Deepavali, known as the ‘Festival of Lights’, is just around the corner, wooo-hoo!!! For those of you that don’t know, Deepavali is a glorious festival where all our Indian friends around the world gather to celebrate new beginnings and the triumph of good overcoming evil. During this occasion, many Indian ladies wear vibrant outfits with matchy-matchy stellar Deepavali makeup on and looking drop-dead gorgeous! 

Unlike your everyday go-to makeup, Deepavali makeup gotta have the little extra sparkle that goes well with the rest of the blings blings. Cuz who doesn’t wanna look like Deepika Padukone from Chennai Express, right? But it can be tricky to nail the look without the right makeup products. Now, if you’re one of the girls who want to keep your Deepavali makeup look fleek and on-trend, we’ve got you covered. 

Beauty Insider Malaysia sat down with professional makeup artist with Khushboo Binwan who has shared with us her 10 favourite makeup products that can give you that gorgeous Bollywood star glam. Khushboo a certificate makeup artist and hairstylist for has a ‘thing’ for avant-garde makeup. So, you can take words and start investing in these products because the girl knows what she’s talking about!

1. Thick Creamy Moisturizer 

A moisturizer with a rich, creamy texture is a must to achieve a great base! A thicker moisturizer acts as a ‘shield’ for your base, add a glow and allows products to grip on your face, ensuring the longevity of your makeup. Khushboo recommends Embryolisse Lait-Creme Concentre, which is a staple of many makeup artists in the Bollywood industry (and also her personal favourite!) The best part about this product is that it’s suitable for most skin types, and a little goes a long way! Additionally, if you have a thick or matte foundation, you can mix this into your foundation to control the consistency.

2. Setting Powder

We love setting powders because they are so versatile. You can use them to bake, set, and even sculpt! For Kushboo, the greatest setting powder would be the Laura Mercier Loose Setting Powder. They come in shades translucent, honey, and translucent medium deep, which are suitable for desi skin tones. A great way to make your foundation last longer is to dust the powder on your t-zone, and other areas of your face where a foundation may break down easily – before your foundation. It controls shine and prolongs the wearability of your foundation.

3. Foundation 

One product you can’t skip in getting Deepavali makeup right is a foundation. Khushboo again emphasized on getting the base right is the key to achieving Desi glam because it ensures that any other product that is applied on top will not move as well. One of her favourite foundations is Nars Radiant Longwear, mainly due to its vast shade range which is suitable for desi skin tones and undertones. Along with that, it has a beautiful, luminous finish, buildable coverage (medium to full) and is long-wearing.

4. Concealer 

Concealer is every girl’s best friend, and for Khushboo, she loves a concealer that has great coverage and wearability. The Too Faced Born This Way Super Coverage Multi-Use concealer is great because you can use it so many ways. It has a vast shade range which you can use to conceal, highlight, sculpt, and cover. She likes the doe-foot applicator because it’s precise to apply it on all areas of the face. The consistency is creamy, and the coverage can be built from medium to full.

Bonus Tip: Khushboo suggested that you should first, correct any dark circles with an orange corrector or any concealer that has an orange undertone. Second, go in with your concealer shade on top and blend with a makeup sponge. Third, dab your highlight shade below the inner corner and blend it to add highlight and dimension to your face.

5. Eyeshadow

Y’all Desi girls will agree with Khushboo that the magic is all in our eyes! Desi girls are blessed with beautiful eye shapes which makes doing eyeshadow way more fun. Whether you want to achieve a simple day look or a sexy smokey eye, the Huda Beauty Nude Obsessions Eyeshadow Palette in shade rich is perfect for you. These colours are easy to wear – and as we all know Huda Beauty’s formulation, the colours pack a punch and will look great on all skin tones. 

Bonus Tip: A bit of drama to the eye look by smudging the darkest shade on the lash line and extending the line into the crease with the same shade to create a carved out eye look. Then, use a complementary shimmer shade to fill in the lid and add a touch of extra glam by adding a bright shimmer shade on the inner corner and brow bone.

6. Eyeliner

For every Desi girl or anyone, tryna achieve the Desi glam, eyeliner is a must! It is what gives the eyes definition and makes the whole look stand out. For Kushboo she personally likes to use gel liners because they are highly pigmented and it’s long-lasting. The best gel liner is the Inglot AMC Eyeliner Gel no. 77. It is an intense, jet black colour with a creamy, long-lasting formula that dries down and is waterproof, smudge-proof, and crease-proof.

7. Mascara

To complete the whole eye look, top it off with some dramatic lashes. Kushboo said she loves having thick voluminous lashes because it tapers the eye shape in a way where it looks cat-like and sexy. The best volumizing mascara to her is the Nars Explicit Black Climax Mascara. It elongates and lifts your lashes while giving volume at the base. The best part about this mascara is that you can apply a few coats of it without it clumping, flaking or smudging. 

8. Lip Liner 

Unfortunately for many of us, we don’t have perfect, pouty Kylie Jenner lips, but lip liners are a great way to fake them, even if it’s just for a day! The Catrice Lip Foundation Pencils were a great find of mine, and are really affordable too. The pencils glide on smoothly, are super pigmented and are long-lasting. Sometimes I even fill in my lips and wear them as a lipstick and top them off with a gloss to seal the deal.

9. Highlighter 

No look is complete without a banging highlight especially if you are trying to create a bang-on Deepavali makeup look, highlighter is a must-have!!! Whether you want a subtle shine or a blinding luminosity, the Dior Backstage Glow Face Palette 001 is perfect for any look. Kushboo shared with us that sometimes she uses highlighter to highlight the inner corners, brow bone, and even as eyeshadow. You can even mix two shades to create a beautiful, shimmery mix.

Bonus Tip: Use a wide fluffy brush and spread the highlight all over the cheekbones to get an all-over glow.

10. Eyebrow Pencil 

Last but certainly not the least, in the must-have products to create the perfect Deepavali makeup look is an eyebrow pencil. Desi girls often stand out for their naturally sharp, carved out brow. Fret not, if you’re not gifted with such pair cuz the Anastasia Dipbrow Pomade is here to help you fake it! This iconic product goes a long way with just a single dip. You can use it to lightly fill in brow hairs, or go for the bold look. It’s long-lasting and super pigmented too. 

Bonus Tip: To get the brow hairs to look neat is to use a spoolie and rub it in some soap. Then brush up through your brows to give it a waxy coating. This gives the brows a fuller, feathery effect and allows for brow products to last longer.