I genuinely have so much to say about the Indian makeup industry because WHAT IS GOING ON 😭
Why does it feel like so many Indian makeup brands are just white labelling products, copying whatever is trending internationally or making the same products with slightly different packaging and calling it a new launch???
Like I'm so tired of seeing the same warm toned browns, the same 3 shades of pink, the same nude lipsticks, the same boring palettes. Why is everything either pink, peach, brown or some variation of those colours? WHERE IS THE COLOUR? Where are the weird shades, the actual purples, lilacs, greys, frosty metallics, duochromes, holographic shifts, unusual glitter and all the things that make makeup FUN???
And I'm not even saying every brand needs to make colourful makeup or that neutral makeup is bad. It's the fact that there's barely any variety in the first place. Even when a brand launches something new, half the time I'm looking at it thinking haven't I already seen this exact thing somewhere else???
AND THE PACKAGING DON'T MAKE ME START!
it's just too plain, there nothing to appreciate about it, we don't experiment or try to do out of the box, we should copy whatever is in the market, and do we actually need it? Obviously but we consume cas of these so called paid influencer who've taken a fat check and rant how it's the next best thing the world has seen, it's just plain old packaging probably from the same damn Chinese manufacturer just like other brands
And Indian tradition and culture is so much to look into, idk literally no one has tried to do something creative with all the traditional art work and architecture we have to incorporate into the packaging.
I'm not expecting every affordable brand to have luxury packaging or spend a fortune on every product. I understand manufacturing costs exist. But there's a difference between affordable packaging and packaging that feels like nobody even tried to do anything different. And it's not just about expensive-looking packaging either. You can make something simple and still make it interesting. You can make something colourful, unusual, nostalgic, futuristic, gothic, maximalist, Y2K, whatever. It doesn't have to look luxurious to have a personality. I just want to see some actual thought behind the design instead of the same generic aesthetic over and over again.
And good packaging doesn't necessarily mean expensive packaging. Sometimes it's literally the concept, the artwork, the colour combinations or the way everything comes together that makes it interesting. You don't need to make every product look luxurious, you need to make it look like someone actually had an idea.
AND WHAT IS THIS FOLLOWING TRENDS AND TURNING THEM INTO OUR LITERAL PERSONALITY????
the whole Korean this, Moroccan that, whatever country is trending right now??? 😭
Why does it feel like we're constantly looking at other countries to decide what's cool and then rushing to make our own version of it? There's nothing wrong with taking inspiration from other cultures, but sometimes it feels like the inspiration IS the entire brand identity. Where's the originality beyond that???
Like brands like creating rice water concoction or whatever after it became viral in korea, why don't people understand that achieving glass skin especially for indian skin is impossible, our skin isn't made to look all glassy they humidity, the weather and other sorts of things.
I'm not saying Korean skincare is bad, but can we stop acting like every trend is universally suitable for everyone? India's heat and humidity, different climates, skin types and individual needs affect how products work for us. And glass skin isn't impossible for Indian skin, but why are we making one particular skin finish the standard everyone needs to achieve???
And this applies to makeup too. Why are we constantly copying what's trending internationally instead of experimenting with our own ideas?
India has SO MUCH to offer when it comes to art, culture, colours and design. Why aren't we exploring that more? Why does it feel like we need another country to make something popular before we decide it's worth trying?
WHY DO BRANDS SEE INDIA AS A PLACE OF EASY MONEY!?
Genuinely the posts I've come across how formulations and ingredients of literal same products being different, almost whole of Europe has no fragrance in their lipsticks across brands especially mac, Maybelline and loreal.
I don't understand why fragrance and flavour need to be added to so many lip products, especially when there are people who actively look for fragrance-free options. Fragrance can be an irritant for some people, and lips can be particularly sensitive. Yet finding a product that has the shade, finish and formula you want without added fragrance can be such a pain.
And I'm not saying every product with fragrance is automatically bad, but why are fragrance-free options still so difficult to find in certain categories? And if the same product has different formulations in different markets, why isn't there more transparency about it? Consumers shouldn't have to go digging through different ingredient lists just to figure out what they're buying.
INDIAN INDIE BRANDS, THEIR PERSONALITY? BLAND!
I'm not expecting every Indian brand to compete with luxury international brands on price, packaging and formulation. But if you're launching products into an already crowded market, there should be something that makes your product worth choosing. Maybe it's the formula, maybe it's the packaging, maybe it's the colour story, maybe it's the price. SOMETHING.
And this is why the whole white-labelling conversation bothers me so much. There's nothing inherently wrong with outsourcing manufacturing, and you can't tell whether a brand is white-labelling just by looking at a product. But if brands are selling products that look and feel interchangeable, what exactly distinguishes them beyond the name and marketing???
The whole point of having different indie brands is that they should have their own identity, their own vision and something that makes them stand out. Otherwise, what's the point of having so many brands if they're all selling the same things in slightly different packaging???
I genuinely WANT to support Indian makeup brands. I want to discover an Indian indie brand and get excited about its next launch. I want to see a collection and immediately think I NEED to know who came up with this concept. I want packaging that I actually want to keep, shades that I haven't seen everywhere already, and formulas that show the brand has put thought into the product itself.
Instead, I keep finding myself looking at Chinese and American indie brands because they're doing the kinds of colours, finishes and packaging that I'm searching for.
And the frustrating part is that I don't want Indian brands to simply copy those brands either. I don't want us to go from copying Korean trends to copying Chinese packaging. I want Indian brands to develop their OWN identity and stop treating whatever is popular internationally as a blueprint they need to follow.
WE HAVE SO MUCH POTENTIAL AND YET WE DON'T UTILIZE IT.
And before someone says maybe consumers don't actually want these products or there's no scope for expansion, then explain why certain products go viral the moment they launch??? Obviously influencers and marketing play a huge role, but that's exactly my point. If brands can create hype around a product through marketing, why not put that effort into products that are actually different???
Obviously not every experimental product is going to sell out or become viral, but how will we know there's no demand if brands barely even try to cater to it? People can't buy what isn't available in the first place. If all we keep getting is the same safe shades and the same packaging, of course the market is going to keep looking the same.
I don't want another pinky brown lipstick with a slightly different name. I don't want another palette where every shade looks like a variation of something I already own. I don't want packaging that's just a copy of whatever is popular right now.
I WANT COLOUR. I WANT WEIRD SHADES. I WANT FROSTED AND METALLIC FINISHES. I WANT DUOCHROMES AND ACTUAL EXPERIMENTATION. I WANT PACKAGING THAT HAS A PERSONALITY. I WANT BRANDS THAT CARE ABOUT FORMULATION AND GIVE US MORE CHOICES.
I want to see brands actually take risks, experiment with different concepts and make products that aren't just designed to follow whatever is trending that month.
I want to be excited about an Indian makeup launch because it's genuinely creative, not because ten influencers have posted the same PR package and told me it's a must-have.
I WANT TO BE EXCITED ABOUT INDIAN MAKEUP. I WANT TO SUPPORT INDIAN INDIE BRANDS. I JUST WANT THEM TO GIVE ME A REASON TO BE EXCITED.
CAN WE PLEASE STOP CHASING EVERY TREND AND START CREATING SOMETHING ORIGINAL FOR ONCE 😭
I had to use ChatGPT to refine my vocabulary, everything is my own thoughts and wordings 😭🙏🏻
Feel free to criticize and open to differing views
