A brush above the rest

Updated On: 21 July, 2019 07:30 AM IST | | Aastha Atray Banan

Make-up influencers are all the rage on social media now. We speak to three who say that it's all about looking good outside to feel good inside

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Make-up blogger Simmy Goraya at her Lokhandwala home, where she has almost 300 lipsticks. Pic/Ashish Raje

Most of Simmy Goraya's bedroom is occupied by her white dressing table, complete with bright lights, and drawers and holders full of lipsticks, colour palettes and brushes. The rest of the space is taken up by professional lights, which will help her plan the perfect picture for her near 34k followers on Instagram. Goraya is a make-up influencer, and if you didn't know that that was even a thing, it is, and she spells out why, quite simply. "Earlier, people would only put make-up, if they had a party to go to. Now, you don't step out without covering your black circles with a concealer. So, everyone wants tips," says the 27-year-old who used to assist Bollywood make-up artistes before she decided that the anonymous life wasn't meant for her.

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"I have done my MBA, but I have been a make-up freak since I was a teenager. I would apply it on anyone and everyone—even dad and my brothers!" laughs the Lokhandwala girl from Chandigarh. "Being an assistant was killing my art," she says. She started uploading make-up tutorial videos on YouTube, and slowly shifted to Instagram, and only started taking it seriously two years ago. After investing almost a lakh-and-a-half in buying what she says was still very "limited" supplies of make-up, she now usually gets sent all the latest launches by brands. Her USP, she says, is her ability to shift from everyday make up to avante garde without a hitch. "So, for pride month, along with using the colours of the rainbow on my face, I used a wig too. I know how to up the ante," says Goraya, who also believes that now, make-up is not something a woman needs to wear after a certain age, but a "want". A fan of Rihanna and Kylie, and someone who follows the trends in the world—right now, it's all about doing make-up that makes you look like an X-Ray—Goraya says, "Even if I am feeling low at 4 am, I make a video and put on some lipstick. I think once you put a lipstick, even if it's a wild colour like purple, you feel invincible. Women have to not be ashamed of whatever kind of make-up they want."