Behind The Beauty with Kirin Bhatty

BECAUSE OF THE NATURE OF MY WORK, I am always working and I am almost always all over the place.  I just came off a press tour which meant that I was constantly traveling city to city, working every day, going out at night. I love days like these, but they can be really intense. When I am home, I try to get in a Pilates class or a training session; as a makeup artist, a lot of us have back and shoulder issues from hauling these really heavy kits around and going up and down stairs and getting in some kind of movement has been really helpful for my body. I am super close to both my parents and I make sure that I speak to them every day. I live bicoastal so when I am in New York, I go on long walks every single day. In Los Angeles, however, I am more about driving than walking, which is why I hike a lot when I am there. I also love to get in some shopping (my husband jokes that I can find somewhere to shop no matter where I am!) when I have the time.

MY BEAUTY ROUTINE DEPENDS ON how fancy I am feeling. Regardless, my focus is always on the skin, and this is something that extends to my clients as well. My skincare changes with the season: a lightweight moisturizer in the summer and a thicker one in winter, a lot of face mists, SPF all year round (very important!) and a light skin tint. I also love treating myself to a facial every month — I see Joanna Vargas no matter which coast I am on and I also send a lot of my clients there.

My brows are naturally dark, but I still fill them in (a little bit of brow flick never hurt anyone, in my opinion!). I curl my lashes but I don't always use a mascara. Instead, I get in a lash lift and tint. Because I have hooded eyes, I have to cheat in a liner (which is also why I rarely do a sharp winged tip on myself) using a pencil. I love the Satin Kajal Liner from Victoria Beckham, the Underlined Kajal Eyeliner from Kulfi Beauty and the Eye Define Waterline Eyeliner from Pixi Beauty. I also have a lot of hyperpigmentation around my chin so I always have some concealer on in that area. I used to use the MAC Studio Fix NC35 — it was my absolute favorite formula on earth but it has been discontinued so I am constantly scraping the bottom of the pot to get as much of it as I still can. The Armani Beauty Luminous Silk Hydrating Face and Under-Eye Concealer is really nice, as is the Main Match Concealer from Kulfi Beauty. NARS' Radiant Creamy Concealer is great too but a little light for when I need something that is fuller coverage.

I DID NOT ALWAYS KNOW THAT I wanted to be a makeup artist. As a South Asian kid who was born here and whose parents immigrated here when I was still really young, I was raised to aspire towards more stable jobs, like a doctor or an engineer. My first internship was in the entertainment industry and while I hated every minute of the work, I still loved being in that environment. I also worked in editorial for a bit and it was when I was at Angelo magazine that I realized that I didn't have to be on the business side of this world. It was the creative part that I was really drawn to. From there, it was just a matter of figuring out the how. A friend of a friend told me that they were hiring for an assistant at Smashbox Cosmetics. I showed up in heels and a peplum top — which was very much the style at the time — and before I knew it, I was on set, cleaning brushes, running around and just generally in awe that this could actually be someone's job.

I worked with Lori Taylor — she is now the Global Pro Lead Artist there — who went out of her way to mentor me. She still is one of my closest friends to this date; I am so grateful that she took a chance on me and taught me so much that I wouldn't have known otherwise. Lori wore a lot of hats at the time and wherever she went, I was with her. I hadn't met my husband then and this is the only other time that I remember feeling like I was in love.

(L) Bhatty; (R) with Lori Taylor, Global Pro Lead Artist at Smashbox Cosmetics.

SO MUCH OF BEAUTY IS ABOUT how confident you feel. As a makeup artist, I see this all the time — if they're not comfortable with themselves, it will always show. To me, beauty is a state of mind; as human beings, we change so much through the years both physically and mentally and having a good sense of self is really important. The best example that I can think of here is my mom; she is a senior but she is always in good spirits and never leaves the house without her signature maroon-red lipstick.

I AM SO INSPIRED BY women in my work. I think we're just so cool and pioneers in our own ways, whether it's the Bollywood actresses from the '50s like Madhubala and Meena Kumari, or those like my client Geraldine Viswanathan who is of mixed heritage but has really embraced her Indian identity and found her own as an actor. Then there's my cousin Aisha and one of my closest friends Umber Ahmad who is a bakery owner, two women who could not be more different but are still incredibly brave and hardworking. I am also so inspired by Misha Japanwala who creates these absolutely incredible works of art. I think there is so much courage in putting yourself out there in this way.

Bhatty with actor Geraldine Viswanathan.

MY IDEA OF BEAUTY IS REALLY INFORMED BY watching my mom while growing up. Less is always more for me, both on myself and my clients. This is why I have always had a skin-first philosophy when it comes to beauty; my mom never had any base products on, but there was always a lipstick, a pat of color on the cheeks and of course, her beloved kajal. Just enough products that helped her highlight her best features. I learnt just how special so many of the beauty traditions from the region are because of her, and that very much informs my work as a South Asian makeup artist today. Even personally, I incorporate so much of what I learnt from her in my everyday look. I love a statement lip and liner combination.

IN MY KIT, YOU'LL ALWAYS FIND THE Shark™ Depuffi™ Contrast Therapy Device. I use it on pretty much all of my clients; it is an amazing contrast therapy tool that goes hot and cold and really helps depuff and contour the face. I also always have the Forever Glow Anti-Aging Face Mask from Joanna Vargas in there; they are almost like a facial in a sheet mask and great for red carpet prep. I love a bouncy curled lash and the Surratt Beauty Relevee Lash Curler is fantastic for this purpose. The Armani Beauty Luminous Silk Foundation is my holy grail — it is my absolute favorite formula and the new one is even better, in my opinion. I am also going to plug in the Tower28 Swipe Serum Concealer here because I did help develop it and it is also one of the best options if you are South Asian because of the diversity of the shades that it comes in. I also invested in the Sisley Nutritive Lip Balm for my kit; it is definitely more expensive than any other balm that I have used, but it is absolutely worth it and has been a mainstay in my kit for over a decade.

I love an eyeliner that I can apply with an angled brush because that just gives me more control. I swear by the Bobbi Brown Gel Eyeliner; it is waterproof, and the colors are gorgeous. If I want super sharp lines, I use the Auto-Graphique Liner from Surratt Beauty. I'm kind of obsessed with tubing mascaras right now and the Badi Lash Mascara from Kulfi Beauty and the Liquid Lash™ Extensions Tubing Mascara from Thrive Cosmetics have been on my list of favorites lately. There's also the Brow Sculpt, a brow gel by the Australian beauty brand Complete Beauty Haus that Geraldine put me on. I am partial to a cream cheek product, so you'll always find the Armani Beauty Luminous Silk Blush in my kit, as well as the NARS Insatiable Liquid Blush. I am obsessed with the Overliner Lip Liner Pencil from Mary Phillips' m.ph Beauty and the Tansculpt Cream Bronzing Contour Balm from Hung Vanngo Beauty. I love to use a setting spray on my clients and I am always switching between the Dior Backstage Airflash Mist and the Saie Beauty CitySet™ Lightweight Setting Spray. For a more intense effect though, nothing comes close to the On 'Til Dawn Mattifying Waterproof Setting Spray from One/Size.

Bhatty's work as seen on actor Auli'l Cravalho for World Princess Week at Disneyland.

LUXURY IN BEAUTY TO ME IS all about the performance. A lot of my work shows up on the red carpet — it is all happening in real time, so there's no Photoshop or airbrushing there. To me, luxury is knowing that a product will perform as promised, that it's not going to peel or splotch and that it's going to play well with other products.

I THINK WE HAVE MADE A LOT OF STRIDES when it comes to representation, which is exciting, because we are seeing so much more diversity now as compared to a few years ago. At the same time, we still have a lot of work to do. We need more opportunities both behind and in front of the camera, and we also need to be rewarded with equity, because you can't expect people who are underrepresented to then come in and try to survive in an industry where it is already difficult for so many of us to make it, right? We all deserve a chance at a nice life, and in this industry, there's a lot of struggle and suffering if you're not well-connected or already wealthy. I am excited to see more of us here, but we need more chances, especially at national and international levels. And so, even though we have all these incredible South Asian brands, mainstream brands should be embracing us as their ambassadors or as global artists — not just to check a box, but because of our talent and our ability to do just as well as anyone else.

I LOVE MY SOUTH ASIAN BRANDS... I am obsessed with the Radiant Rani Brightening Saffron Serum and the Brightening Mineral Sunscreen from Ranavat. The formulation of the SPF is unbelievably beautiful and actually one of my holy grails. I love Kulfi Beauty, Ctzn Cosmetics, Mango People Cosmetics and of course, Live Tinted. I think Deepica, the founder of Live Tinted, is a genius and has made such an incredible name for herself and the brand.

AS A MAKEUP ARTIST, I WOULD LOVE TO CREATE a line of all my favorite products that have been discontinued. I think the reason why these are so loved by makeup artists but not as much otherwise is because they fall short on educating the customer on how they can use these products. This is also the reason why I think a lot of the artist-founded brands are doing so well right now because they go really deep into the education side of things and ensure that the customer understands exactly how to use their products.