Makeup Mantras with Masaba Gupta: Designer shares her go-to colours, tools and tricks to feel ‘brighter and confident’ | Fashion Trends
Masaba Gupta, who wears multiple hats as a fashion designer, actor and entrepreneur, has a playful yet powerful sense of style. She often blends her fashion choices with makeup that is minimal, yet impactful. The 35-year-old’s new personal role as a mother hasn’t stopped her from innovating for her fashion or makeup brand. In fact, she says motherhood has led to an evolution of her idea of beauty.
In Makeup Mantras for HT Lifestyle, Masaba Gupta goes unfiltered about what beauty means to her, her everyday makeup routine, the colours that make her look better, the tools and hacks she loves, and a DIY trick passed on from her mother Neena Gupta.
Q. What is beauty to you, and how has the term evolved for you?
Masaba Gupta: Beauty to me is a form of self-expression… the bravest form of self-expression. And it has definitely evolved for me ever since I have become a mother, especially to a baby girl. Now I think that more than trying to fit in, one is just constantly and day-to-day in a mode of self-acceptance, because your body is changing every day, how you look in the mirror changes every day. It just comes from a place of accepting that you are doing your best with the change, growth and evolution, and coming to terms with it. Beauty becomes more about embracing the now – the reality of a situation – and the reality that beauty is not really one single definition! That it actually means different things at different phases in one’s life. And I truly believe that inner beauty is something that always shows on the outside.
Q. How would you describe your personal approach to beauty—minimal, bold, or mood-driven?
Masaba Gupta: My personal approach to beauty has always been minimal, but it’s also very mood driven. But I think I lean towards makeup that is classic and close to my natural skin as possible. It’s just about accentuating what I have – the features, and not trying to look like someone else.
Q. What does your everyday makeup routine look like, especially when you’re short on time?
Masaba Gupta: My everyday makeup routine is very simple. I will only wear a little bit of cream blush and possibly a little bit of color on my lips. If I’m feeling like I want to do matte, I do a nice matte lipstick or I do lip oil. If I do lip oil, it’s usually in a berry or a guava tone. And if it’s a matte lip colour, then it’s mostly in the nude, pink or brown shades.
Q. Is makeup more about self-expression or confidence-boosting—or both?
Masaba Gupta: It’s self-expression. It’s also confidence boosting. It’s also a coping mechanism for most people. It’s something that is transformative. It is something that is a mood enhancer. Because I think when I wear makeup, I feel very much in charge. And I know that, especially postpartum, if I do put on a little bit of colour on my cheeks and my lips, I do feel brighter, more confident, better through the day.
Q. What are the five beauty products you absolutely cannot do without?
Masaba Gupta: The five beauty products that I absolutely cannot live without are my cream blush, the lip oil, kajal, possibly some serum tint – like a tinted moisturizer that has skin-loving benefits. And the last would be bronzer!
Q. What’s the one skincare step you never skip before applying makeup?
Masaba Gupta: Applying a ton of moisturizer or any hydrating serum. I think when you have a hydrated canvas of a face, it always helps makeup settle better.
Q. Which lipstick shade is your signature – the one you reach for again and again?
Masaba Gupta: In terms of lipsticks, I mostly will wear a nude brown. That’s my signature shade. In my LoveChild range, there is a shade called Touch Me Not 2.0. It’s a beautiful nude, almost like a sand, a dark sand brown. And it’s very close to my natural lip color. So I like it because it just gives a little pop. But it’s also very natural on my skin.
Also read: Nude lipstick shades for soft, subtle, and natural looking lips; Top 8 picks for women
Q. What’s your go-to lipstick formula—matte, satin, or glossy?
Masaba Gupta: My go-to lipstick formula is a matte.
Q. What is a lipstick colour that works best for the Indian skin tone, according to you – and why?
Masaba Gupta: I think the lipstick color that works best for Indian skin is something that is brown but with a hint of pink or mauve in it. That works because Indians do have skin that is slightly uneven and its pigmented, of course. It is also hot here and humid, so we have enlarged pores just naturally. When you have a nice brown lipstick that’s soft and when you have something that’s a little bit of a matte or a creamy matte kind of shade, it helps in making at least the skin look a little bit even.
Q. Any tricks you use to make your lip colour last longer?
Masaba Gupta: Always put a ton of petroleum jelly or any lip balm that you like as a thick layer while you’re doing your foundation, so that until you reach your lip, it’s nicely hydrated. Never completely take off the lip balm. Just gently dab with a tissue and once you’ve done your application of the lipstick, you should always just take a little thin film of tissue and dab some setting powder or some loose powder on top of it. Just a little dab and it goes a long way because it really helps in keeping the lipstick on for longer.
Q. When was the first time you ever used lipstick – how old were you? Did your mother react with a smile or an angry face?
Masaba Gupta: The first time I used lipstick was probably for an annual day in school. I was very young – in the 6th or 7th grade. I remember it was a beautiful brick red lipstick. I was playing a gypsy girl and we had to wear this really dramatic makeup with winged eyeliner and bright lipstick. I found it such a cool look! My mother was very happy because she put the lipstick and the makeup on for me, and she loved the outcome.
Q. Do you have any DIY beauty hacks or traditional tips passed down from your mom?
Masaba Gupta: Yes! Whenever I have a long shoot day, and I know I’m going to have makeup on me for maybe 10-12 hours, I always carry a muslin cloth and keep dipping it in ice water. I just squeeze all the water out and just keep putting it on my face. It’s quite nice because when it’s hot on a set and you have a full face of makeup on, you also want to keep looking fresh and not have the makeup just kick up or crack. It’s nice because it helps you feel better. It’s also nice and cool. The pores stay nice and closed, at least for that much time.
(Makeup Mantras is a celebrity beauty series that dives into the makeup and skincare routines of your favourite stars, revealing their go-to products, personal hacks, and confidence-boosting rituals.)
