QUIET Revolution

Kannagi Desai discovers how beauty evolves in Vineeta Singh's able hands, one lipstick at a time.

- Kannagi Desai

Some transformations unfold with banners and fireworks. Others, like in the case of Vineeta Singh, take shape quietly—a swipe of lipstick here, a change in a shade card there. As cofounder of SUGAR Cosmetics, Singh has built an empire worth ₹4,000 crores by embracng inclusivity and disrupting archaic beauty standards. Yet, when she speaks about beauty, there’s no corporate rhetoric—only a deeply personal connection.

“Makeup is a quiet rebellion,” Singh begins, her voice deliberate, reflecting on the evolution of beauty standards she's witnessed and challenged. She recalls her younger days, flipping through glossy advertisements that glorified a singular golden standard of fair skin and flawlessness. “It wasn’t just about aesthetics; it made you feel inferior. The narrative was exclusionary.”

Her experiences weren't isolated. A decade ago, working on a beauty subscription service, Singh realised that Indian women weren't lacking aspiration—they were lacking access. “Finding a foundation that suited deeper skin tones or products that didn’t exacerbate oily skin was near impossible,” she says. In 2012, Singh co-founded SUGAR Cosmetics with her husband, Kaushik Mukherjee. The frustration birthed a brand with inclusivity at its core, offering products designed for Indian skin tones and women embracing their imperfections.

THE ESSENTIALS