Albert Kurniawan finally launched his own makeup brand called Teviant.
The Indonesian celebrity makeup artist revealed his brand's pioneer collection on Wednesday night, November 28, at the Makati Shangri-La, where he also celebrated his 10th anniversary in the beauty industry.
The brand was named after Albert's mom, Thevianty. Based on its website, Albert released at least 30 makeup products which focused mainly on the eyes.
Albert shared some details in his interview with PEP.ph (Philippine Entertainment Portal), "It's actually a three-year project for me. I started some time in 2015. But then, I stopped it for while because at first I thought like it's a bit impossible, you know, things like that.
"But a good thing is I'm a fighter and a risk taker also, so I fight every step just to make sure I'll deliver according to the formula that I really want."
Known for his masterful techniques in eye makeup, Albert decided to make eye shadow the star of his first collection.
"As of now, I'll focus with the eyes since it's my strength. I'm embracing my strength, so people will believe in my product more because they know it's my strength."
ALBERT X LOVE MARIE
Albert collaborated with his long-time muse Heart Evangelista on creating four eye-shadow palettes called Amore, Mademoiselle, Queen, and Señorita.
The makeup artist added, "My inspiration, it's all about the women that revolve around my life—my mom, my sister, and, of course, Heart Evangelista is my number one muse.
"Like my mom and sister, they love bold eyes. It's all about beautiful eye makeup because we're an Indonesian family.
"And then, Heart naman, she loves texture."
Meanwhile, Heart said these palettes represent "the seasons of our friendship."
The Kapuso actress also gave an idea on how she is as a client, "I love anything kikay stuff, makeup, fashion, so talagang nagkakasundo kami ng friends ko.
"He does my makeup. We play a lot with the colors, with the looks now, what we see on the runway.
"So it's very natural that we came out with different eye shadows that you can play with.
"A lot of people are also very intimidated with colors—that's me—and Albert would always teach me na puwede mag-purple pero madi-diffuse pa, ganyan.
"I thought it's perfect and, you know, it's like art."
As partners, Albert said both of them were very hands-ons.
"This collaboration, every step of it, we both have our own inputs from the pigmentation, from the color selection, up to the case."
For her part, Heart said, "Matagal siya, but Albert is so precise and grabe yung quality control niya.
"So talagang... perfect timing din siya kasi talagang pinaghandaan niya, pinaghirapan niya."
ALBERT'S 10TH ANNIVERSARY
Albert also thanked everyone—his family, celebrity and other VIP clients—who has supported his craft for 10 years.
In his speech, he said, "I wanted to do so many things, but one thing I know for sure, when I got to the country, I was hooked by the culture, the open-mindedness of the people and, of course, the beauty of the Filipinos.
"Staying in a foreign land without a family, knowing nothing about the language, and not having any local friends was really a roller-coaster ride for me. I decided to listen to my heart, to the thing that I never imagined will become my bread and butter, which is makeup.
"I've been interested in beauty and makeup for a long time. Thanks to the beautiful women in my family—my sister and my mom—who influenced me to appreciate the beauty of makeup as I was growing up."
Albert could not help but feel emotional as he looked back on his early years in the local beauty industry.
The makeup artist said, "Starting my journey ten years ago was a huge challenge for me. For one, the industry was quite shocked to have a foreign guy with a different aesthetic of makeup to enter the business. So parang, 'Sino nga yun? Bakit andito yun?'
"I faced discrimination and power tripping along the way and no one to share my burden with since my family disagreed with my decision to move to the Philippines to pursue makeup artistry.
"But looking back, I'm thankful that I went through all of that which molded me to be a stronger individual and still inspired me to become a better artist every single day. And now, being through so much ten years after, I'm very proud to call Philippines my home.
"I couldn't have been more thankful to every friend, every bride, and most especially, every muse that I worked with throughout my ten-year journey. This achievement of mine wouldn't be possible without all of you who continue to believe in me and support my craft."
Albert gave Heart a special mention because she was his first celebrity client.
In response, the My Korean Jagiya star told Albert, "I just wanna say thank you for being like a brother to me. We went through a lot, but I'm just so grateful that I work with you, that you're in my life because the energy that you have is so inspiring. You work so hard."
CELEBRITY GUESTS
The makeup artist has a long list of celebrity clients including Alex Gonzaga, Toni Gonzaga, Kim Chiu, Janice de Belen, and Elisse Joson, among many others.
Albert also served as the mentor of some of our beauty queens including Miss World 2013 Megan Young, Miss Universe 2013 3rd runner-up Ariella Arida, and Miss International 2018 1st runner-up Athisa Manalo, to name a few.
Below are some of the celebrities we spotted at the party:
Kim Chiu came with her sister Lakam (not in photo).
Alex Gonzaga was accompanied by her non-showbiz boyfriend Mikee Morada.
Miss World 2013 Megan Young sat down with her fellow beauty queens including...
... Binibining Pilipinas-International 2017 Mariel de Leon.
ABS-CBN singer Jona belted out her version of Andy Williams's "The Impossible Dream" at the party.
Heart was accompanied by her husband Senator Francis "Chiz" Escudero.
Senator Grace Poe also attended the event.
