A change for the better

       Leaving his hometown of Marseille, Jean Christophe "JC" Blachere has lived in the Middle East, Hong Kong and is now happily based in Jakarta. The agile JC,who speaks fluent English, says that Mediterranean people share certain values with Asians and being married to an Indonesian enables him to empathise with Asians.
       Together, they distribute Make Up For Ever in Indonesia, while JC also oversees the cosmetics brand business in the Middle East and the AsiaPacific. For 15 years, he has been driving Make Up For Ever's international development ever since he first met its founder, Dany Sanz, when she wanted to enter the Middle Eastern market.
       From her, he discovered his passion for makeup,leading him to close down his export consultancy firm in order to completely take on the challenges of the highly competitive cosmetics industry.
       JC was recently in Bangkok in his capacity of regional director for a big celebration - Make Up For Ever's 25th anniversary party held by Oranuj Wongprecha, managing director of Pre &Prom, the exclusive distributor in Thailand. The event took place at the Royal Bangkok Sports Club on Henri Dunant Road, and opening the party, he presented the history of the brand,which actually began from showbiz makeup.
       A painter and a sculptor, Dany Sanz was doing sets for a theatrical production when the producer asked her to reproduce what she was painting on the bodies of the chorus line. She couldn't do it with acrylic paint, and had to find safer products,resulting in the creation of her own makeup line.
       "Her works included doing makeup for theatre,cabaret, TV and cinema, catwalks, photo shoots,body painting and aquatic ballet. Dany brought a world of knowledge into the brand. For example,as a sculptor she applied shading and highlighting to sculpting the face, which is something specific to Make Up For Ever.And through her makeup, we're applying it to help make women bring out the best of their lovely features,"said the business executive, who was an ardent student of the prominent makeup artist.
       Did you have other aspirations?
       I remember telling my mum that I wanted to go to hotel school in order to become a chef. She was a secondary school teacher and her response of course was,'Forget it, you're going to do science'. And when my mother said 'No' there was no point in discussing it.
       So I went on to study mechanical engineering, followed by doing an MBA a few years afterwards. And to be frank,I have to thank her otherwise I would have ended up as a chef, instead of being on this adventure with Make Up For Ever.
       Tell us about your Middle Eastern adventure.
       For instance, I decided to go and work in Egypt, even though people told me that it wasn't an easy place to live. Living there for two years turned out to be an enriching experience, and I found the Egyptians warm and caring. Even though an unequal society didn't give them an easy life, they were relaxed and happy all the time.
       It taught me not to have preconceived ideas and to discover people and places by myself.That's why I love travelling.
       How did an export consultant ended up being Dany's student?
       I had my own consultancy firm, helping French companies export their products to the Middle East, and worked with Dany Sanz in expanding her family-run business.
       One day, during a marketing seminar I made a special request to Dany. I knew about products and ingredients but I also needed to know how to use them. So I asked her to teach me and she gave me one-to-one lessons.
       I discovered makeup this way, and by learning it from someone like Dany, you become passionate about makeup.
       What did you like about doing makeup?
       I always wanted to do something with my hands. Using my fingers or a brush to blend concealer, eyeshadow, doing makeup is a manual creation.
       During the 15 years at Make Up For Ever, I have unfortunately done less and less makeup because I'mmore involved in the marketing and business side of the company. But I still love to work on doing makeup, whenever I have the chance.
       What's an important quality of a good makeup artist?
       You need to communicate well with women,whether models or customers at department stores. You need to understand first what the lady is looking for, which is often not obvious.
       In contrast, most women have a hang-up,something physically that they don't like but nobody else sees. For example, I met a teenager who hated her ears when there was really nothing wrong with them. It's a feeling of insecurity.

Kristie France offers cheap beauty deals

       Kristie France has cut prices on its weigh-loss and beauty courses to tap low-end consumers after facing a price war from premium beauty centres going after the mid-tier market.
       Managing director Phoophong Suebwonglee said yesterday that many clients were flocking to high-end centres, which have cut their service fees by 80 to 90 per cent.
       Kristie France has to cut its fees by 60 to 70 per cent, and expects its revenue growth this year to be only 15 per cent, against the expected 30 to 40 per cent.
       The company also plans to expand to Cambodia, while it has been approached to sell franchises in Malaysia and Vietnam.

SPA STORES TO BE LAUNCHED IN BANGKOK

       Panviman Group of Resorts will launch two spa stores in Bangkok next month while adding new magnets to its three hotels.
       The first spa shop will open in CentralWorld on September 3 and the second in Siam Paragon on September 14.
       It will be the first time the group has diversified away from the hotel and resort business.
       President Chakarin Chantaravisoot said the company would import two Italian spa product lines, Angel and Mediterranean, to sell in Thailand.
       Angel products are aimed at those aged 15-20 and Mediterranean products at general customers more than 20 years old.
       "These are all organic products, so we are targeting upper-level customers conscious about their health," he said.
       The group expects to sell Bt12 million of the products in the first year of operation.
       The group manages its own spa called Viman Spa in the Panviman Hotel in Chiang Mai. All in-house products are called Puviman. The group produces and supplies its spa products to other hotels in Thailand and also to customers overseas.
       In the near future, it will open a spa in the Panviman Hotel on Koh Chang in Trat and the Panviman on Koh Pha-ngan in Surat Thani.
       A spa academy will be up and running at the Panviman Chiang Mai by year-end to train and certify therapists to serve the spa business.
       Recently, the first fish spa was introduced in Chiang Mai and has become a popular new draw.
       Panviman Chiang Mai is featuring 42 units priced at Bt7,000-Bt28,000 per night. However, all hotels in Chiang Mai are facing tough times as visitors stay away due to the political instability.
       About Bt120 million will be spent to add 45 rooms to the Panviman Koh Chang, which has been open for five years. Also 50 existing rooms will be refurbished by adding pool access. The renovation is expected to be completed within two months.
       A posh pub will open at the Koh Pha-ngan hotel by year-end, while 10 pool villas will be added to the scheduled hotel.
       Three hotels are on the drawing board for the next few years - on Koh Krud in Trat, in Sriboya in Krabi and on Koh Chang.
       "The group hopes the hotel business will recover this coming high season and we are seeing new bookings for that time," Chakarin added.

AUSTRALIAN FIRM MOVES ENTIRE OPERATION IN THAI JOINT VENTURE

       Autumn Solar, an Australian-based supplier and installer of heating for swimming pools and spas, plans to move its entire operations in Australia and China to Thailand within two years.
       The move is designed to take advantage of the Thai-Australian Free Trade Agreement (Tafta), which comes into force next year.
       Director Stephen Merrett said his company had exported swimming-pool equipment, such as solar-heating systems, underwater lights and salt chlorinators to the United States and many countries in Europe and Asia from its plant in Australia. However, its home-town location was no good for exports, thus, the company decided to move, so it could expand its export markets and save on transportation costs.
       Autumn Solar is Australia's market leader in heating installations for swimming pools and spas. It is among the top five in Australia's swimming-pool industry.
       Merrett said Autumn Solar had exported swimming-pool equipment to JD Pools 2004 (Thailand) for a few years. It recently concluded an agreement with the Thai firm to establish a joint venture in Phuket with registered capital of Bt50 million, to manufacture a comprehensive range of equipment in Thailand. Both parties will own half of the joint venture.
       "We will transfer know-how in manufacturing swimming-pool equipment to our Thai partner. The company will gradually move its operating plant from Australia to Thailand within two years. Then the office in Australia will become a sales company," he said.
       Merrett said the joint venture would take advantage of Tafta, which would cut export and import taxes to zero from next year.
       Autumn Solar's turnover was US$15 million (Bt501 million) last year, $3 million of which came from exports.
       "I expect to increase export sales by 15 per cent next year after we have partly moved our operating base to Phuket. Once we are fully operational in Thailand, export revenue is targeted to rise by 70 per cent within five years," Merrett said.
       JD Pools 2004 (Thailand) CEO Thanusak Phungdet said the joint venture would strengthen his company, because it would be able to manufacture both swimming pools and equipment in Thailand. The local cost of installing swimming pool equipment would fall 15-20 per cent.
       He said JD Pools and Autumn Solar would jointly expand export markets. The companies plan to penetrate France next year.
       JD Pools expects revenue of Bt600 million this year, 20 per cent from exports. It plans to increase the revenue contribution from exports by 15 per cent next year and balance the portions of revenue coming from domestic and export markets within three years.
       "We have been granted privileges by the Board of Investment, but our export proportion does not meet the BoI's criteria. The collaboration with the 26-year-old Australian firm will help our company to expand its export markets," he said.

MAKE-UP ARTIST MAKES GOOD

       Nick Barose is a Thai make-up artist based mostly in New York,but he sometimes flies to Los Angeles, where his work can regularly be seen on the faces of those strolling the red carpet the Golden Globes, Emmys, Grammys and movie premieres. His celebrity clients include Anne Hathaway, Sandra Bullock,Megan Fox and Hilary Duff. When I was in LA recently, I wasted no time in contacting Nick for an interview.
       Despite his busy schedule, he managed to fit me into a time slot.
       "This week, I've gotten up at 3am for three days in a row for a 6am morning show. That drains you, physically. People tend to think my job is glamorous. The make-up part is easy,but the waiting around on the set can be hard. With actors,you don't want to distract them,but you also have to do your job. You can't let their face shine.You have to really pay attention,even when you get up at 3am,"he said.
       The perks of the job are that he gets to meet a lot of artists,actors, writers and directors.
       "It's great to work in the entertainment business. I get inspired by what others are doing. I love movies and music,"he said.
       "It's like being behind the scenes. I get to see it or hear it before it comes out. For instance,I saw Kelly Clarkson rehearsing onstage. At the recent VH1 Divas Live concert I was doing makeup for Paula Abdul, the host for the show. Cyndi Lauper came knocking on Paula's dressing room door and asked if she could use the room to rehearse her song,True Colors ."Nick was recently back from the Toronto Film Festival, where he helped with the promotion of two movies,An Education and Bright Star . The lead actresses of the movies - Carey Mulligan
       An Education ) and Abbie Cornish (Bright Star )- are Nick's clients.Bright Star was directed by Jane Campion, who also directed the award-winning movie The Piano (1993).What makes the superstars seek Nick out is his talent for bringing out a person's individuality and personality.B"I don't create a completely new look so that a face is totally changed and you can't remem-Nber that person at the end," said Nick."This doesn't mean that I Pdon't put on a lot of make-up. I do, especially for red carpet events. However, I tend to emphasise the technique. The skin must look perfect because it has to face the spotlights."
       Nick also does consultant work for various cosmetics companies, and he has launched a book in Thailand called Nick Barose Beauty . The book teaches how to apply make-up and goes from the most basic to the most complicated levels.
       Some of his make-up tips? Apply foundation with a brush rather than a sponge so that it does not soak up the foundation and go to waste. Do not use your hands because the foundation will not glide on smoothly. Before applying mascara, clean the brush so that when applied it does not make little clots on your lashes.
       Invest in a make-up primer in order to control the oiliness of your face, and to give a long-lasting look. This is especially important for humid Thailand.
       Also, when choosing a make-up shade,do not be afraid to pick a bright colour. A colour that looks bright in the packaging tends to be lighter when applied on the skin. Lastly, use a puff to press lightly after each application of make-up so that it looks more smooth and natural.
       When he left Thailand at 16 years of age to study in New York, he did not feel homesick at all because he saw the fast-paced and crowded city as similar to Bangkok.
       "New York was everything I expected it to be. My relatives own a Thai restaurant,so I was working there after school and eating Thai food. It felt like home. At first I found the subway to be a bit overwhelming, but now I find it so convenient to use."
       The 35-year-old said his fellow classmates from Parsons The New School for Design called him Nick because his Thai name - Dilokrit - was too difficult for them to pronounce.
       Although Parsons is a very prominent fashion school, having produced such legendary designers as Marc Jacobs and Donna Karan, Nick did not study fashion there.
       "I majored in environmental design for my bachelor's degree. At first I was going to major in interior design because I like to decorate my home, but environmental design covers a wider scope and includes things like landscape and architecture." It
       was not until later that Nick decided to make a career in the fashion
       industry, but the signs were always there.
       He recalled that the fashion department at Parsons was located on an upper floor, and that he felt closer to students there than in his own department.
       "Whenever there was a fashion shoot, I always assisted the fashion department in doing the models' make-up. People said I had a gift as a makeup artist," he said. While he was at school he also landed jobs from modelling agencies doing make-up for new models when they did photo shoots for their portfolios.
       Nick's experience with make-up began with growing up in a family filled with females. Every New Year's Eve there would be a big annual celebration, and Nick would be the one to direct the shows,arrange the costumes and do everyone's make-up.
       Years later a photographer friend advised him that he should try to become an assistant to a famous makeup artist, or else no one would ever know of him.
       "I like the works of a makeup artist named Kevyn Aucoin,who is now deceased. He is also similar to me in the sense that he grew up in a family filled with females, and did many fashion shows with them as a child. I wrote an application letter to him at the right time, during New York Fashion Week. I didn't think a person at that level would reply to my letter because he would already have assistants, but he called me back," said Nick.