"Quality Over Quantity...I Don’t Give A F**K About My Numbers": Talking Beauty With Kat Von D

Coming this July, Sephora will be making space in its stores for the coveted Kat Von D Beauty makeup line. The days of entreating friends travelling to the States are finally over! For those of you who know of Kat only as a tattoo artist, having your skin inked by her eyeliner or red lipstick is as much of a religious experience as getting a tattoo from the L.A. Ink star herself. For Kat, tattooing and makeup are interdisciplinary; they are two sides of the same coin. "Being a free spirit and being able to think outside of what the conventional idea of beauty is," she says.

Harper's BAZAAR Singapore: How does it feel seeing your brand opening on the other side of the world?

Kat Von D: Well, this is just super exciting being able to finally launch Kat Von D Beauty in Singapore. It has been something that I’ve been pushing for a while so its really exciting. I have yet to meet the entire Sephora team which I’m super excited about cause I think every region is so different and I just know that they are putting so much work into this launch and attention to the brand – that just means a lot to me.

HB: You inspire people to stand in their own beauty and you are a role model for anyone who ever felt like a beauty-misfit. Growing up, who were your beauty role models?

KVD: People ask me (a lot) if I have any style icons and things like that. I don’t necessary have a person that I look up to and go “Oh, I want to be like you”. Physically, I think it is more of me being inspired by Punk Rock bands that I listened to, because it was the sentiment behind being a free spirit and being able to think outside of what the conventional idea of beauty is. So to me, I only felt different when I was around other people but on my own; I feel normal. I think it would be weird to be the modern idea of normal—that doesn’t attract me in any way. I rather people be themselves than try to be a version of me or anybody else.

HB: Make up has always been a rite of passage of girls and they typically start by ransacking their mum’s make up chests. Did you do that as well?

KVD: Yeah! I feel like that is a very typical story to be introduced to makeup through your parents. But for me, it wasn’t until I started listening to Siouxsie And The Banshees, where I would see pictures of her, and she’d have this crazy Cleopatra-on-steroids eye liner. And when I saw [Siouxsie] I was wowed, and to me I thought that was so 1920s. I did not see it as Goth, I saw it as an era, and that was more inspiring and influential than my mum ever was.

HB: I love how you didn’t see it as Goth cause I’m sure people around you thought it was and that you were Goth as well. So what did Goth mean to you at that time?

I think whether it was punk rock music, or for lack of a better description, Goth—that to me was a statement of freedom and I think it is the freedom to be whatever you feel like being. But if you’re consciously doing that, or if you are only doing things because you are suppose you think is supposed to happen or what society expects—that is not conscious living. I think there is a beauty in that and when you think about heroes or people that are admired by others, it is not the person; it’s probably the qualities—and what people term as being brave or courageous. I think it's being in tune with who you are.

HB: When did you first discover your beauty signature: the eyeliner?

KVD: I don’t know if I would call that my signature because that would be flattering myself. The first time I ever used liquid eyeliner, I remember it making me feel a certain way. It wasn’t that I felt more beautiful, I just felt empowered. I think as an artist, and having drawn portraits all my life, you see the difference that a little bit of eyeliner can make, and changing the shape of something if you want to.

HB: Going back to when it all began, what triggered you to start your beauty business?

KVD: Never in a million years did I imagine that I would have a make up line—that was not even on my radar! So when Sephora approached me for a make up line about 9 years ago, it was a blessing for both parties. I was really excited in creating something and understanding the process of how things are made, [which also] helped me with my own approach to make up.

HB: How did being a tattoo artist helped you in that?

KVD: Before, I was doing whatever I felt like, but now, I think the more you understand your tools, the more it really affects the way that you do your art. That translates across the board, even for tattooing... I remember when I first started tattooing, I hated soldering—we had to make our own needles—and I just remember thinking, “why am I doing this?” and now, I look back and I understand what formation of needles look like and how that affects line work. And so when I created the Tattoo Eyeliner, I remember the inspiration behind that was the grouping of needles, the precision, and asking how do to get the most precise component to achieve the most precise line work—I think that is important.

HB: What is your creative process like when creating a product?

KVD: I think it is different every time. Sometimes, I have an idea right off the bat and it can just fall into place super easily. Other times, there are certain formulations that I’m inspired by and then the concepts, names, shade and themes comes after that. For example the Lockit Foundation took over 12 revisions until we got it perfect—that took over a year’s worth of trying to get something right. Whereas for the Everlasting Liquid Lipstick, I had an idea for a formula and we executed it really quickly and developed the artwork around that.

HB: As an artist, what is the message you want to convey with makeup and with your brand?

KVD: I just want to promote creativity. I hate to say it bluntly but people suck and I think that one of our redeeming qualities is the act of creating and giving something back. We live in a culture that continues to take, and take, and take—not from Mother Nature—without giving back. So if I can promote compassion and creativity, those are the things I want to promote….. I think true beauty has nothing to do with the superficial part of how long your eye lashes are or anything like that. It is about who you are and how you feel and a lot of that inner glow really transcends makeup. So if [my makeup] can inspire you to create and think outside what is expected then the job’s done.

HB: I don’t see your fans as fans; I see it as one big global family - everyone is a friend to each other.

KVD: Thank you. That is how I see it too!

HB: How do you maintain a genuine and authentic connection with your friends on Instagram?

KVD: I feel that there are a few expectations that I feel obliged to. For example, I have a hard time sharing my art, my drawings and my tattoos. I think it has gotten harder as time goes on because social media really invites people to give their opinions—by people who are in absolutely no place to criticize. Unless you are Caravaggio, I think you should shut the f**k up. And if you were Caravaggio, you wouldn’t care enough to say anything. So I feel that when I post a picture of a tattoo, and if someone tells me its good, its almost as insignificant as somebody who told me that it is bad, that’s where I struggle.

Last question, when do you feel the most beautiful?

As a look, without any makeup—like right out of the shower cause I think I look the cutest and that is when I feel the most me. The first day I landed in Singapore, I went for a walk just to get a sense of the city and I just went with no makeup and it felt so good to just have the humidity against my face—I felt like a kid again!

I feel the most beautiful when I create – whatever that looks like – and when I think of myself in my own element; when I am playing the piano, when I am drawing, stuff like that is when I feel the most pretty.

By James Lennon Tan