Subiksha Shivakumar isn’t hiding her dark circles—or her skincare shelf

Subiksha Shivakumar refuses to pick a lane. Model, content creator, actor, stylist, makeup expert—ask for a title, and she’ll hand you five before landing on “artist” and calling it a day. She’s walked for Vivienne Westwood, fronted campaigns for YSL Beauty and Maybelline, and got her breakout the way most people fantasise about: cast as background talent on someone else’s music video shoot, until the director spotted her and offered her the lead in a Honey Singh video instead. But she’s arguably better known for what she refuses to cover up—her dark circles, on full display in every look, even after brands have asked her to Facetune. Off-duty, she helps run her family’s food business, Aacharam, with her mother and sister. Here’s how she actually winds down.

First things first: when does the workday actually end for you?

If it’s a modelling shoot, it really depends—sometimes it’s 3 am if things get crazy. Usually it’s around 10 pm, and by the time I get home I’ve already washed off my makeup on set. I’ll do a double cleanse with my Beauty of Joseon ginseng cleansing oil and green plum refreshing cleanser. Lately I’ve been dealing with a bit of a skin issue—something similar to eczema, though not exactly—so I’ve been using this cream I picked up in Paris called Epiderm. It’s meant for eczema, but it’s been really helping my skin.

Once the makeup’s off, what’s happening to your skin?

When my skin’s not going through anything, it’s double cleansing, then a toner—I’ve been using the Fenty Fat Water toner; I love how thick it is. On top of that, the Estée Lauder Advanced Night Repair Eye Cream, then a lightweight moisturiser—I really love Dr. Jart’s body repair moisturiser. I finish with the Gunam Beauty Multi-Correctional face oil.

And what does your hair need after a long day?

I’ve been obsessed with the Indē Wild Champi bond repair shampoo and conditioner—nothing has worked as much magic on my hair as that duo. What I use after depends on what I’m doing with my hair. If I’m using heat, I’ll go in with the Kérastase Gloss Absolu anti-frizz heat protectant spray or the Redken Acidic Bonding Concentrate leave-in, also a heat protectant, and finish with the Kérastase Gloss Absolu anti-frizz glaze oil. If I’m going curly, I use the Fix My Curls curling kit—it has a bunch of steps, and I’ll work through them.

Are you a skincare-and-gadgets person, or do you keep bedtime pretty low-tech?

For my hair, I have an LED comb with a bunch of different colours: red is for hair growth, blue for cooling. I don’t really take supplements for my skin or hair. To help me sleep, I use a lavender pillow spray; you spray it right on your pillow. It’s really nice. If I need to, I’ll take melatonin, but lately nothing’s been stressing me out, so I’ve been sleeping well.

What qualifies as an “everything shower” in your world?

I start with my shampoo and conditioner and then while that’s soaking in, I’ll use the First Aid Beauty KP body scrub all over my body—I love it so much. I also have a scrub from mCaffeine that I use on rougher patches of the skin. Then I rinse my hair and go in with a hair mask—I think it’s the Kérastase Gloss Absolu again. You don’t really need a mask after conditioner, but it makes my hair so luscious. While that soaks in, I’ll use an exfoliating hand mitt—I really love to exfoliate because my skin runs so dry. Then I’ll do my face—double cleanse, scrub, and a mask if I’m feeling ambitious—rinse everything out, do a body wash, and while I’m still wet, I use a hibiscus shower spray to lock in moisture. I’ll follow that with the Forest Essentials after-shower body oil in jasmine—I’m obsessed—and finish with the Fenty Body Milk.

What are you eating when you’re properly done with the day?

My go-to comfort meal for a night in is probably rasam rice with some kind of vegetable—usually beans and carrot poriyal. Or curd rice.

What does winding down look like once you’re fed, showered, and done?

Before bed, I love a little night scroll, or I’ll read a book or do my nails—something that takes my mind off things. Right now I’m watching Orange Is the New Black.

In an ideal world, what time is bedtime?

It really depends. Sometimes work keeps me out late, sometimes the club does, so you never know. But I’d prefer to be in bed by 10 pm, have an early dinner, and just knock out so I can wake up early and do my morning routine, which I love.

What’s one sleep rule you actually swear by?

Drink a lot of water—it’s going to be difficult to wake up in the morning if you’re dehydrated. Chug a litre before you sleep.

You’ve made a point of keeping your dark circles visible—even when brands wanted them edited out. When did you decide they weren’t something to fix?

Honestly, it’s just so stupid—that’s how I feel about it. Everyone has them. If we lived in a parallel universe where the beauty standard was India-centric instead of Eurocentric, the West would be drawing dark circles on, adding hyperpigmentation, lasering hair onto their bodies instead of off. I think a lot of people are just following a beauty standard blindly without ever questioning it, and it’s been that way for centuries. I used to be so insecure about my dark circles because of what society told me about them. But then I look at my mom, my grandmother, my grandfather—I see all these baddies who have dark circles, and they’re thriving. So, who lied to us? I took a long look in the mirror and thought: if you don’t accept it, no brand is going to accept it either. Take a stand now or forever hold your peace.

So, when you’re doing your makeup, how do you make your under-eyes part of the look instead of fighting them?

First step, moisturise really well. I love the Estée Lauder night eye cream, or any really thick cream, because your under-eyes are the thinnest, lightest part of your face. Then I just work around my lashes and my eyelid like I normally would, put my blush on, and keep everything else the same. When you put the full look together, you realise—wait, it’s not that bad. Even without a look, it’s not that bad.

You’ve done some pretty wild looks. Which one still gets brought up?

There’ve been a couple. Every time I win an award, I make it a point to do a crazy shoot, and I always work with my best friend [photographer] Mohit Tiwari—he’s a genius, and we just love doing cool shit together. When I won Vogue’s Forces of Fashion in the ‘Creatives of the Year’ category, we did a wild look styled by my friend Garima Garg, in an outfit she made with Studio Picante. People still bring that one up. Same with when I won Cosmopolitan’s ‘Breakout Model of the Year’—Garima styled me in custom Tianna Khambatta, Mohit shot it, and people are still talking about that look.