His favourite colour was black, but after joining Urban Decay Thitiphan Viriyajit has a preference for purple — the emblematic hue of the edgy American make-up brand.
Known for its series of Nude eyeshadow palettes, Urban Decay has returned to its roots in offering a summer 2015 collection with a vibrant palette.
Thitiphan is particularly enthusiastic about a bright purple called Bittersweet — one of the eye-catching shades featured in the Afterglow blush and Revolution lipgloss line-up.
“On lips, the bright purple means high impact, not only from the pigment-rich shade, the gloss’ plumping ingredient also gives fuller-looking lips,” said the make-up artist.
“As a blush, Bittersweet can be used for every skin tone. The finely-milled and balanced coated powders and pigments give a super-soft texture, with the easy-to-blend colour gliding effortlessly on the skin. The purple blush even works to create a contouring effect.”
Women who shy away from wearing purple make-up, he added, should experiment with the colour or its variations, such as Urban Decay’s new eyeshadows in Tonic (a lilac with blue shift) and Backfire (a burgundy with a purple shift).
“The beauty of make-up products is the wonderful myriad of shades and you need to go out of your comfort zone — for instance coral and pink — to find something as or even more skin-flattering,” said Thitiphan, who took professional training at the Cinema Makeup School, near Hollywood in Los Angeles.
His passion had him doing bridal make-up as a part-time job while studying business English at a university in his hometown, Nakhon Ratchasima. After graduating, he worked full-time at a Bangkok wedding studio before pursuing a make-up diploma in the US.
The 18-week Master Makeup programme taught him beauty, airbrush, character, prosthetics, special effects make-up and photographic hairstyling, with the Thai student graduating as one of the top five in his class.
“I needed to learn theories and broaden my horizon,” he said. “Campus life was fun and hard work. Prosthetics and special effects were the hardest for me, with the sculpting, moulding and casting techniques involved to create the dramatic effects.”
Now as a trainer, he teaches Sephora staff the tricks of the trade so that they can advise customers how to apply Urban Decay’s products for everyday make-up looks.
“Often, it’s about not knowing how to use bold colours, and this is the job of a beauty adviser to show women how and encourage them to play with a blue or a purple,” he said. “If the bright colours go on eyes, simply balance that with nude or softer hues on lips.”
The experimentation will help women discover various make-up styles that suit them more than current trends.
Following the K-Beauty trend for example has Thai women copying a dewy complexion but going lighter than their natural skin tone.
“Many things have to be considered — the face shape, the skin undertone, the eye shape — whether the K-Beauty look will work for you, and for many women it doesn’t,” said Thitiphan, who has 15 years of experience as a make-up artist.
“I still love doing bridal make-up. It’s a joy to help a woman look beautiful on her big day,” he said of his calling. “I can be irritated or stressed from elsewhere, but when I get to work on a woman’s make-up, I forget about everything and focus on my artistry. It takes me into another world.”