“Once upon a time, I turned to beauty vlogs to destress. After an exhausting day of staring at words, I used to feel the Zen wash over me as I watched that eyeliner flick itself into a perfect angle or that blush bloom over a primed cheek in three fluffy strokes. But over the last half decade of the internet, that joy has sadly evaporated, to be replaced by near-manic stress. The magical colour-changing blush, the cushion foundation that gives you Paris filter skin, the lip oil that every beauty lover worth their salt needs to be seen swatching—every evening I flip from Reels to beauty shopping apps, trying to fight my impulse to immediately add everything to cart.
The Hindu recently reported that India is the fourth-largest beauty market in the world, expected to grow by 40 per cent by 2026. Which means the current avalanche of ‘new’ launches will only get more overwhelming. This kind of news fills me with dread. Yes, I spend an inordinate amount of time looking at foundation tryouts, but I don’t want 20 different foundations, even if they’re specific to my unique needs. And as pretty as my 79 pink lipsticks look on display, they don’t help the crippling decision-making moment every morning.
Would I love to have all these products in my make-up kit? God, yes. Do I really need them? I must decline.” Read former beauty editor Rituparna Som's piece on the make-up products she’s purging this year, and why you should too.
