What keeps India glowing?

The Indian beauty market is exploding, driven by young consumers who view make-up as self-care and are willing to splurge and experiment

- Pooja Singh

It started as a joke. Niraj Mehta was watching his wife follow a make-up tutorial video on "how to give face definition", mimicking every move of a blonde woman on the mobile phone. The result was "quite good", Mehta recalls telling his wife.

It was 2020, the first year of the covid lockdown, there was not much to do. Just for fun and to break the monotony of being cooped up at home, he decided to experiment with his wife's contouring stick as well.

"It felt cathartic," says Mehta, now 40, referring to the little boost of self-esteem it gave him. "I used a little bit of make-up. I had always been the type who thought 'men don't use make-up', but for a minute I forgot about the (covid) virus." Today, the marketing executive, who works with a multinational in Gurugram in Haryana, contours his face whenever he steps out for get-togethers, weddings and meetings. His efforts to define his features with the contouring stick are "hardly noticeable" but enough for his self-confidence.

He's added another routine to the start and end of his day: cleanse, exfoliate and moisturise. Mehtas's spend on international and homegrown beauty products is around ₹30,000 every three-four months. His explanation is simple: "I am not trying to look 20. I am just trying to feel good at 40." Mehta might belong to a small group of Indian males who have integrated make-up and skincare into their lives, but his sentiments reflect a subtle but significant shift in the way consumers, regardless of gender, across the country view beauty products. They want their waterproof foundation, nude brown lipstick or creamy peach blush not just to give them a flushed look, but also nourish the skin with natural or active ingredients.