We are all too well invested in Bollywood weddings, from the fashion frontier to the privy guest list and freshest bridal looks. The year 2023 saw Athiya Shetty take over the wedding season by setting a rosy-pink mood board with underlined plushness. Her wedding celebratory events like Muhurtham, Haldi and family dinners were all toned to a subtle and sophisticated look with just the right amount of dewy glam. Her makeup artist, Simran Gidwani tells us all about the pre-wedding rituals and all the D-day madness that goes behind prepping and blending off a perfect base, topped with pearly sheen and whole lotta love and care! Read on to know all things beauty, celeb-core bridal makeup and the BTS of Athiya’s dressing room:
Getting Into The Beauty Space
I’ve been the designated makeup artist in my family for as long as I can remember and always knew I wanted a career in the creative space. I’ve always loved makeup and spent a lot of time educating myself about makeup, different ingredients and brands, wearability, skin types, and so much more. It’s been something I do in my free time for years, and it felt quite natural to me when I decided to take it up professionally.
I graduated from London College of Makeup in 2018, worked on a few projects when I got back but only started doing makeup full time a couple of years ago. I initially did a few test shoots and focused on building my portfolio.
Secret To A Flawless-Looking Complexion
Skin prep is the most important step no matter the skin type. I like to focus on making sure the skin feels nice and plump before putting on any makeup. I also like to gradually add more concealer or foundation as needed, it’s always a better idea to add smaller amounts of product rather than trying to blend in or take off excessive amounts of it. Lesser product means less to no chance for it to crease. I’m also a powder minimalist and love when skin looks like skin.
Makeup Mood Board For Athiya’s Wedding Looks
We both love a Glowy, healthy looking base. And making sure her skin gets the focus it deserves was the most important to me. When we sat down to discuss the looks, we were already on the same page and wanted all the looks to be fresh and effortless, but yet different from each other.
Pre-Bridal Makeup Rituals
I always say glam time is the only time in the day when brides get to sit back and relax. I try to bring in positivity and make the process as enjoyable for them as I can. Under-eye patches and face rollers that I stick into the fridge are musts for me, they help de-puff and soothe the face as well as the mind!
Memo For Athiya’s Haldi
For the Haldi, we wanted the look to be flushed and fresh. We also wanted it to be breathable so I used the least amount of complexion products since there was going to be haldi all over her face! I wanted to focus on skincare so her skin stayed hydrated throughout the event. I decided to only conceal wherever required, used a luminous cream blush and used the same tones on her eyelids and lips.
Memo For Athiya’s Muhurtham
For the Muhurtham, we decided on the hair first. She wanted flowers in her hair and since she was wearing a saree, we felt like a bun would look best. The whole look had a very clean vibe so I wanted the makeup to stick to that as well. I chose to use a skin tint so that her skin had a lovely glow and defined her lashline. I finished the look with a tiny wing liner and a lip tint.
Memo For Athiya’s Family Dinner
When we switched from the haldi look to this evening look, I upped the coverage a bit but still made sure she was comfortable in it. She was wearing this stunning pink anarkali and I wanted the whole look to be cohesive and work together. I decided that a clean winged eyeliner would work best. I added eyelash clusters to tie it all together and make her eyes pop. We continued the theme of lots of blush and opted for a tinted gloss to finish.
On Highlight Athiya’s Personal Style Through The Makeup
When it comes to makeup, it’s very important for Athiya to feel comfortable in it, for her skin to feel hydrated throughout even with makeup on. Her vibe is very clean and minimal. When I work with her, my goal is to always make her look like herself, without tweaking her features too much. Less is more when it comes to her and that’s something I believe works best.
Athiya’s Favourite Part Of The Makeup
She loves blush and so do I. I try to make the blush look as skin like as possible, like it’s coming from within. I’d say it was our favourite step, it completely transformed the makeup looks and made her skin look fresh and healthy.
The Game Changing Makeup Step
It’s really difficult to pick just one step and my choice also keeps changing with time, but right now I’m obsessed with how mascara transforms a look. It could be the only thing I have on and it instantly makes my face look put together.
How Are Red-Carpet Looks Different From Weddings?
For weddings, it’s more about the wear time. The makeup has to be able to wear perfectly through a lot. There could be tears, sweat, maybe an accidental sindoor smudge! For red carpets, my main focus is how it photographs since there’s so much harsh lighting, so I’d go in with more coverage on the skin to avoid intense shadows.