn’t an FDA regulation on “vegan” cosmetics, the American brand has defined it as a product that does not contain any animal products or by-products, and has not been tested on animals. Its make-up marked #VeganAlert indicates that the finished product is vegan.
Kat Von D encourages women to have fun playing with her make-up products.
“It’s not like tattoo of which there’s no room for error,” she said. “With make-up, you can always experiment and if you don’t like it — just wash it off.”
With make-up, you can always experiment and if you don’t like it just wash it off