A Desi Match

Every time Mickey Contractor, make-up artist to Bollywood stars and director of artistry, M.A.C India, made up a desi woman’s face, he had to mix two or more foundations for the perfect shade. It wasn’t a bother for him, but he sensed it might be for busy women. “When I worked directly with customers, I realized the need to suggest to M.A.C a few shades of concealers and foundations for Pakistani/Indian skin,” he says.

Every woman Contractor met was trying to find a quick fix. He also learned that most women didn’t want their foundation to show. “If the base is close to your natural skin color, it looks like almost nothing,” he says. He pitched to M.A.C the need for foundations and concealers with golden undertones. The result is four shades each of the brand’s Studio Fix Fluid, Studio Fix and Select Cover-Up.

Contractor explains that most desis have less pink and more ochre in their skin color, so shades with golden undertones are more suitable. Use his tips to find your match: “The ideal way to find a concealer is to try it on areas you need to conceal on your face, and not on the back of your wrist. If your problem is dark circles, then go with clean moisturized skin and try out various shades of concealers. The criteria should be to cover as much as possible without caking it up, and getting as close as possible to your own skin color. Foundation should match your neck so that you don’t have to wear body make-up.”