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Less than a month after tying the knot, Aditi Venkatesh is looking forward to her first Diwali as a married woman. Of course, continuing family traditions of lighting candles and eating sweets is on the agenda. But she’s also excited to especially glam up this year as she hosts a Diwali dinner of her own.
“Diwali is the one festival where I can dress up as ‘extra’ as I want and not think twice,” Aditi tells Draw Your Box. “It’s a time when I can whip out my heaviest lehenga and jewellery and be as colourful and creative as I want with my makeup!”
Diwali (also referred to as Deepavali) is the five-day festival of lights celebrated by Hindus, Sikhs, Jains and Buddhists across the world, celebrating the triumph of good over evil and light over darkness. Like Aditi, many South Asian women are increasingly embracing makeup as a form of self-expression during the festival. It can be an opportunity to venture outside one’s comfort zone with a new lipstick shade or a daringly different eyeshadow that makes a sari or salwar kameez truly pop.
“I will be wearing my hair in a sleek bun, this has been my go-to over the last few years,” says Aditi. “But I’ll be doing a bold red lip, something I actually only do on Diwali, as I'm normally a nude lip kind of girl.”
Finishing her look with a sari gifted to her by her mum during her wedding, Aditi says “it almost feels like the start of a new chapter”. It’s quite fitting, given that in some South Asian cultures, Diwali coincides with harvest and new year celebrations.
There are no rules when it comes to Diwali/Deepavali style, which is what Sydney-based Swarnaa Rajalingam appreciates most. Taking pride in curating a festival look, she says it’s also an opportunity to reflect “on how my style has evolved”.
“Adorning myself in South Asian jewellery, putting on a traditional fit, styling my hair with jasmine flowers and playing with makeup to curate a look is so therapeutic and it makes me feel my most beautiful,” she says.
With many of her Deepavali celebrations taking place at night this year, Swarnaa plans “to use complexion products such as glow drops, highlighters and shimmery eye shadows for a look that pops in the dark and can be lit up against all the diyas and sparklers we light up”.
She’s also experimenting with her luscious long locks. “Believe it or not, but I’ve just learnt to curl my hair this year. So, for this year’s Deepavali look, I’ll definitely be sporting curls and embracing this new hairstyle I’ve learnt to do on myself,” she says.
From her South Asian Australian swimwear label showing at 2023 Miami Swim Week, to her video about colourism being noticed by Hollywood’s Mindy Kaling, Swarnaa has garnered a name for herself when it comes to advocating for more inclusion and diversity in beauty and fashion. In a space that's long been linked to issues such as colourism, whitewashed beauty standards and a lack of range in shades and textures, Swarnaa says we’re seeing improvements amongst beauty brands.
“Growing up, I rarely saw women who looked like me represented in mainstream beauty campaigns. Brown skin tones, especially darker ones, were often underrepresented or misrepresented, which led to feelings of exclusion and insecurity about my own appearance,” she says. “However, over the years, I’ve seen some positive changes. The push for diversity and inclusion has gained momentum, and we’re seeing more brands embrace various skin tones, including deeper shades of brown.”
Actor Vidya Makan strongly relates to Swarnaa’s sentiments about not feeling represented while growing up as a brown woman in Australia. While dressing up plays a role in her celebrations these days, it wasn’t always like this.
“I definitely grew up pretty insecure. I didn't see people around me who were like me, especially in the media. And on days like Diwali, where you're getting together with family, I always used to want to fade into the background and not really be the centre of attention,” says Vidya.
“As I've got older, I'm at peace with myself and the way that I style myself, the way that I use makeup, understanding how my natural look works, and understanding what products to use for my skin tone. It took a long time to find my actual skin tone in makeup,” she continues. “Now I'm so much more confident, and that presents itself at family functions like Diwali.”
Vidya’s currently portraying female lead Eliza in the Australian version of stage musical Hamilton. While she’s performing on Diwali, she looks forward to letting her hair down (quite literally) when she sits down later with her family for a Diwali dinner.
“At the moment, I have yellow tips at the end of my hair. I love using different conditioners to make sure my hair is looking really healthy and that I can have the cool dyes and colours, which I definitely like to wear out anytime I'm not on stage,” she laughs. “So that will definitely be making an appearance at this year's Diwali dinner.”
Meanwhile dancer and choreographer Anjana Chandran takes inspiration from her on-stage looks when deciding on Diwali makeup.
“Growing up, makeup during Diwali was always exciting because it meant getting ready for the cultural performances we did as kids. I loved the colourful makeup and eyeliner. Even now, makeup for Diwali is all about staying connected to my culture and tradition,” says Anjana.
“Kohl, for example, is very traditional in India (and my hometown Kerala), so I love creating big, bold eyes with it. Wearing a pottu (bindi) and matching my makeup colours to my outfit is a way for me to celebrate the day with confidence while honouring my cultural roots.”
“I finish it all off with a good setting spray to lock the look in place for the whole day of events and dancing!”
Recent years have also seen an increase in Diwali makeup tutorials on social media. Lawyer and self-described “beauty junkie by night”, Neha Prasad, has been creating online content since 2016, ranging from festive makeovers to replicating the looks of well-known Bollywood stars.
“I’ve started putting a lot more effort in coordinating my makeup with my outfit [for Diwali],” says the Fijian-Indian Australian. “For example, if I’m wearing a green outfit, I may add a smokey green to my lower lash line. If my jewellery is gold, I might add some gold shimmer to my eyelids.
“I usually keep it a bit traditional too,” she adds. “Kajal is a go-to! It’s a time for celebration and embracing my beautiful culture so I make the most of it.”
While many young women look to Neha for style-spiration, she herself enjoys following international creators Jully Patel and Seerat Saini for fashion, and ‘Glow by Abbi’ for makeup. Aditi notes that Kaushal of ‘Kaushal Beauty “was one of the first beauty influencers who created YouTube content around Diwali”, so she’s easily a go-to, as well as influencer Masoom Minawala Mehta.
Closer to home, South Asian Australians Maria Thattil and Rowi Singh are definitely social media influencers that Vidya turns to for inspo. “They have such cool style. I love the conversations that they start, and their looks, and what they talk about on their social media. So as Desi women, I definitely look to them for inspiration.”
Of course, Diwali is a time of family and community, so it only makes sense that some of the most influential figures who South Asian women look to for Diwali style are actually their nearest and dearest.
“One of the original [creators] I’ve followed from way back is Kaushal, and I still look to her for inspiration during Diwali,” says Anjana. “But honestly, it’s the South Asian women in my life, starting with my mum, aunty, sister, and now my friends, who inspire me the most.”
Swarnaa echoes this, saying that while Canadian creators Abeena Meera and Hamsha Thavaseelan always share stunning looks to bookmark, she’s “also inspired by the women in my life - my amma [mum] who’s been my first-ever style icon, and my girls”.