a Vietnamese-American official Playboy makeup and hair artist?
a Vietnamese-American official Playboy makeup and hair artist?
Written by Nathan Pham
Monday, 27 August 2007
Awhile back, I stumbled upon a MySpace page of a very interesting makeup artist, Katie B. What triggered me to stay on the page to learn more about Katie B were the names listed under Katie B’s Companies: Playboy Enterprises, Inc. and Katie B Cosmetics. At first glance, I was under the assumption that Katie is a make up artist who works for Playboy Enterprises and also has her own cosmetics line. Quite an impressive combination I’d say. In case you do not already know, Playboy Enterprises and its logo of a bunny is one of the most recognized names and logos around the world. I am not sure how difficult it is to get to work for them, but I find that to be intriguing. So I decided to get in touch with Katie B to learn about her story and to confirm my assumption.
Born and raised in Southern California and similar to other Vietnamese American artists interviewed on VAN, Katie B’s parents came to the U.S. in 1975. With a family of 5, Katie B was raised with strong family and social values. In addition, Katie B was fortunate to inherit hardworking traits and entrepreneurial skills set by her parents at a very young age. Passion for makeup started as early as 4 and by the age of 15, she already had clients on the weekends. However, Katie B did not quite intend to become a professional makeup artist. While Katie B was at the University of California-Irvine working on obtaining her Bachelor of Arts in Economics and a minor in Management, she continued to do makeup as a part time gig. Then client after client and before Katie B knew it, she had so many clients, Katie B was doing makeup full time. To her, nothing surpasses the satisfaction of enhancing one’s beauty which she believes in turn empowers one inside out. From her long list of clients, she then turned her part time gig into a full time career. However, her degree in Economics and her minor in Management were not wasted. She applied her education, along with her makeup experience, to start her own very successful cosmetics line called Katie B Cosmetics: http://www.katiebco.com.
What really amazes me about Katie B is that she thinks “Sleep is overrated!” From our first phone conversation, her “utilizing every second on the clock” attitude really shined through the phone and inspired me to get a lot of things done that day. That’s why in addition to working full time as a makeup artist and running her own cosmetics line, Katie B also attended and completed law school, which is a juris doctor degree. Although her schedule is very hectic, Katie B was very kind and considerate to spend some time for the VAN interview. Here are the highlights:
Background Questions:
VAN: Were you born in Vietnam? Perhaps a quick summary on your journey before you moved to Southern CA? Katie B: I was not born in Vietnam. I was born and raised in sunny Southern California. I lived in California all of my life and recently purchased a home in Colorado. Now I have two domiciles. I live half of the month in California and the other half of the month in Colorado.
VAN: Why Colorado? Katie B: Well, I did a little investigating and everyone I spoke to, even random people, recommended Colorado. I also have family in Colorado and they always told me how beautiful and wonderful Colorado is. It seemed as though everyone had good things to say about Colorado so I booked a flight to see what all the talk was about. When I arrived in Colorado, I immediately fell in love with the homes and the view of the snowcap mountains. I bought a home on my second visit. I love Colorado thus far. I love how suburban my neighborhood is. I also love how my neighbors are really nice and how everyone is family oriented.
VAN: Do you speak any Vietnamese? Katie B: Yes. I speak Vietnamese.
Career Questions:
VAN: Can you tell us how you became a makeup artist and how long have you been working as a makeup artist? Katie B: This is actually an interesting question. People ask me this all the time and to tell you the truth I do not know exactly when my career as a makeup artist started.
Growing up I did not intend to become a makeup artist. Becoming a makeup artist just fell into place for me. I have always loved makeup and styling hair. As a child, I used to get caught putting on makeup. I think the earliest age I can remember getting caught was when I was 4 years old.
I did makeup and hair for everyone that I knew. I did it because I loved it and it never seemed like work for me. The more makeup and hair gigs I did, the more clients were recommended to me. I had so many clients by the age of 15 that my father took me to the local printing shop and had business cards printed for me. From the beginning, my father has taught me the ropes on how to be a successful businessperson and my mother has taught me the importance of hard work.
VAN: How did you become an official make up artist for the Playboy Enterprises, Inc.?
Katie B: Becoming a makeup artist and hair stylist for Playboy Enterprises did not simply happen overnight for me. There’s a quote along of the lines of, “Overnight stars took 21 years to make.” I believe that quote very much. Although it did not literally take me 21 years to become an established makeup artist, I was surely close to that number. I worked very hard and many times in the beginning of my career I did makeup and hair for free for anyone or anything. At that time, I did not mind whether or not I was compensated because makeup and hair styling was my obsession. The more I worked the more connections I made and the more I learned how to perfect my makeup and hair skills.
Eventually I was asked to apply makeup and style hair for a few Playboy models. One time, one of the Playboy model’s husband was a photographer for Playboy. He liked my work so much that he recommended me to them. Playboy contacted me and asked for my portfolio, resume, and brief description about myself. After receiving my portfolio and corresponding information, they were impressed. Playboy then asked me to test for them on a photo shoot. Boy if I could only tell you the pressure and stress I was under. I was freaking out about everything. I wanted to be perfect. I ended up passing their test and recently I was promoted to be their key makeup artist and hair stylist. It’s been quite an adventure working with Playboy and definitely worth every minute!
Photo: http://www.myspace.com/katieb Professional Model: Taryn Terrell
VAN: From the photos on your Myspace, it seems like you had a lot of fun in Florida when working for a Playboy photo shoot. Can you share some unforgettable experiences? Katie B: Well I travel with Playboy almost every month. The Florida pictures are from a trip months ago. One time we went to Georgia for a photo shoot. We stayed at the location all week. The Inn was on a piece of land that was over 900 acres. It was so beautiful over there. We had our own chef who was available almost 24 hours a day. We could order whatever food we wanted and at any time of the day. When I asked for a burger, he asked me if I wanted Kobe beef?! Our midnight snack was not cookies and milk, but instead we had fresh sliced fruits and chocolate fondue, thinly sliced onion rings, chicken strips, homemade soup, bacon from a special stack (no fat!), and so much more. It was an amazing experience.
VAN: What made you decide to have your own cosmetics line, Katie B Cosmetics, even though one would assume that competition is quite heavy in that arena? Katie B: My friends and clients have often told me to start my own line because I was very knowledgeable about the products that I used and knew how to use them. I decided to start my own line because there is a lot of new technology out there for makeup. I wanted to be able to bring the best of science with the most professional products to general consumers. Thus far, my line has been well accepted and is growing very fast.
VAN: On top of being a full time make up artist, running your own cosmetics line, and then you also completed law school. Where do you find time? Katie B: No sleep! Hee hee. My quote is, “Sleep is overrated.” If something needs to be done, I simply skip sleep and catch up on it later. Opportunities usually do not come knocking a second time. So I make my best efforts to get everything done when it needs to be.
VAN: What kind of law did you studying? Katie B: I recently graduated from law school. In law school, there is not an area that one focuses on. You pretty much have to study everything. As far as my interests, I am interested in everything! I know right??!! I loved every single area of law that I have studied from property law, criminal law, to contract law.
VAN: Is your goal to become an attorney? Katie B: I plan to practice law in the coming years. I do not know what area I would like to practice yet. Everything is up in the air. I am even considering becoming a trial attorney. I find preparing for a trial very fun and exciting even though many attorneys dread preparing for court and fear going to court. I think being a trial attorney may be my niche.
(Katie’s family – L to R: Father (Thong), Mother (Ly), Brother (Matthew), (Fiancee) Shaun, Katie B, Sister (Kim), & Brother-in-Law (Tu).)
Miscellaneous and Fun Questions:
VAN: Being a make up artist, you probably have met a lot of different people in the Entertainment industry? Who is the most interesting person you’ve met? You don’t need to mention name if it’s not convenient. A brief description is fine. ;o) Katie B: I’ve met a lot of people with lots and lots of money. But those people don’t really impress me. People who impress me are those who have huge hearts and are willing to give back to the community. Those kinds of people have an impact on me because not only do they have the resources to give back to those less fortunate, but they also take action and give back.
Through my work as a law clerk, I met the daughter of John Deere. I was helping her plan her estate in the event of her death. John Deere, who developed the world’s first commercially successful, self-scouring steel plows, is known for their tractors. I’m sure you’ve heard or seen their products. Well, this lady was Vietnamese. She was adopted by the Deere family and has had a very good life. She had so much money it was unbelievable. All of her homes were paid off and all of the homes she had purchased for her young children were paid off. While I was doing her paperwork, she told me how she wanted to make sure that there was always enough money for Christmas. She told me that every year during Christmas, she sent her money to Asian countries to help correct people with cleft lips. Hearing about her good deeds is so inspiring for me. I hope to one day be able to give back to her extent and make a huge impact on the underprivileged.
VAN: Do you cook? If so, what is the ‘claim of fame’ dish? Katie B: I am starting to learn how to cook “real” food. I guess I would say I make good gio cuon! As for American food, I can make yummy lasagna and beef tacos.
VAN: Last but not least, which one do you personally like better, pho or hu tieu? Kaite B: I like pho but I like pho with banh pho lon and hanh dam!
VAN: That’s just exactly how I eat my pho too! Well, thanks for taking the time and sharing your story with us. Best to you on your future endeavors.
As I am discovering, interviewing, and chatting with more and more artists, similar to Katie B, I find that these artists seem to share very similar traits. On top of being talented, their positive energy, their focus and determination, and their drive to success are very worth commending. Being a blogger for VAN, I find meeting these folks to be very rewarding. So I hope as a reader, you’ll find these stories to be enjoying and encouraging in whatever form.
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