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Beauty

5 minutes with... Kat Von D

November 20
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Such exciting news – Kat Von D Beauty, a brand by tattoo artist, Kat Von D has with Sephora is now available in Dubai exclusively at Sephora Middle East. I must admit, I knew about Kat Von D’s beauty brand and see it whenever I’m at Sephora in the US but never came around to trying the products. Since the interview, I started using her products regularly and incredibly obsessed with her shade & light contour palette (that I use over a cream contour kit) and the liquid lipsticks which last all night. If you love your pigment, you will love this range. I spoke to Kat about the region, why it took the brand a while to come here and make up tips.

Hi Kat! How does it feel to be in Dubai?
It’s quite hot but it is exciting to be here, more importantly just excited to bring the brand out here! I’m just excited to see how well people respond. One thing I really noticed even from before getting here is that people in Middle East really embrace a bold eye, and for me this is something that I love doing personally so I know my make up liner will definitely work with the women here.

Is it your first time here in the region?
Yes

Why was this the right time to your brand here?
I don’t know, I personally wanted to come here a lot sooner. We’ve been a smash hit in the US for 8 years now but you probably have to ask Sephora Middle East what took them so long! I am just glad to be here

How was the transition from tattoo artistry to cosmetics?
I’ve never actually moved from anything because I want be Salvador Dali, you know Salvador Dali did everything from painting to drawing, a cookbook, designed jewelry, furniture, poetry, all that stuff and that’s what I want to do. So when Sephora approached me about doing a makeup line it was something that really made sense on an artistic level because I felt like I could really express myself in the creative process, and also selfishly create products that I want to use myself.

How do you come up with new products?
Similar seasonal launches like most brands do but unlike most brands I usually take the trend predictions and just throw them out the window. I don’t really care what’s popular or what’s in because I am not really interested in creating anything that’s going to be season. I’d rather have long due in every product that I release, and I think that’s the key – to create something that you really believe in, and for me there’s not one product that I’ve ever made that I wouldn’t personally wear myself- so that’s kind of how we work more on creative.

If you had to choose one product from your range, which is your favorite?
People ask me that all the time and it is really difficult for me to decide because I really do love everything I make, but I love and if I guess I have to choose two, I would say my Tattoo Liner because I use my eye liner everyday and a red lipstick.

You draw the perfect line with your liner, do you have any tips?
I’ve done Youtube tutorials on different approaches – some more artistic than others but I think that a lot of people are scared of liquid eyeliner, if they’ve never used it because it is intimidating. I believe that the tattoo liner is dummy proof and it really is made easy to try out – even for beginners. For me it was like I do want to impress the makeup artist, but I also want it to be very like user friendly. In general I want my mom to be able to use it just as easily as a makeup artist.

You’ve launched the brand in several regions, do you see that there are best sellers that depend on the region?
I am totally surprised and happily shocked that we seem to be continuing to produce heroes. There’s not a weak link in the line. I’m not interested in making any fillers. For me, if you’re not using it, let’s not make it.

I was looking at the shade & light collection, and contouring here is huge – people here love it, do you have any tips for contouring?
You know I’ve done a lot of tutorials, but you really have to contour for your own face shape. I think the biggest mistake on contouring that I’ve seen is that just because it is a very hot trend -It doesn’t mean that you necessarily need it. For example, I have a really small nose, if I were to contour it, it will look even smaller and I think it will look weird.

How important was it for your products to be long lasting and high in pigment?
It is the quality of the makeup line that is a selfish one, because I personally love long wear so to me, I rather create something that I don’t have to touch up all the time. Especially when I was filming the TV show, there’s no room for mistakes, when you are filming really long hours, it was really important for me that it would stand the test of time especially on camera.

What are 5 beauty products that you use on a daily basis?
Obviously, the eyeliner and the red lipstick. I love my foundation because it has just become part of my regime, but I don’t know if I have five things I need. I am a pretty simple person, if I don’t have a brush – I end up just using my hand.  I think it’s mainly in the lipstick!

What are you currently working on?
The Metal crush collection which is coming soon. We just launched it in the US and it really is such an amazing eye shadow formula, and it’s the first time that I’m releasing individual pots, because for me it is important to have a very reasonable price point and that’s why I started to create palettes, because I felt like you get a lot more for the money instead just buying one, That being said, the metal crush collection formula are special, and the most highly pigmented formula that I’ve ever created, and has such an amazing metallic finish. You can use it as a highlighter for your face, you can use it as eyeliner, you can use it for everything, I am excited for you guys to try it!