We Broke Beauty

The world is changing and with it our sense of self. The Indian beauty industry is breaking free of its stereotypes and moving into an inclusive space led by this incredible brigade

- Rituparna Som

I’m sure everyone has a first memory of a beauty moment or product. Chances are it involves your mother or your grandmother. Me too. In the early 1980s, before the plethora of beauty brands washed up on our shores, DIY beauty was the norm. My mother used a maroon powder for her bindis. Which she made using red sindoor, adding the ashes of finely sieved burnt paper to change the colour. That maroon powder in a pink case marked the beginning of my personal journey into the world of, and relationship with, beauty. Today my beauty cupboard and drawers are a source of wonder, happiness, comfort and security. I see skincare and make-up as an extension and expression of my personality; products I use to create different versions of myself. They are my armour, my confidants, and my playmates. Beauty was never scary or intimidating, it was just unexplored territory until I managed to spend quality spend time with them.