<p>Under the glow of a ring light in the spare bedroom of a Mumbai high-rise apartment, Indian make-up maven Debasree Banerjee has found fans across the world with a simple philosophy: brown is beautiful.</p>

<p>Banerjee's audience includes women from as far afield as the Middle East and the United States who also have a deeper complexion but have historically been overlooked by the cosmetics industry.</p>

<p>"I actually have a lot of followers who are outside India, and I feel like it's probably because our skin tones match," Banerjee told AFP.</p>

<p>"They can see how the product looks like on my skin tone, how the lipstick applies on my skin tone, and just have that sense of belongingness."</p>

<p>Banerjee, 34, began experimenting with make-up videos in her spare time a decade ago, after graduating from university and moving to Mumbai to work in sales. She is now a full-time beauty and lifestyle influencer, teaching more than half a million followers how to beautify themselves on Instagram and YouTube. Early inspirations included British beauty content creators Tanya Burr and Fleur De Force -- both white and with millions of followers between them.</p>

<div class="videoWrapper trancodeVideo"><iframe allowfullscreen="" autoplay="1" class="includeVideo" frameborder="0" height="350" src="https://www.wionews.com/videos/beyond-the-runway-s2-the-origin-of-cosmetics-and-makeup-552342/embed" style="width:100%;max-width:560px;" width="560"></iframe></div>

<p>But Banerjee said she had found no role models who resembled her. She credits Rihanna for the seismic shift towards greater inclusiveness in the cosmetics industry. In 2017, the pop superstar launched her make-up line Fenty Beauty, which offered 40 shades of foundation and turned her into a billionaire.</p>

<p>"Fenty Beauty really, really changed the game," Banerjee said. "I think that's when people knew that this is important."</p>

<p>While other international brands have tried to keep up, many still have "miles and miles to go" before they can be considered truly inclusive, she added.</p>

<p>"I still see products being launched in three shades, in four shades, calling them 'universal'. And it's just ridiculous," Banerjee said.</p>

<p>"In India, everywhere you go... you see our features changing, our language changing, our skin colour changing. So it's very, very important to have more inclusive make-up."</p>

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false">
<div class="twitter-block" draggable="false">
<blockquote class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/reel/CqNSNkiAAMN/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14" style=" background:#FFF; border:0; border-radius:3px; box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width:540px; min-width:326px; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% - 2px); width:calc(100% - 2px);">
<div style="padding:16px;">
<div style=" display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;">
<div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;">&nbsp;</div>

<div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;">
<div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;">&nbsp;</div>

<div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;">&nbsp;</div>
</div>
</div>

<div style="padding: 19% 0;">&nbsp;</div>

<div style="display:block; height:50px; margin:0 auto 12px; width:50px;"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/reel/CqNSNkiAAMN/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" style=" background:#FFFFFF; line-height:0; padding:0 0; text-align:center; text-decoration:none; width:100%;" target="_blank"><svg height="50px" version="1.1" viewbox="0 0 60 60" width="50px" xmlns="https://www.w3.org/2000/svg" xmlns:xlink="https://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><g fill="none" fill-rule="evenodd" stroke="none" stroke-width="1"><g fill="#000000" transform="translate(-511.000000, -20.000000)"><g><path d="M556.869,30.41 C554.814,30.41 553.148,32.076 553.148,34.131 C553.148,36.186 554.814,37.852 556.869,37.852 C558.924,37.852 560.59,36.186 560.59,34.131 C560.59,32.076 558.924,30.41 556.869,30.41 M541,60.657 C535.114,60.657 530.342,55.887 530.342,50 C530.342,44.114 535.114,39.342 541,39.342 C546.887,39.342 551.658,44.114 551.658,50 C551.658,55.887 546.887,60.657 541,60.657 M541,33.886 C532.1,33.886 524.886,41.1 524.886,50 C524.886,58.899 532.1,66.113 541,66.113 C549.9,66.113 557.115,58.899 557.115,50 C557.115,41.1 549.9,33.886 541,33.886 M565.378,62.101 C565.244,65.022 564.756,66.606 564.346,67.663 C563.803,69.06 563.154,70.057 562.106,71.106 C561.058,72.155 560.06,72.803 558.662,73.347 C557.607,73.757 556.021,74.244 553.102,74.378 C549.944,74.521 548.997,74.552 541,74.552 C533.003,74.552 532.056,74.521 528.898,74.378 C525.979,74.244 524.393,73.757 523.338,73.347 C521.94,72.803 520.942,72.155 519.894,71.106 C518.846,70.057 518.197,69.06 517.654,67.663 C517.244,66.606 516.755,65.022 516.623,62.101 C516.479,58.943 516.448,57.996 516.448,50 C516.448,42.003 516.479,41.056 516.623,37.899 C516.755,34.978 517.244,33.391 517.654,32.338 C518.197,30.938 518.846,29.942 519.894,28.894 C520.942,27.846 521.94,27.196 523.338,26.654 C524.393,26.244 525.979,25.756 528.898,25.623 C532.057,25.479 533.004,25.448 541,25.448 C548.997,25.448 549.943,25.479 553.102,25.623 C556.021,25.756 557.607,26.244 558.662,26.654 C560.06,27.196 561.058,27.846 562.106,28.894 C563.154,29.942 563.803,30.938 564.346,32.338 C564.756,33.391 565.244,34.978 565.378,37.899 C565.522,41.056 565.552,42.003 565.552,50 C565.552,57.996 565.522,58.943 565.378,62.101 M570.82,37.631 C570.674,34.438 570.167,32.258 569.425,30.349 C568.659,28.377 567.633,26.702 565.965,25.035 C564.297,23.368 562.623,22.342 560.652,21.575 C558.743,20.834 556.562,20.326 553.369,20.18 C550.169,20.033 549.148,20 541,20 C532.853,20 531.831,20.033 528.631,20.18 C525.438,20.326 523.257,20.834 521.349,21.575 C519.376,22.342 517.703,23.368 516.035,25.035 C514.368,26.702 513.342,28.377 512.574,30.349 C511.834,32.258 511.326,34.438 511.181,37.631 C511.035,40.831 511,41.851 511,50 C511,58.147 511.035,59.17 511.181,62.369 C511.326,65.562 511.834,67.743 512.574,69.651 C513.342,71.625 514.368,73.296 516.035,74.965 C517.703,76.634 519.376,77.658 521.349,78.425 C523.257,79.167 525.438,79.673 528.631,79.82 C531.831,79.965 532.853,80.001 541,80.001 C549.148,80.001 550.169,79.965 553.369,79.82 C556.562,79.673 558.743,79.167 560.652,78.425 C562.623,77.658 564.297,76.634 565.965,74.965 C567.633,73.296 568.659,71.625 569.425,69.651 C570.167,67.743 570.674,65.562 570.82,62.369 C570.966,59.17 571,58.147 571,50 C571,41.851 570.966,40.831 570.82,37.631"></path></g></g></g></svg></a></div>

<div style="padding-top: 8px;">
<div style=" color:#3897f0; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:550; line-height:18px;"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/reel/CqNSNkiAAMN/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" style=" background:#FFFFFF; line-height:0; padding:0 0; text-align:center; text-decoration:none; width:100%;" target="_blank">View this post on Instagram</a></div>
</div>

<div style="padding: 12.5% 0;">&nbsp;</div>

<div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;">
<div>
<div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);">&nbsp;</div>

<div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;">&nbsp;</div>

<div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);">&nbsp;</div>
</div>

<div style="margin-left: 8px;">
<div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;">&nbsp;</div>

<div style=" width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg)">&nbsp;</div>
</div>

<div style="margin-left: auto;">
<div style=" width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);">&nbsp;</div>

<div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);">&nbsp;</div>

<div style=" width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);">&nbsp;</div>
</div>
</div>

<div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;">
<div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;">&nbsp;</div>

<div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;">&nbsp;</div>
</div>

<p style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px; margin-bottom:0; margin-top:8px; overflow:hidden; padding:8px 0 7px; text-align:center; text-overflow:ellipsis; white-space:nowrap;"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/reel/CqNSNkiAAMN/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none;" target="_blank">A post shared by Debasree Banerjee (@debasreee)</a></p>
</div>
</blockquote>
<script async src="//www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script></div>
<a class="close-mark close-div" href="#" id="jqclosemark">×</a></div>

<div class="videoWrapper trancodeVideo">&nbsp;</div>

<h2><strong>'Learning to love ourselves'</strong></h2>

<p>Cheap internet data, rising income levels, and the world's largest population of young people have fuelled an explosion in India's beauty and personal care market.</p>

<p>The industry is now worth $15 billion nationally each year, with Euromonitor projecting that figure will double by 2030.</p>

<p>Homegrown e-commerce platform Nykaa -- which helped make global cosmetic brands easily available to Indians for the first time -- was one of India's most-anticipated IPOs in 2021.</p>

<p>"People thought brown skin is not pretty," Faby, another beauty influencer living in Mumbai, told AFP. "But now we've started learning to love ourselves."</p>

<p>Faby has nearly 900,000 Instagram followers and has established herself as one of India's top cosmetic stylists, recently teaming up with top Bollywood actress Deepika Padukone to promote a skincare line.</p>

<p>Almost her entire apartment has been refashioned into a studio with professional lights, camera equipment, and retractable backdrops to stylise her regular online tutorials.</p>

<p>The work can be taxing, with some daylong shoots lasting until well after midnight, but the money Faby makes from brand collaborations is enough to comfortably support both herself and her mother.</p>

<p>"It has been difficult, but now I can have my own Dior bag, I can have whatever I want," said Faby. "It's all because of the followers who are watching."</p>

<div class="videoWrapper trancodeVideo"><iframe allowfullscreen="" autoplay="1" class="includeVideo" frameborder="0" height="350" src="https://www.wionews.com/videos/gen-zs-latest-obsession-crying-makeup-becomes-a-trend-on-tiktok-531316/embed" style="width:100%;max-width:560px;" width="560"></iframe></div>

<h2><strong>'Look more beautiful'</strong></h2>

<p>India's government belatedly recognised the explosive growth of online content creation last year, announcing a 10 percent tax on promotional gifts worth over 20,000 rupees ($244).</p>

<p>That move brought part of the country's $120 million influencer market under the tax net -- chiefly those advertising products beyond the purchasing power of the vast majority of Indians.</p>

<p>A single lipstick by a prominent international brand can cost around 2,000 rupees ($24) locally -- more than what half of India's households pay for their weekly groceries, according to British market research firm Kantar.</p>

<p>But the gap between material desires and means has proven to be fertile ground for other Indian influencers showing their audiences how to keep on-trend without breaking the bank.</p>

<p>"There are many people who cannot afford expensive products, so my DIY shows them how to look more beautiful," Kavita Jadon, 34, told AFP.</p>

<p>From her home a couple of hours' drive from the capital New Delhi, the housewife and mother-of-two makes videos showing how to make ersatz concealers out of moisturiser and coffee grinds, at a fraction of the cost of name-brand products.</p>

<p>Despite filming from a cheap phone, editing with free software, and lacking Banerjee and Faby's elaborate studio setups, Jadon has amassed more than 169,000 followers on Facebook.</p>

<p>Many of her homemade product ideas are the result of painstaking trial and error, with her audience eagerly sharing their own ideas or petitioning her with requests.</p>

<p>"Using products from big brands is not essential -- it's possible to use local products and create beauty products at home too," she said.</p>

<p>"That's why my page has grown so significantly."</p>

<p><strong>WATCH WION LIVE HERE</strong></p>

<p><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="350" src="https://www.wionews.com/live-tv/embed?autoplay=1&amp;mute=1" width="100%"></iframe></p>

<p>You can now write for wionews.com and be a part of the community. Share your stories and opinions with us <a href="https://www.wionews.com/content-contribution-registration-form">here.</a></p>


Under the glow of a ring light in the spare bedroom of a Mumbai high-rise apartment, Indian make-up maven Debasree Banerjee has found fans across the world with a simple philosophy: brown is beautiful.

Under the glow of a ring light in the spare bedroom of a Mumbai high-rise apartment, Indian make-up maven Debasree Banerjee has found fans across the world with a simple philosophy: brown is beautiful. Banerjee's audience includes women from as far afield as the Middle East and the United States who also have a deeper complexion but have historically been overlooked by the cosmetics industry. "I actually have a lot of followers who are outside India, and I feel like it's probably because our skin tones match," Banerjee told AFP. "They can see how the product looks like on my skin tone, how the lipstick applies on my skin tone, and just have that sense of belongingness." Banerjee, 34, began experimenting with make-up videos in her spare time a decade ago, after graduating from university and moving to Mumbai to work in sales. She is now a full-time beauty and lifestyle influencer, teaching more than half a million followers how to beautify themselves on Instagram and YouTube. Early inspirations included British beauty content creators Tanya Burr and Fleur De Force -- both white and with millions of followers between them. But Banerjee said she had found no role models who resembled her. She credits Rihanna for the seismic shift towards greater inclusiveness in the cosmetics industry. In 2017, the pop superstar launched her make-up line Fenty Beauty, which offered 40 shades of foundation and turned her into a billionaire. "Fenty Beauty really, really changed the game," Banerjee said. "I think that's when people knew that this is important." While other international brands have tried to keep up, many still have "miles and miles to go" before they can be considered truly inclusive, she added. "I still see products being launched in three shades, in four shades, calling them 'universal'. And it's just ridiculous," Banerjee said. "In India, everywhere you go... you see our features changing, our language changing, our skin colour changing. So it's very, very important to have more inclusive make-up." View this post on Instagram A post shared by Debasree Banerjee (@debasreee) × 'Learning to love ourselves' Cheap internet data, rising income levels, and the world's largest population of young people have fuelled an explosion in India's beauty and personal care market. The industry is now worth $15 billion nationally each year, with Euromonitor projecting that figure will double by 2030. Homegrown e-commerce platform Nykaa -- which helped make global cosmetic brands easily available to Indians for the first time -- was one of India's most-anticipated IPOs in 2021. "People thought brown skin is not pretty," Faby, another beauty influencer living in Mumbai, told AFP. "But now we've started learning to love ourselves." Faby has nearly 900,000 Instagram followers and has established herself as one of India's top cosmetic stylists, recently teaming up with top Bollywood actress Deepika Padukone to promote a skincare line. Almost her entire apartment has been refashioned into a studio with professional lights, camera equipment, and retractable backdrops to stylise her regular online tutorials. The work can be taxing, with some daylong shoots lasting until well after midnight, but the money Faby makes from brand collaborations is enough to comfortably support both herself and her mother. "It has been difficult, but now I can have my own Dior bag, I can have whatever I want," said Faby. "It's all because of the followers who are watching." 'Look more beautiful' India's government belatedly recognised the explosive growth of online content creation last year, announcing a 10 percent tax on promotional gifts worth over 20,000 rupees ($244). That move brought part of the country's $120 million influencer market under the tax net -- chiefly those advertising products beyond the purchasing power of the vast majority of Indians. A single lipstick by a prominent international brand can cost around 2,000 rupees ($24) locally -- more than what half of India's households pay for their weekly groceries, according to British market research firm Kantar. But the gap between material desires and means has proven to be fertile ground for other Indian influencers showing their audiences how to keep on-trend without breaking the bank. "There are many people who cannot afford expensive products, so my DIY shows them how to look more beautiful," Kavita Jadon, 34, told AFP. From her home a couple of hours' drive from the capital New Delhi, the housewife and mother-of-two makes videos showing how to make ersatz concealers out of moisturiser and coffee grinds, at a fraction of the cost of name-brand products. Despite filming from a cheap phone, editing with free software, and lacking Banerjee and Faby's elaborate studio setups, Jadon has amassed more than 169,000 followers on Facebook. Many of her homemade product ideas are the result of painstaking trial and error, with her audience eagerly sharing their own ideas or petitioning her with requests. "Using products from big brands is not essential -- it's possible to use local products and create beauty products at home too," she said. "That's why my page has grown so significantly." WATCH WION LIVE HERE You can now write for wionews.com and be a part of the community. Share your stories and opinions with us here.

'Brown is beautiful': Indian make-up maven Debasree Banerjee promotes inclusivity for deeper skin tones

make-up-influencers

Make Up Influencers, News on Make Up Influencers, stories on Make Up Influencers, articles on Make Up Influencers, Make Up Influencers stories at Wion, Make Up Influencers news, Make Up Influencers latest news

make up-influencers

'Brown is beautiful': Indian make-up maven Debasree Banerjee promotes inclusivity for deeper skin tones