5 Must-Have Indian Beauty Products
By Mehak Sagar, 24, India, Global Contributor
Mehak is 24-years old and a number-crunching economist from India. When she’s not analyzing data, she’s analyzing beauty, which is where her real passion lies. She loves blush and the color peach, and together, the two give her unparalleled happiness (hence her blog, Peaches and Blush). Aside from beauty, she loves food, shoes, traveling, dancing, and painting. She has an unhealthy obsession with chocolate cookies, lip balms, her three-year-old niece, and planning her upcoming wedding. Mehak lives with a joint family, which means 13 people in a single house, but she says it just means there is more makeup to go around!
Colorbar Nail Lacquers
5 Must-Have Indian Beauty Products
Being an Indian beauty-holic has never been so much fun! While we still fret over the lack of international brands here and how MAC expects us to ‘Surf, Baby’ in the middle of fall, our local Indian beauty brands are stepping up their game to feed our never-ending appetite for the latest and greatest in makeup! These are five products from local Indian beauty brands that you should try if you can!
Colorbar Nail Lacquers | Until two years ago, nail polish for Indian brands meant varying shades of either pink or red and all in pearl finishes. Colorbar was the first brand to step out of the comfort zone and give us emerald greens, oranges, duochromes, neons, and sparkly, metallic finishes. The best part is that each bottle costs less than $3, does not chip, and goes on super smoothly! I have my fingers crossed that–soon–we will be getting our first real glitter polish from this brand, too!
Lakme Earth Rose Trio Blush | Dusty pink, sandy beige, and warm caramel all swirl together to make Lakme Earth Rose Trio Blush the perfect handbag accessory. The colors give a warm and earthy natural-looking flush, and you can go deeper or lighter depending on where you dip your brush in. It is also one of those products that looks great on almost all skin tones.
Colorbar I-Glide Eye Pencils | Colorbar is a spanking new entrant into the Indian beauty sScene. Their I-Glide Eye Pencils have the dramatic finish of liquid eyeliner with the convenience of a pencil. These are super soft and creamy, very pigmented, last the entire day, and can give any high end brand a run for their money. Prunella (deep purple), Truffle (shimmery brown), and Jaded (emerald green) are three must-haves for me from this range.
Lakme Black Satin Eye Kohl | If Jack Sparrow were to come to India, I would definitely recommend the Lakme Black Satin Eye Kohl to him. It is intensely black, soft, slightly smudgy with a long wear time, and whether or not you are a pirate, it looks great lined on the lower rim for that soft, smokey look.
Forest Essentials Cold Pressed Oils | Rubbing oil all over your face might sound like a crazy thing to do, but the only thing crazy about Forest Essentials Cold Pressed Sesame Oil is how insanely good it feels on skin. Not only is it the most effective makeup remover I have used so far, but it can be used instead of your night cream, because it moisturizes the skin without leaving it feeling oily and greasy.
Check out more photos & swatches!
Colobar Nail Lacquers
Lakme Earth Rose Trio Blush
Colorbar I-Glide Eye Pencils (Prunella, Truffle, Jaded)
Lakme Black Satin Eye Kohl
The eye pencil swatches look amazing!
WOW these products look gorgeous and that blush is so cute! Loving the post from a different side of the world =) I definitely want to try all these products!!
Hi Mehak! Congratulations for your upcoming wedding!!
Thanks blushfully!!! You definitely should get your hands on the blush(judging from your screen name– i know yll like it !)
wow well written post mehak…i love al these esp d colorbar i-glide and lakme trio r my faves…
I totally am with you with natural oils being applied to your face… my acne has been disappearing dramatically since using oil.
Haha, I’m glad to see this post! I’ve heard good things about the Lakme brand.. the eye kohl sounds especially promising!
Mehak! YOu’ve given me more lemmings! 😛 Thankfully, I already own Lakme Black Satin. It’s magnificent for sure.
ooh…those colorbar eye pencils look divine! 🙂
It’s very interesting to hear about makeup trends/availability in other countries, I have never thought about it until now!
Oh you should see the brazilian makeup I want their eyeshadow pigments sooo bad bur its too hard to find and then ordering from there is a pain in the butt. A few brands I know of are Contem 1 Grama, o boticario and Felicita’ and it looks amazing on any skin tone.
Great review Mehak, Keep them coming girl!
I’ve heard such great things about Colorbar. This is a great post, thank you so much, Sagar (and Temptalia for posting).
OMG I LOVE that blush, it’s amazing!! And those eye pencils are great too – I love the colors, I would definitely wear them. And last but not least, that mascara has an amazing packaging. 🙂
I wish we had the chance to try these products out – but there’s not a chance I could ever possibly find them in Italy. But I’ll definitely check ebay. 🙂
Lakme Earth Rose Trio Blush and Lakme Black Satin Eye Kohl look fantastic! The packaging on the Black Sain Eye in particular makes me happy.
Love it, nice. I’m part American Indian (tribe) and i like seeing shades that work well with brown or cinnamon skin. So can these be bought anywhere in the usa and where ?
Hey! There are a couple of websites that ship Lakme to the USA. I could look it up for you and let you know ! If you google ‘buy lakme in usa’ – you should be able to find a few places 🙂
Ok I will. But I was actually hoping that a few (non internet) stores would carry it so that I can check them out in person
Morena,
There are Indian (from asia) grocery stores in most cities in the US. Try those grocery stores ,you may find some lakme basic products. I have always found the Lakme kajal pencil there.
I actually picked up some colorbar myself on my last trip to india and am very impressed 🙂
Ooh what did you buy>?
surf baby in the middle of fall!!
Loved it thoroughly and agreed with your choices.
I know ! Sucks 🙁 But atleast we have moved to semi precious now :p
well written post mehak..i soo accept wit all ur choices..n was waiting for ur post here since long..
I love learning/reading about makeup from other countries. Such an awesome post! Thanks Mehak 🙂 Definitely looking into these.
Must…try…the…kohl. I’ve got a serious weakness for eye kohl. You Indians are on to something with that black liner on the inner eyes. 😉 I find just using kohl (currently Guerlain’s loose kohl in a browny color) to be all that’s necessary on rushed mornings. It smudges in eyelashes beautifully and makes eyes “pop.”
I’m gonna need some online sites to shop from….
Haha, Kohl is SO big in India- and yr so right..just a little bit on the lower rim makes all the difference.. Hmmm..there is one called emporiumonnet but i dont really know whether it has up to date stuff and how good it is!
Thanks! I’ll check them out to see what they’ve got. My local Indian groceries don’t care much by way of “fancy Indian cosmetics”, just some stuff that seems kinda junky….and not even much of that.
Ooh yes. Dont buy anything “Indian” unless its Lakme / Colorbar/ Lotus Herbals
NEED that blush and the eye pencils! Hoping to travel to India for the first time next spring, I’ll def. keep an eye out for these!
very nice post mehak!!!Lakme kohls are good!!
The eye pencil swatches look amazing! Beautiful colors and great pigmentation.
I’m liking the international segments! Those eye liners and the eye khol look interesting. I hope I can find them somewhere online.
I love kohl, nothing like it!!! I feel silly now, I didn’t even think about buying makeup while in India 😛
Wow!!! Nice comprehensive list
Way to go, mehak! Loved the post and it’s made me look at the blush a whole new way n loooove it! Gonna un-check it from my list soon! 🙂
“and how MAC expects us to ‘Surf, Baby’ in the middle of fall.” LOL! I didn’t realize collections came out so delayed outside of the US! The good thing however is that if you ever visit America and regret not buying a product from a collection, you can go back from to get India ^__^
Haha ! True and the thin g is they rarely sell out in India. Like when the Stereo Rose MSF came out, and everyone was going crazy in the states trying to get their hands on it…it was stocked in every single shop in India! We are now on to *semi precious* by the way… Big whoopie!
Ooh! Very cool post 🙂 Just found the Lakme kohl on Ebay for about $5 each (plus shipping of course :)) And some very interesting “Lakme Jewel Hair Makeup”!
The ‘Jewel Hair Makeup’ is something we call ‘Sindoor’ in India. Its not really makeup- its like a red powder that newly wed brides wear in their hair where it parts..
Love that blush and this post. Hope to see more like it!!
so i have to go to india to get my hands on that blush?? oh great-_-
What a great post! I love to read about local brands all over the world and was enjoying this one about India very much. Thank you so much, Mehak!!!!
i’m so happy to see some indian loving on this blog! i adore any and all things lakme and my 9-5 liquid liner is still my HG liquid liner, despite having used some of the best from the US!
Awesome!! I’ve always wanted to try Lakme products but never had the chance to pick up anything. Next time I’m in India, I know what I’ll be purchasing! Congratulations on your upcoming wedding!!
The I-Glide pencils look really smooth and well pigmented. I think I need to ditch my liquid liner for something a little softer – they would be ideal for me!
Great post Mehak! I can’t believe you don’t have glitter polishes over there! I couldn’t cope with that! x
We get some glitters, but all realllly tame ones. Nothing like the ones Zoya makes, and no hexagonal glitters either . Just one or two shades that colorbar makes.
What a great post Mehak!!! I´m gonna see if these eyeliners are on Ebay or some website that ships to Spain. But I´ve got one question: I have read a couples of reviews where they say these eyeliners are not safe on the waterline (in fact, there´s one review that claims these pencils cause irritation and burn on the waterline). Have you Mehak used them on the waterline and are they safe there? Or are these too drying for that part of the eye? Thanks a lot again for this fantastic review!
The kohl is safe for waterline. The eyeliners- well, i use it on my waterline a lot and i have sensitive eyes …it doesn’t sting. Its a bit of a hit an trial. I dont think it says specifically that its waterline safe or not, but iv used it in the past. The only annoying hing about these pencils is that they are had to sharpen!
The products look great – and your photos are lovely!
I had to smile when I read the surf baby comments. 🙂 Great writing!
Thanks Katherine!
Christina! I am a regular follower of your blog and I live in Mumbai, India. I am thrilled to see a guest blog featuring some of the brands I see regularly.
Mehak, I had never checked out your blog before, but i just did and love it.
Thakns Dela!!! What are some of your fav brands/ products from India??
Great Picks Mehak… black satin and i glide are my favs too… sadly, i missed out on the blush back when it was launched and it is no longer in stores 🙁
What a fantastic post! I live in America so I doubt I would ever get the opportunity to try any of these products, but it is still really cool to see what the beauty market is like in other places.
Wow, that turquoise polish is gorgeous!
That ones called Apply martini and is one of my absolute favourites
The eyeliner swatches had me going ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! Love the information on the Indian brands. I live in the Caribbean and we have numerous Indian expos here with lots of cosmetics but I never knew what was good! Will look out now for the Lakme and Colorbar!
That is such an interesting insight into nail polish in India. I would have never guessed there was such a lack of variety. My thoughts are with the entire nation and hope that a glitter polish is not too faraway!