The Sizziling Katrina Kaif : TMM Cover pride

Words: Deepali Singh

Some of the oft-used words used to describe Katrina Kaif over the years – apart from ‘gorgeous’, of course, – are ‘professional’, ‘hardworking’ and ‘passionate’. You can see all of that in her journey to becoming one of the top actors in Bollywood today. And you can see all of that, in the way she has nurtured and founded Kay Beauty, her own make-up and beauty label, in partnership with Nykaa. This isn’t just a business, but a ‘passion project’, says Kat as she lets us in on the brand’s USP and expansion plans…

The campaign for Kay Beauty states ‘It’s Kay to be you’. How much does it resonate with you as a person?
Well, it’s come from me. It’s everything to do with Kay Beauty. Whether it’s the product, the formulation, the packaging, the photoshoot, the ad-shoot, the ethos, the messaging – all of that is an extension of what we are creating with the brand. Nykaa, my partner and I have created it from scratch. This is what I want to say about beauty. It’s a celebration of the diversity of Indian beauty. It’s what I feel about make-up, that it’s got to be high-performance, long-lasting, highly pigmented and at the same time, it’s got to care and nourish for your skin. When you feel the product on your skin, you have to feel good about it. The communication of ‘It’s Kay to be you’ came from a conversation between Zoya Akhtar and me. She helped me write the entire campaign, based on the conversation she had with me about what I wanted to do with the brand. She just stepped in and helped me voice the campaign and give it direction.

Katrina Kaif | Beauty products and you seems like an organic fit. How organic a process was this for you?
I’m not a business person. I’m not driven by money. I’m driven by what I want to create. My passion has always been make-up. From the beginning of my career as a model to working in films, I have done a lot of my own make up. Songs like Chikni Chameli or Shiela Ki Jawaani or movies like Jab Tak Hai Jaan, New York or Zindagi Na Milegi Dobaara – I have done my own make-up. I think it gives you experience over the years. You know about make-up, about products and what works for you. It just led me to wanting to create my own line and having a say in what I feel about beauty and having a voice in the arena.

How hands-on are you with your brand?

Katrina Kaif | This is a company we are building together and Nykaa is the most incredible partner. I’m hands on with everything. There’s not a post that goes up, not a story that goes up, not an image you see, not a product formulation, that I don’t know of – so it’s a lot of work. The brand is in its formulative months and years. You want to take care of your baby and you want it to be best it can be. For me it’s a passion project, it’s not a business.

Being an actor is a full-time job. How do you manage to find time for this?
It’s really tough but you just have to take it on.

What’s the main criteria for you here? And what are your expansion plans?
We have an entire range which will be rolled out over the next eight to nine months. We wanted to do it slowly, so people get time to familiarise themselves with the product. It’s make-up on the go and it needs to be multi-purpose. It needs to be make-up that cares. I would love to take it to other markets. It’s something we have been discussing and we have plans in place for that. I want to create a community of women and for women and girls who are make-up enthusiasts like me – who are celebrating being themselves, not having to conform to any particular type of look, not wanting  to conform to any particular type of look but just having fun and using make-up to enhance their mood and enhance who they are.

What are some of your personal favourite products from the brand?
My go-to everyday products are the eyeshadow crayon in a shade called Revel and the lip crayon in a shade called Billboard. Those are two products which work really well for me and I can use them every day.

From your modelling days till now, how have you evolved when you see your own make-up in older images?
I never look at a picture and feel the make-up is good or bad. Also, because I have done a lot of it on my own! (laughs). I may make a mistake of underdoing my make-up but I rarely tend to make a mistake of overdoing it. Besides, I have worked with the best make-up artists who really know their job. Make up is not going to make you. It’s there to enhance.

From an actor to an entrepreneur. Has this journey taught you a lot?
It’s been a couple of years because there’s been two years behind building the brand and creating the products. I’ve learnt an incredible amount. The first thing I learnt is that it’s a team effort. There’s no question that I wouldn’t have been able to do it without my partners at Nykaa. You have to have patience as well. You have to work continuously, not expecting to see the result the next day. You have to understand that it can take a little bit of time.

You have spoken earlier about turning producer. Are there other entrepreneurship plans in your head as well?
Katrina Kaif | There are so many things I want to execute, so many things I call my passion projects. What I try and do is work a little bit towards it every day but allow it to happen when it’s meant to happen. I feel that when you are pushing something and it’s not happening, then it’s meant to happen later. There are at least three or four things that I would like to put out there, but sometimes you just have to keep yourself ready and let things fall in place.

RAPID FIRE:
A feature you like to highlight: My eyes
A film in which you personally think you looked really nice: Looking nice on film has more to do with the person shooting you than make up. There are so many great DOPs I have worked with.
Who, according to you, is the most beautiful woman: I don’t think there is a most beautiful woman. Every woman is beautiful. We need to accept and love ourselves. That’s not easy always, but we have to try.
Any homemade beauty tips you turn to: I like looking up on the internet about homemade mask remedies.
A song you like shaking a leg to: I’m big on Spotify.

The post Celebrating every woman: Katrina Kaif appeared first on TMM.