Bharatanatyam Makeup Tutorial

For quite a few years I couldn’t really understand why Bharatanatyam makeup looked so different compared to other makeup. For me it was pretty much the regular foundation, eye liner , kajal and lipstick. I didn’t even know words like contouring and different makeup look even existed.

After a lot of trial and error I have slowly started learning to do Bharatanatyam makeup all by myself.

So let’s get started.

Items you need:

1. Concealer
2. Foundation
3. Eyeshadow palette
4. Kajal
5. Lipstick
6. Makeup brushes
7. Cotton swab
8. q-tips or ear buds

Step 1

Dab on concealer and spread with a brush or fingers

Step 2

Apply foundation and blend well with a sponge or a brush.

Step 3

Pick a primary color for your eye shadow.

Step 4

Pick a secondary color for eye shadow. I chose pink to give a warm undertone to the gold previously chosen.

Step 5

Use a blending color like white gold to blend these two colours away. Put the eyeshadow on the center or your eyelids and blend away.

Step 6

Darken eyebrows using black eyeshadow.

Step 7

Apply eyeliner. One very important step in Bharatanatyam make up is to ensure the lower eye is lined properly to form a winged outline.

Step 8

Correct imperfections using makeup remover and Q-tip.

Step 9

Apply kajal along the inner corner of the lower eyelash for better outline.

Step 10

Apply blush. Try and stick to only the apple of your cheeks and not too much otherwise thou stand the risk of looking like a bunny rabbit :)

Step 12

Apply lip liner and lipstick, Coat with a layer of gloss for better shine.

Step 13

Accessorise with bindi and white liquid bindi. Unfortunately I didn’t have a long bindi so had to make do with a round one.

Add your required jewellery and your look is complete.

Final look

Credits

• Photography: Anisha Mahapatra
• Model: Aditi Manja
• Concept and make up : Priya Kumar