12 minute read
SENSORY. MAKEUP. THE ART Untamed | Unapologetic | Fearless | Enlightened
Trí Trần has been working in the makeup industry for 15 years and is originally from Vietnam. Back in Vietnam, he owned a makeup school and his own fashion brand—a bridal wear label. He also worked in the entertainment industry, doing makeup for celebrities.
Driven by a strong desire to learn and grow each year, Trí knew around five or six years ago that he needed to improve both his mindset and skills. That’s when he made the decision to study abroad and further advance his craft.
His move to Australia happened quite unexpectedly. While on a holiday trip with a friend, he visited Central and, out of curiosity, began researching makeup schools in Australia. That’s when he came across one and ended up meeting the principal, Ms. Cameron Jane.
They had a conversation, although at the time Trí didn’t speak any English—his friend had to help translate and convey everything. After that meeting, he returned to Vietnam, organised his work and responsibilities, and began studying basic English so he could return to Australia.
By the end of 2019, he made the move to Australia to study. But shortly after his arrival, the COVID pandemic hit, and everything changed. It wasn’t what he had planned or expected. He had to shift his plans almost 100%, and made the decision to stay in Australia.
It’s now been over five years since that choice. Trí has continued working as a makeup artist here and has remained committed to the dream he’s always had—to become an international makeup artist.
To this day, he’s still on that journey, continually striving, putting in the effort, and never giving up on turning that dream into reality.
Editor of Mocha Beauty, Louise May, chats with Trí Trần about his industry journey, and his recent event at the Sydney Opera House.
What do you do in the industry today?
When I came to Australia, after some time, I continued working in makeup, and I started running my own business—Something Beauty House.
Something Beauty House was created two years ago, when I made the decision to settle down in Australia. Back in Vietnam, I had already built a business of my own. So, following that same path, I wanted to continue growing a business here as well.
With Something Beauty House, I focus on diversity, working with clients from different ethnic backgrounds—and on the high-end, luxury market. For me, I’ve always been drawn to niche markets, the ones that are more challenging to reach, because I love the feeling of conquering what’s difficult.
Another part of this journey is my dream of becoming an international makeup artist. So, while I run my business, I also continue learning and developing my skills, especially in the areas of fashion and editorial. My business mainly specialises in wedding and special occasion makeup, but personally, I’m working hard to build my career as an editorial and fashion makeup artist internationally. And yes, here in Australia, I’m still doing this work every single day.
Can you tell us about your event “Sensory” at the Opera House, what inspired you to put together this event?
The Sensory Shows came to me all of a sudden—like, one day last year, I just woke up and started thinking about what I wanted to do this year. And then it just clicked, I knew exactly the direction I wanted to go.
You know, I have a business—Something Beauty House. We focus on wedding makeup and special occasions. We do makeup for highend clients and for many communities across Australia. Because in Australia, we have so many cultures, and that’s something I really want to focus on.
In my own way, I’ve been doing this for 15 years. Makeup has always been my passion, my dream. I want to become an international makeup artist.
I didn’t know how I could do that. But in Australia, I’ve found exactly where I want to go, and the Sensory Shows—I want to wake up the senses (awaken the senses). That’s how the idea came to me. And then I started organising and doing that show.
The Sensory Shows isn’t just about makeup. I wanted it to be a makeup performance, because for me, I wanted to do something different. We’re all used to seeing dance shows, concerts, piano performances... but no one really sees makeup as a live performance.
The Sensory Shows uses an editorial fashion view for wedding makeup, street style, street artists, drag queens, glam looks, editorial—all of it. But it’s combined with a high fashion, editorial vibe. For example, in Show One, I focused on bridal makeup—but I gave it an editorial twist. I worked with six models, six skin tones, six different styles. That was the concept, and I brought it to life with creativity.
In Show Two, I was inspired by street artists. I went with a theme of freedom—very bold, very crazy.
Then in Show Three, we bring drag queens on stage and mixed it with high fashion and editorial elements.
Show Four was all about music—we had a singer and a pianist performing live. We played with the theme of black and white, inspired by it. We connected that with Vietnamese music and pop songs—it was all combined.
In Show Five, I went deep with the black and white inspiration again. I created a very editorial, very creative makeup look live on stage, and worked with dancers to bring it all together.
Again, I was inspired by black and white. I created a very editorial, very creative makeup look on stage. I moved together with dancers. I wanted to share the makeup skills on the stage. I wanted to show how, even in a short time, we can create something amazing.
And with my show, I want to bring people more emotion, more feeling, and more experience. Makeup performance come together with fashion, with music—everything come together at once.
Normally, people see bridal makeup as glam look, or something very traditional. But now, I use the perspective, the view of fashion and editorial for those looks.
For example, for the Black bride, I used fresh flowers, combining them to create accessories and the outfit, transforming her into a mannequin, a doll. I created a very special skin texture, iconic to the world-famous makeup artist Pat McGrath. I used her products to create that plastic, glass-like, mannequin skin effect.
And for other brides, I still kept something classic—like red lips—but through a fashion lens. There was also a makeup layout inspired by East Asian beauty, and other layouts that felt very modern and cool—for example, one bride with short hair where I used colourful elements on her face.
All of it came together. I wanted to use that kind of perspective to create those looks for show one.
Then for the show two, I was inspired by street artists. We usually see that their “sacred space” is on the streets—and I took that idea and brought it into the setting of the Sydney Opera House, but seen through a fashion, editorial lens.
It was expressed in an editorial way, but the materials were very simple, very raw, very everyday like, very “street style”
Inspired By Sydney’s Subculture Fierce & Free. Unapologetically BoldShow Three (LGBTQ).But this idea wasn’t just drag queens as we usually see them in bars or clubs—these drag queens were fashion-forward, editorial. I wanted to put them on a runway, at an iconic location.
Then there are the drag queens (show three). We usually see that their “sacred space” is bars and clubs. They often use very colourful makeup and are incredibly creative. I took that inspiration and infused it with fashion to bring it on stage.
But this idea wasn’t just drag queens as we usually see them in bars or clubs—these drag queens were fashion-forward, editorial. I wanted to put them on a runway, at an iconic location.
In show 4 we had musical artists and guests—like a pianist, a singer—and I used really unique elements, like embellishing the eyes with gemstones, creating something cool and very creative for that performance.
Then in show five, I wanted to take the audience through an emotional journey. It was a live makeup performance on stage. Normally, people rarely get to see makeup done as a performance. They usually see it as a tutorial, a workshop or a masterclass.
But with my show, I wanted them to witness those golden, once-ina-lifetime moments on stage—the movement of brush strokes, of the bodies.
For example, the dancers moved on stage, and the brush strokes moved with them. For this part, I used my techniques to play with the colours, using only two colours—black and white.
These two colours became the main palette, because to me, in colour theory, black and white aren’t just colours. They’re not warm or cool. They’re neutral. They sit in between, balancing hot or cold colours.
To me, I wanted to deliver a message: when working (in the creative industry), we always need to balance between creativity and making money.
And those two colours—black and white—they represent an inner struggle: the battle between good and bad, between negative and positive. But ultimately, we have to understand that both exist together. That’s where I drew the inspiration to create bold, free, and expressive brush strokes. For white, I played with the brush and used brush techniques to form flower petals—creating quick but impactful effects that matched the outfit.
Then for the second layout in that performance, I moved into black. The strokes were more free, more raw—expressing internal conflict. After that, I added touches of white on top. It was clear that black and white are opposites, but they must go together to enhance one another. It’s the same in makeup. We need contrast to create impact.
In that show five, I used colour contrast to create visual effects on stage. To me, that makeup moment was the perfect finale of the entire show.
Five shows, five different spirits. Because in makeup, there are so many styles and layouts. But now I brought them onto one stage—five different styles, all sharing the same point of view: a fashion lens, an editorial view.
For me, The Sensory Shows—when I first came up with this idea of a performance—I didn’t want it to be a regular show. It had to be connected to iconic places, and the artists had to be iconic too. They needed to have their own unique identity.
That’s why I chose the name The Sensory Shows. And the first venue was the iconic Sydney Opera House.
The Sydney Opera House is an iconic venue. How did this opportunity come about, and what does it mean to you to showcase your work on this stage?
By chance, I had worked with pianist Vân Anh Nguyen, and through her I was able to connect with the Opera House to make this show happen, and to me, getting to perform here—it was a milestone. A meaningful mark. Because I was the first makeup artist to do a full makeup performance show in Australia—and at such an iconic location. To me, that’s a huge deal. A very personal and unforgettable milestone. I wanted this show to be a hallmark—a defining moment. And somehow, everything aligned to make it happen: the people, the place, the space, the timing. Nothing felt accidental. It all carried a sense of purpose, a calling. And to me, that holds a deep and powerful meaning.
What do you hope the audience takes away from Sensory?
As I’ve said before, The Sensory Shows is a show created to connect artistic souls—those in makeup, beauty artistry and styling—with one another within the beauty industry. I hope that after the show, people will feel and understand the kind of burning passion a person has when they truly love their craft—what it means to dedicate yourself to the work you love. It also expresses the struggles and challenges of an artist coming from overseas—how they try to find their place in the Australian beauty industry. Because talent alone is not enough. What’s also needed is opportunity. For me, I believe opportunities are all around us—but I don’t wait for them. I create them.
The Sensory Shows is something I created to make that opportunity real—to connect myself with the beauty industry here in Australia. I hope that when people leave the show, they see the limitless creativity of makeup artists. That makeup is not just about foundation and colour—and makeup artists are not just people who apply makeup, but individuals on a mission: to connect, to constantly evolve, to keep refining their craft, and to keep moving forward.
The Sensory Shows hopes that everyone who leaves carries with them a sense of the purity in this craft. The limitless creativity, the burning passion, the bold dreams, and more importantly, the need to turn all of that into reality—with desire, with drive, and with the purest heart.
@tritran_makeup @thesensoryshows @somethingbeautyhouse
