Text by NAMITA GUPTA
The business of beauty is at an all time high. After all, who doesn’t want to feel good and look beautiful! Every beauty addict will admit that they constantly and discreetly check out tips from beauty gurus and beauty bloggers, who are generously dishing out beauty advice supported by equally amazing photographs and videos. Mastering the art of a smokey eye, cat eye or a perfect pout isn’t a cakewalk and these passionate beauty aficionados turned bloggers are giving you your fix of hair care, skin care and makeup tips for a picture perfect look. Meet five of Bengaluru’s top beauty bloggers who stand out from the pack for their edgy and informative content and photographs.
BLOG NAME, YOUR FULL NAME?
– Skinnygirldiariez is what I named my blog. My name is Deena Pinto, and I am a Project Manager by profession.
DO YOU HAVE A DAY JOB? IF YES HOW DO YOU BALANCE YOUR JOB, BLOGGING AND LIFE IN GENERAL?
– Yes I do have a day job! I keep the two apart. By day I focus on my work at hand. I am very selective of the brands or events I attend. I keep a balance by publishing one blog a week. Weekends I keep it mostly free, else try and get all I can attend events, even if it means attending them back to back. Sunday nights it’s my time to Netflix, cook a lovely meal, and relax with a nice glass of wine!
HOW ARE YOU DIFFERENT FROM OTHERS IN THIS SPACE?
I was one of the first who organised Sunday brunches in the city. Also being featured on NY Times gave me a head start and good readership. Even to date many non-residents reach out to me via my Linkedin profile asking where to dine, hangout or have a nice weekend getaway. Thus began my blogger lifestyle. It is a lot of hard work, learning and growing a brand such as oneself. So far being just a year and half in this industry, I love every minute of it. I am my own PR, photographer, assistant, content writer, video editor and quality checker all rolled into one. I love getting myself out there, learning and exploring the possibility of providing great visuals and content. Each image I have or taken has some story behind them. I can go through any length to get a photograph from a certain angle. Be it into chilly pool or climb a crazy ladder to get some aerial views. I try to keep my images or live stories as fresh and entertaining as possible. I endorse brands or products that I feel are worth it, that my readers or fans can relate to, also a big plus point is they should be sustainable and as much as possible are environment conscious. My style is a reflection of who I am, and I try and match it with time of day or event I attend. I also work a lot on making 60 second videos for my Instagram and blog feeds. I feel the followers connect more with videos as opposed to reading about the event. I personally have seen my profile grow because of this, and have been getting more meet and greet the celebs and top personalities due to this. I record, edit and upload on the spot if I can onto my Youtube.
WHAT ARE THE TOP 5 BEAUTY TRENDS CURRENTLY?
• Bold hair, I feel having a good hair day any time is a women’s crowning moment! I am currently sporting a platinum blonde color. I love to talk about the myths behind hair colour and wish more women sport a change be it a cut or colour.
• Aqua/ turquoise tinted eye for that bold intense look.
• Minimal look (fresh face) is always the trend no matter what year; a hint of perfectly blended foundation …you
can never go wrong and still look years younger.
• Bold lips are a wonder any time – My favourite is as intense red as possible for the night. And glossy lips during the day, the retro look shiny lips are making a comeback we shall see more shine for 2018.
• Last one is having good well-manicured hands and feet. I am obsessed with keeping my hands looking the best. As it’s the second thing people notice J So I keep bold colours ready at hand, and try a lot of DIY to add and make a statement with my talons.
HOW IS THE BEAUTY BUSINESS GROWING IN INDIA?
Beauty as we know it can’t be defined and has no rules. If you are willing to go the extra mile to look and feel gorgeous, then go for it. I feel the women of today in this country are learning to accept who they are, and take the next step in defining themselves with a little help from beauty brands. There is a saying – There are no ugly women, there are only women who do not know how to look beautiful. A lot of the best selling names have entered the market and this is just the beginning. We are only going to see an uptick in the beauty business. Women are learning the art of applying make up and there is no dearth on the internet to do so. We are constantly bombarded with brands that are launched abroad and would do anything to get our hands on those. I particularly am waiting for Fenty Beauty and Huda Beauty to come on over!
