Lockdown special: Beauty gurus are offering the best DIY beauty hacks amid the quarantine

We had such high hopes for our quarantine self-love sessions, but turns out sticking to a skincare plan is hard work! So, if you’re too lazy for the rubber masks and the DIY facial kits, you can at least keep up with the beauty gurus who are dominating social media. Needless to say, skincare experts and lifestyle vloggers are stepping it up to produce a more regular stream of content since their followers have a lot of time on their hands.

So, we have a lot Indian makeup experts and influencers who are taking us behind the scenes to share their work and diet routines. Some skincare and makeup experts are diversifying and sharing home remedies for taking care of your hair and skin and even sharing their go-to healthy recipes for staying in shape. There are also a lot of professional makeup artistes who are going the extra mile by taking requests from their followers and making videos on the most requested look. Here are a  few names you should start subscribing to, because they can make your quarantine feed a whole lot better. 

Prableen Kaur Bhomrah

Prableen Kaur Bhomrah is defined by three things - skincare, fashion and make-up. Her eponymous YouTube Channel has 9.38k dedicated followers who love her posts, especially the ones which are a guide to flawless skin. Prableen, who was among the few bloggers who attended the launch of Katrina Kaif’s label Kay Beauty in Mumbai earlier this year, connects with her fans really easily.

So, what can you find in her account? From product reviews, quick hacks to tan removal tutorials and homemade face packs for prepping up for occasions like Diwali, Holi and a lot more. That’s not all, if you like editing your pictures before posting it, then you should check out her story on Apps/filters. You can also follow the Punjabi influencer on Instagram for similar stories.

Sana Grover

Sana Grover loves videography, editing and all things stylish. The 20-year-old Delhi-based fashion and lifestyle blogger with 74.9k followers on YouTube and 23.5k on Instagram can help you up your style game with updates on the latest fashion trends. Her profile is not a make-up centric one, rather she teams up with different clothing brands and uses each of her posts to gives you tips as well. Our favourite pick is the one titled ‘Lingerie Essentials: What to wear under deep neck, off-shoulder and backless tops,’ because it is so thoughtful and user-friendly.

If you like flaunting your shoulders and back then one of Sana’s post can certainly help you with some insightful tricks to help you rock the look. ‘Six Ways To Wear Jeans’ is another video that you should check out to turn your basic look into Instagram worthy feed. Sana is also into soul talk and you can also check out some of her videos which are food for the soul.

Dhriti Bhanushali

Dhriti Bhanushali’s tutorial ‘Easy Smokey Eye in 5 Steps’, which was posted three years ago, crossed 4 million viewers and her ‘How to Colour Your Hair’ connected with another 1.3 million. The Mumbai-based professional make-up artist is clearly active on Instagram and YouTube, and has over 9000 followers in the former and 122k followers in the latter platform. Her page is called That Look You Love, and the beauty content creator posts interesting videos on make-up tutorials apart from product promotions.

Some videos that are popular on her YouTube channel and that caught our attention are ‘Lacto Calamine vs Aloe Vera gel as a primer’, ‘DIY liquid highlighter’ and many others. Unlike other influencers on the Internet, you can find some honest review of products on her pages and that makes her content more reliable and worth watching. Dhriti is also a vlogger and her posts can transport you to picturesque locales of Dubai, Goa and Canada while waiting for the face pack to dry. 

Jitu Barman

Jitu Barman is a well-known make-up artiste in the glamour industry having worked with designer Sabyasachi for his last bridal collection. That is a big enough reason to be among his 572k followers on YouTube. Moreover, his videos on YouTube have millions of views and are really interesting. The one that caught our attention was a collaboration with multiple models and influencers who play around make-up brushes with groovy background music, underscoring the importance of cleaning the brush.

Specialising in bridal make-up, you can find Assamese, Christian, Bengali and even South Indian style make-up videos flooding his timeline. What is equally noteworthy is that the Guwahati-based artiste acknowledges that make-up is not the domain of women alone and hence, there are contents for men too! From sharing behind the shoot videos with male models to makeover videos, men can learn some serious hands-on tips and tricks from him.

Smeetha Deepak

 What makes Smeetha Deepak’s profile stand out from the thousands flooding YouTube is the fact that she creates flawless celebrity-inspired looks. From Bollywood diva Vidya Balan’s soft curls to Madhuri Dixit inspired make-up tutorials and Devsena aka Anushka Shetty’s simple yet striking look in Baahubali, she has recreated them all. That’s not all, her expertise also includes creating Kim Kardashian’s wet hair look to achieve that sensuous evening party look.

With a million followers on YouTube, she also masters bridal make-up and if you have reason to deck up anytime soon, you should check out the videos which give out step-by-step process on acing a particular look. Beyond that, her remedies catering to different skin problems can be quite handy. Check out the latest one that helps you remove your facial hair in minutes with a homemade mask. 

Malvika Sitlani

What we love about vlogger Malvika Satlani’s quarantine diaries is she doesn’t just stress on makeup but the beauty guru is also sharing some really healthy skin care and diet hacks with her followers which will help you to get better skin. Interestingly, Malvika has always been a fan of the au naturel look so she has hosted a lot of YouTube videos dedicated to perfecting the effortless ‘no makeup’ look. On the first day of the lockdown she released a video where she revealed her easy go-to makeup routine for everyday wear; she also revealed that all products used in the video are under Rs 500 so more people can actually make use of her tutorial.

Malvika also got very real about the unavailability of beauty services and specialists during the lockdown which has made things harder for every skin care conscious millennial. Which is whys she posted a tutorial on how to perfect DIY facial shaving.

“You don’t have to feel pressure to shave your face and body because standards of body have changed and we’ve come so far. I have been doing this for years since I was a pageant and then a model, so I’m comfortable with this. But I do not recommend waxing or threading your face because it pulls on your skin and stretches it. Hot wax also makes your skin saggy and it’s so painful. Shaving is the best,” the vlogger said in her recent vlog. Malvika also shared a recipe for a five-ingredient protein pancake (eggs, oats, protein powder, banana and Nutella) which is a great quarantine breakfast especially if you’re trying to eat well but not something too carb-loaded.

Radhi Devlukia-Shetty

Lifestyle vlogger Radhi Devlukia-Shetty has a really wholesome approach to quarantine self-love; she is a believer in plant-based eating and insists on going for a healthy and non-toxic diet. In fact she just released a conscious cooking website where she’s sharing several gluten-free and grain-free vegan recipes which can be so useful when you’re shut at home (we especially love the masala scrambled tofu because it uses basic pantry ingredients).

She also hosted a 7-day giveaway where she gave away all-natural cruelty-free makeup and skincare products to her followers. One of her most popular videos is the one where she reveals how she takes care of her stunning curly hair. She revealed a list of products she usually uses on her hair and also gave out tips for drying your hair right because blow-drying is the most crucial trick to a voluminous curly chop.

“A diffuser makes a big difference for curly hair frizz and volume… the diffuser is the most important part and drying it on a cold to medium heat. Sometimes I add curls near the top with a curler because my hair is heavy and by the third day the curls fall out a bit :) OH AND scalp massage with oil regularly or even dry really helps stimulate the hair follicles,” says Radhi. 

Ankita Chaturvedi

Ankita Chaturvedi’s page Corallista has always been our go-to tutorial destination when it comes to spring/summer skincare and beauty inspiration. And while we’re aren’t out and about this summer, Ankita insists upon using this time to perfect our five-minute tonal base makeup. “ (On) the days I wear makeup, I’ve been doing this quick 5-minute warm tonal look It lifts my mood so much, it’s crazy how something so superficial like makeup can bring so much positivity!” says Ankita, who advises on sticking to soft pinks, corals and peaches when it comes to summer makeup tones.

Ankita also released a much-needed red lip tutorial video so you can really figure out which red works for you while you have the time. “What I do is if I’m overlining, I do it at the centre and maybe just the edges so it makes my lips look fuller and not stretched. And then I fill in my lips. If you have pigmentation using lipstick alone may not give you the striking opaque colour. Using a lip liner to create a base makes a big difference,” Ankita says in her tutorial. You can also check out her page for her budget-friendly smoky eye tutorial and her incredible gluten-free diet.