The Beauty Products Celebrity Makeup Artist Kirin Bhatty Uses to the Last Drop
Kirin Bhatty, a celebrity makeup artist based in Los Angeles and New York, knows she owes it all to her immigrant parents. They emigrated from Pakistan and relocated to the United States before she was born. “How lucky are we to have these people who left their homes at young ages to throw everything at the wall for their kids?” Bhatty says.
Bhatty’s education in beauty began with her parents, too. Her mother taught her how to use coconut oil to oil her hair, to use yogurt as a face mask, and to transform lemons into an exfoliant, which fueled Bhatty’s appreciation for self-care. Her father perfumed their home with water-soaked orange blossoms from the family’s orange tree, leading to her love of fragrance and aromatherapy. “My family always reached to the earth,” she says. “I find being a daughter of immigrants my superpower, and the biggest gift I’ve ever received is having them as my parents.”
Bhatty grew up in L.A. She began her career as an ad-sales assistant at publications including Departures and Angeleno. When a recession hit in 2008, she got laid off, which she describes as “the best thing that ever happened to me.” Moving back home felt like admitting defeat, so she chased a lead for an assistant job at Smashbox Studios. She thought she was going to be an office assistant, but instead she ended up assisting Lori Taylor Davis, Smashbox Cosmetics’ global pro lead artist.
She “caught the bug” for the industry from there, and after booking her first female celebrity clients, Jessica Paré and Kiernan Shipka, she built a reputation as a celebrity makeup artist. Now, she regularly works with the likes of Lorde, Geraldine Viswanathan, and Auliʻi Cravalho. “I have a very diverse group of clients. I work across all skin tones, and that definitely is important to me as an artist,” she says.
Below, she reveals her skin-care routine, why she gets monthly facials at Joanna Vargas, and her love for hair-oiling.
A.M. Routine
I swear by Joanna Vargas’s Vitamin C Face Wash. I’m not a double-cleanser these days, but if I have some leftover makeup, I will use these Micellar Cleansing Pads from Sofie Pavitt. I also always start with lip care. I can be a bit of a snorer — it’s the bane of my life, but because of that, I can be susceptible to dry mouth and lips. I start with the EOS 24H Moisture Super Balm. I usually have three in my bag, and I keep one at my bedside. Then I will go in with the Tower 28 SOS Daily Rescue Facial Spray. I’ve never been prone to blemishes, but I had eight flights in the past two weeks. I think this has been very important in preventing them. Then I go in with La Mer’s the Treatment Lotion. It works like an essence, so I love to press it in. It feels really fresh and cool. I also use the Rescue Vitamin C + Squalane Serum from Joanna Vargas. Then, in the daytime, I’ve been using this Kat Burki Vitamin C Intensive Face Cream. I’ve been using the new Ranavat Brightening Mineral Sunscreen SPF 50+. It’s incredible. I follow with my Nutrafol supplements because all of a sudden I decided to lose all my hair, so I’m growing it back.
I love to wear perfume during the day. I’ve been wearing Orphéon from Diptyque. I also like the perfumes from Liis, like Floating, which is really beautiful. Orphéon is so sexy, so that’s definitely for date nights. For the summer, I’m switching over to Floating. I love Byredo Gypsy Water.
I love doing Pilates several times a week in the morning.
P.M. Routine
I use the Joanna Vargas Vitamin C Face Wash and the Sofie Pavitt Micellar Cleansing Pads again. If I feel dull, I’ll also use Joanna Vargas’s Exfoliating Mask. This is my favorite exfoliating mask on the planet; I would buy stock in it if I could. It’s magical. I throw it on and I look amazing. I also throw the Treatment Lotion from La Mer back on along with La Mer’s Lifting Firming Serum. I use the Joanna Vargas Retinol Serum. Then I like the classic La Mer Crème de la Mer. When I put this on, I feel like a lady. I switch my skin care seasonally. In the summer, I’ll pull back on the heavier creams and use Augustinus Bader’s the Cream.
On her everyday makeup routine
I’ll take my EOS Cashmere Lip Butter, which is packed with peptides and functions on the lip like a lip primer. I throw a little Tower 28 Swipe Serum Concealer on; I helped develop it, and I’ll use that around my hyperpigmentation. I’ll brush up my brow and fill it in with the Bobbi Brown Precise 24-Hour Ultra Slim Waterproof Eyebrow Pencil. I’ll curl my lashes with the Surratt Relevee Lash Curler. If you don’t have one, go run and order one. They’re [chef’s kiss].
I tend to love tubing mascaras, so I’ve been using the Vast Lash Mascara from Victoria Beckham Beauty. For my lips, I love Violette, and she just launched the Bisou Balm. I also just use a lip liner that’s a little mauve- or berry-toned and then with my EOS Cashmere Lip Butter, it’ll just turn into a glossy balm with a little color. Finally, I have freckles, but I like to make them pop out, so I’ll draw those on.
On monthly facials
I get a facial from Joanna Vargas religiously every month. I’ve been doing that for a decade. I love when I get to see her, but she’s a busy person, so everyone in their studio is incredible. It’s been a beautiful investment in my life. I think I look younger than I am — that feels good, and I think that comes from those facials. She has a new microneedling treatment that I’m curious about, so I want to do that.
On beauty tools
I’m using my Lyma laser. I have hyperpigmentation, and I feel like it’s reducing it. I like the CurrentBody Skin LED Neck & Décolletage Mask. I think that red-light therapy works. At Joanna Vargas, they have an LED-light bed, so I hop in there once a month. With skin care and taking care of yourself, consistency is everything. It’s like that with diet; it’s like that with exercise; it’s like that with therapy. It’s like that with anything.
Lyma Laser Starter Kit
CurrentBody LED Neck & Décolletage Mask: Series 2
On the most important ingredient in her routine
As someone who struggles with hyperpigmentation, even my face wash is vitamin C. It’s the only ingredient that brightens my skin and helps with cell turnover.
On hair-oiling
I look forward to oiling my hair. When I was little, my mom would throw some coconut oil on my scalp and my hair and throw me in the sun once a week. I’ve kept that consistent since I was little. South Asian women and men, we oil everyone’s hair. It’s how you connect with your family, and you share love that way. I do it for my partner now — so I oil my hair and then I oil his hair. It’s a beautiful part of our culture. They also say it helps your hair stay black. I don’t know if that’s true, but I’ve never had to color my hair.
I’m using the Fortifying Hair Serum from Ranavat. I mix it into my palms and work it into my scalp and the hair before tying it in a bun. I do that in the morning of my wash day and then I’ll go and do stuff. I’ll let the body heat get it going, get it cooking, then I wash it out.
Ranavat Fortifying Hair Serum