Not finding the right shade of makeup that would suit her brown skin perplexed Chennai-based Hrithika Sathish. Her anecdotes are coloured with instances of entering makeup stores, only to leave minutes later, disappointed. Around two decades ago, you see, the industry hadn’t factored in warmer skin tones; it fooled itself with a ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach.
Even brands that did manufacture for brown skin, Hrithika says, wouldn’t take the time to explore the spectrum of skin shades in all their varying complexities. “It often felt like they Photoshopped the colours online to match skin,” she adds.
But, a couple of years ago, she stumbled upon what she was looking for — a lipstick that was specifically made keeping girls with warm skin tones in mind. “The shade was perfect,” she recalls, adding that it continues to be the highlight of her vanity. With every discovery of skincare and makeup by the brand, Hrithika felt more included, like her beauty mattered.
Her story is not in isolation. She is one among the many young girls and women who attribute their confidence to FAE Beauty, a brand championing inclusivity. Right from images that are unedited — FAE Beauty has a strict ‘no-Photoshop’ policy — to driving a rhetoric that is raw, authentic and unfiltered, the brand is setting the stage for change, says founder Karishma Kewalramani, 31.
A firm believer in how beauty cannot and should not be caricatured, Karishma says the brand refrains from propagating unrealistic beauty standards. “We ditched lighting and Photoshop tricks so you can see things just as they are,” she adds; the formulations, too, mirror the same level of detailing. “They are suited to warm climes and work well in Indian settings,” she says.
For anyone who feels the skincare industry is daunting, Karishma’s brand makes for the perfect antidote. It resists the label of mainstream aesthetics. And it is this fresh take on beauty that attracted the Sharks on Shark Tank Season 4. Karishma’s ask for Rs 1 crore for 1 percent equity garnered interest from Sharks Aman Gupta and Namita Thapar. The deal was signed for Rs 1 crore for 1.5 percent equity.
‘Why does everyone look so perfect in beauty stores?’
Does beauty translate to just runway looks? Karishma wondered growing up. At least that’s how she felt every time she went shopping at a beauty store. “When I was a child, I was always excited at the thought of going into a makeup store. But every time I’d set foot into one, I’d feel a tad bit intimidated.” The makeup artists looked perfect, their skin was flawless, and pores weren’t even a concept. How was everyone this beautiful, she thought to herself.
However, she was intrigued by how the makeup artists would often position lighter shades of foundation to people with dusky skin tones. “This will make you look fair,” they would assure them. “What was wrong with not being fair? Why can’t someone just be allowed to be okay with their skin tone?” Karishma wondered.
These early observations of the retail experience of beauty, guided her to see how broken the industry was. Instead of asking people to adjust to shades that weren’t a good match, why not formulate shades that flatter every complexion, she thought. And so, she decided to bridge this gap. In 2017, Karishma returned to India from the United States, where she was working after her studies at the University of California in Berkeley. She set out to start FAE Beauty soon after.
“Everyone naturally assumed I would do something in the beauty space,” she smiles. “Considering how much I loved makeup, it was a running joke in the family that I would open a parlour someday.” Reasoning this love, she says, “Makeup and skincare had always made me feel confident and I wanted others to feel the same.”
It was during her work as a makeup artist — Karishma decided to pursue a course prior to starting FAE Beauty — that she came face-to-face with the dated notions of beauty. “It didn’t account for pigmentation, different skin tones, acne and texture.” These observations furthered her motive to create a brand unafraid of making choices that reflected shifting priorities.
“It started out as a space where regardless of your gender, skin tone, texture, undertone, or colour, there are products that are made for you at a price point that doesn’t break the bank,” she affirms.
Beauty — a feeling, not a formula
Right from conception to manufacturing, there is one guiding impulse — the product should be something the user needs and cares about. This is reflected in the brand’s range: buildable matte lipsticks, sunscreens, brow gels, mascaras, lip glosses, blushes, toners, cleansers, moisturisers, cleansing balms, and more. Each product is carefully thought through and developed through a meticulous process in a way that will live up to its promises.
And it is this attention to detail that the brand’s customers love, the well-thought-out development processes, unencumbered by mainstream trends.
“After all the goal is not to develop the most innovative products but rather to put out effective products that most consumers are looking to buy,” Karishma shares. She adds, “We won’t launch a product just because it’s trending in the East or the West; we’ll try to understand if it’s an actual pain point for an Indian consumer with Indian skin tones and then decide whether we can bring that technology or that formulation to India somehow.”
A true-to-its-roots strategy helps them not get bogged down by the competition. “We try not to reference too much and instead just be as innovative as we can with our communication, creatives, and products. The fact that we develop our products with an independent lab and don’t white-label helps.”
As for how the win at Shark Tank will further the dream of expanding the brand, Karishma shares, “We plan to launch more diverse and inclusive products and make more impactful decisions in terms of diversity and inclusion.”
Edited by Arunava Banerjee; Pictures source: Karishma Kewalramani
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