Last Updated:
Homegrown beauty brands in India are redefining skincare, makeup, and fragrance with formulations tailored to Indian tones, climate, and lifestyles. Experts explain the shift.
India’s Beauty Revolution: Homegrown brands built for Indian skin, climate and culture
For decades, India’s beauty landscape was shaped by western aspirations, imported shades, foreign formulations, and trends created for climates and complexions far removed from the subcontinent. Indian skin tones were often an afterthought, and the diversity of the country’s weather and lifestyles was rarely accounted for. But the era of borrowed beauty is fading. A new wave of homegrown brands is redefining what Indian beauty looks like scientifically, culturally, and sensorially.
The Rise of Indian-Centric Formulations
“Indian beauty isn’t one-note; it’s a symphony of tones, textures, and climates,” says Harlin Sachdeva, Founder and CEO, House Of Makeup. She explains that India’s depth of complexions and undertones across humid coasts, arid plains, and cold hills requires formulations rooted in local understanding.
For years, global brands struggled to translate their offerings to the Indian market. Foundations skewed pink, lipsticks oxidised in the heat or washed out deeper skin tones, and skincare often assumed dryness rather than India’s predominantly oily, acne-prone concerns. “The issue isn’t intent, it is insight,” adds Sachdeva. “Beauty in India plays by its own rules.”
This insight is now driving Indian innovators to create non-toxic, non-comedogenic products tailored to Indian skin, not as a trend, but out of necessity. The modern consumer demands efficacy with ethics, and performance without compromise. Brands that embody this integrity are leading India’s beauty renaissance.
A Market Returning to Its Roots
The shift toward homegrown beauty isn’t just emotional, it’s structural. “India’s beauty industry has seen a quiet recalibration, one that feels less like a trend and more like a moment of realignment,” say Jasmin Shah and Bhakti Bhanushali, co-founders, Karibo Cosmetics.
For decades, Indian consumers looked outward, chasing Parisian aesthetics or Korean skincare, even when these trends were built for entirely different climates and lifestyles. But as awareness grows, so does clarity. “What thrives in Seoul’s spring or under European skies rarely survives an Indian summer,” Shah and Bhanushali point out.
Today, retail spaces that once prioritised international labels are embracing local founders. This shift isn’t symbolic, it reflects what the new Indian consumer wants: authenticity, relatability, and products crafted with cultural and climatic intelligence.
Innovation That Speaks the Indian Language
With demand rising, Indian brands are pushing boundaries through R&D-driven innovation. “This deeper approach has led to formulations designed around Indian tones, textures, and climate,” the Karibo founders explain. They highlight a new wave of skin-safe creativity, kid-friendly liners, multi-functional lip formulas, and hybrid skincare-makeup designed specifically for Indian routines.
The industry, valued at over $28 billion, is poised for exponential growth powered by brands that understand the nuances of Indian consumers from their daily habits to their environmental exposures. “Indian beauty finally has the mic,” the founders say, “and this time, it’s not here to whisper.”
Fragrance, Identity, and the Emotional Landscape of India
Beauty isn’t just skin deep and fragrance is perhaps one of the most intimate expressions of identity. For years, India’s scent market leaned on global formulas that failed to resonate emotionally or climatically.
“India’s relationship with scent and skin is layered and deeply emotional, something global brands could never quite replicate,” says Sheetal Desai, Perfumery Expert and founder, WiSDom Fragrances. She recalls how aspiration shaped early choices: to smell, look, or feel like somewhere else.
But monsoons, dry heat, cultural rituals, and regional preferences make India unique. Imported fragrances often didn’t last, didn’t suit the humidity, or lacked cultural resonance. The current shift toward homegrown perfumery, Desai notes, marks a powerful realignment. Indian founders are rethinking everything from olfactory structure to ingredient philosophy to create fragrances that perform, comfort, and endure in the Indian context.
The New Indian Beauty Blueprint
Across categories from colour cosmetics to skincare to fragrance, India’s beauty entrepreneurs are no longer following global scripts. Instead, they are writing their own, grounded in science, cultural nuance, and climate-specific needs.
The clean beauty movement, once dismissed as a buzzword, has matured into a foundation of safety, longevity, and sensory harmony. As Desai puts it, the goal today “is not to mimic international luxury, but to define what modern Indian beauty and perfumery should feel like on its own terms.”
A Future Defined by Indian Voices
What we’re witnessing is more than a shift in branding, it’s a shift in identity. Indian beauty is stepping into its power with confidence, backed by founders who understand that relevance is the ultimate luxury.
With homegrown brands combining local wisdom, global standards, and scientific innovation, the future of Indian beauty is clear: It is modern, it is inclusive, and most importantly, it’s unapologetically Indian.
Swati Chaturvedi is a seasoned media professional with over 13 years of experience in journalism, digital content strategy, and editorial leadership across top national media houses. An alumna of Lady Shri Ram …Read More
Swati Chaturvedi is a seasoned media professional with over 13 years of experience in journalism, digital content strategy, and editorial leadership across top national media houses. An alumna of Lady Shri Ram … Read More
November 13, 2025, 22:21 IST
