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