For most of her career, celebrity makeup artist Tanvi Chemburkar—the steady hand behind the faces of Alia Bhatt, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Rashmika Mandanna, and Isha Ambani—has been a “wash your face, put moisturiser on, and go to bed kind of girl”. With 3 am call times and 12-hour shoot days, her evenings were for collapsing, not rituals.
Pregnancy, however, has changed her pace. Now in her third trimester, Chemburkar says falling asleep has gotten trickier, so she’s been easing into “a little bit of a routine…some mindful things before I fall asleep”. The mum-to-be is also navigating the swirl of renovation stress, nesting anxiety, and the excitement of introducing her hyper two-year-old Lab, Mojo, to “his own sibling”.
Of late, the beauty expert has been carving out small, mindful rituals at night—nothing elaborate but just enough to help her drift off. “I’m someone who doesn’t like to compromise on sleep at all,” she says. “Even if my call time is as early as three in the morning, I like to calculate backwards and try to put myself to bed seven hours prior.”
Between her strict seven-hours-of-sleep math and her plan to swear off long shoot days after week 35, Chemburkar tells us about the products she trusts, the habits she’s dropped, and the ones she’s still trying to keep.
What time do you usually get home from work?
If it’s a movie shoot, there’s no fixed time. It’s 12-hour workdays plus two hours of travel time, so I usually get back pretty late. But if I’m doing brand shoots, shows, or events, I’m home by 9 or 10 pm. Senior actors like to start and wrap early because they also have family and kids to get home to, which I appreciate. But the younger lot likes to start only at, like, 11 pm or midnight, so the day is just...longer.
What’s the first thing you do after you get home?
My dog hogs the first 30 minutes. He’s very young and full of energy, so I spend some time playing with him. After that, I wash my face because we’re exposed to so many chemicals from hairsprays and everything else on set. If I’m not showering, I at least wash my face, hands, and feet. (I cannot get into bed with unwashed feet.) I double cleanse if I’ve worn makeup—Clinique Take the Day Off or D’you Good Grease, then my very basic but trustworthy Cetaphil cleanser. I’ve been using it for years and I swear by it. After that, I just change into my nightsuit and then I’m ready for bed.
What about moisturiser?
I like to moisturise right before bed. Even if I’ve washed my face earlier, I let my skin breathe for half an hour to 40 minutes while having dinner and relaxing. When I brush my teeth is when I splash some water on my face again and apply moisturiser.
So, no fancy serums or face oils?
I usually use serums during the day. At night, I sometimes use the Estée Lauder Advanced Night Repair serum if I feel like my skin is too dehydrated. Before I got pregnant, I used a retinol serum from Sesderma every night. The formulation is very mild—it’s not a pure retinol serum but more like an anti-ageing serum, so it can be used every night. But now it’s just the Cetaphil moisturiser. I’ve paused the rest.
Any devices you’ve kept in rotation?
I was using the Medicube Collagen Jelly Cream with the Age-R booster device I bought at a beauty expo in Bologna in March. I stopped using it because everyone asked me not to use it when I’m pregnant. But I swore by it because everyone said my skin was glowing when I was using it. There’s also this Indian brand called Numour—I recommend their smart gua sha. I’ve made multiple people buy it because it really is that good. You can use it with a thick moisturiser, serum, or face oil. I personally stay away from oils unless a dermat has recommended it.
I used to wear an LED mask too while watching TV, but it wasn’t an everyday thing. It’s supposed to reduce fine lines, but I haven’t used it long enough to get that benefit. It’s nice and warm on the face and I also feel like my products are penetrating deep into the skin, a feeling I like. But I’ve put that away for now.
