June is a significant time for our friends in the LGBTQIA+ community. It’s Pride Month, an “annual celebration of the many contributions made by the LGBTQ+ community to history, society and cultures worldwide,” according to History.com.
Among their many notable contributions to society is their artistry in cosmetics.
Think Drag Queens like Drag Race Philippines winner Precious Paula Nicole, Drag Den Philippines winner NAIA Black and their show sisters who displayed their astonishing talents of shape-shifting through makeup.
There are also members of the community who established their own makeup lines with inclusivity as one of its core values.
Enter Albert Kurniawan, makeup artist and founder of Téviant.
Born and raised in Indonesia, Albert flew to the Philippines 15 years ago in search of his purpose in life. And he found his purpose through makeup artistry. Since then, he has established himself as one of the most sought-after makeup artists in the country.
However, it wasn’t a smooth journey at the beginning.
Arriving in a country without knowing the language or knowing anyone was a struggle, but his peers welcomed him with open arms.
Albert’s first brush with cosmetics started when he struggled to look for faux lashes that fit his taste. He took matters into his own hands when he visited a factory, hand-weaved his own sets and shared them with his co-makeup artists. It was a light bulb moment for him to put up his own business.
While he slowly found success in his business, he felt something was still missing.
“I was having an anxiety so I decided to take a break for a while,” he said. “I was in Milan having dinner when I saw a girl I used to work with. I didn’t remember her at first so she introduced herself to me and told me she follows me on Instagram. She then asked me why don’t I open my own makeup line,” Albert recounted.
He continued: “I was on the other side of the globe, a stranger approached me and gave me an opportunity. She worked with a good factory and tried to put my name on the lineup of new clients.” Thus, the birth of Téviant in 2018. It was officially launched in 2019.
The brand name was inspired by his mother Tevianty, whom he watched putting makeup on while growing up.
Téviant’s products are the Multi-Glaze, a versatile and easy-to-use eyeshadow pen duo with two formulas that can help achieve subtle to full glam eyes; and the Brow Tint, a four-pronged, super fine eyebrow liner that creates hair-like strokes on the brows to produce a 3D microbladed look.
Aside from being a business, Téviant is also Albert’s love letter to the people who welcomed him in the Philippines. It’s also his way of empowering Filipinos “in all possible ways.”
Each product is meticulously developed and made in Europe.
Available in teviantbeauty.com, department store counters, Look branches, Lazada, Shopee, Zalora, BeautyMNL, Edamama and TikTok Shop.