In recent months, several makeup-oriented Instagram influencers in India have begun posting videos of themselves looking like famous celebrities. This art of transforming into someone else using only brushes and cosmetics is called "illusion makeup".
Until just recently, this complex body art was only practiced by highly experienced makeup professionals to modify the faces of actors beyond recognition. Lord Voldemort's look from the famous "Harry Potter" franchise is an example of how illusion makeup can totally change a person's face without having them go under the knife.
Now, however, young makeup artists in India have begun experimenting with these techniques to create visual illusions on their faces.
Priyanka Panwar is an illusion makeup artist from India, popular for using highlighting and contouring techniques to shape-shift her face to look like celebrities and screen characters.
"The illusion art is all about bringing your creation as close as possible to reality. It's the new cool thing for Indian makeup artists to try out", the 29-year-old makeup artist, who has gone from looking like timeless characters, such as Mona Lisa and Mr Bean to beauty biggies Jennifer Anniston and Kylie Jenner, told Sputnik.
"The trick is observation. To excel in illusion makeup, artists have to keenly observe their subjects. Their eyes, lashes, the depth of their facial structures, scars or marks, if any. Once the key features are studied well, artists have to intensify basic makeup techniques like blending, shading, contouring to redesign the original faces of their subjects into completely new shapes", the former corporate employee who left her office job to follow her passion for makeup added.
Another side to this makeup trend is "optical illusion", when artists illustrate puzzling and bewildering items on the faces and bodies of subjects.
Makeup artists in India have been turning their faces into a "trick traps" using makeup products like foundation, concealer, lipstick, and eyeliners. They can make necks look absent, invert faces, and add multiple eyes and lips all over their faces to create a 2D optical illusion.
Panwar shared that Mimi Choi, an international makeup artist, has influenced her and others in India because the country does not still have professional courses for such intricate techniques.
"When I wanted to learn illusion makeup, I looked around for classes but could not find any. International makeup artists are paving the way for Indian artists like myself to watch them and follow them. I hope in the near future, illusion artists from India take time out to teach younger enthusiasts the nuances of this for", the Ghaziabad-based face-illusionist added.
She believes that illusion makeup trends can reshape the art form by breaking gender stereotypes. As per Panwar, makeup is for everybody who wants to try their hands at it and is not just limited to women.
The art of learning makeup has picked up steam in India and around the world, beauty expert and makeup artist Khyati Chauhan told Sputnik. "Beauty enthusiasts" from around the world have been learning to use fake eyelashes, for instance, just the right way so their original ones look thick and lustrous.
"In these days of working from home, people want some excitement. Learning makeup is a therapeutic process that has helped many people keep themselves occupied during these tough times", the 29-year-old Chauhan noted.
The Delhi-based makeup artist revealed that there has been an increasing demand for makeup-based grooming classes online, where people have wanted to learn how to look presentable on camera for their zoom meetings and events.
Those brides getting married in smaller, shorter ceremonies amid COVID fears in India are also going for lighter shades of makeup because "big fat Indian weddings" is a concept on hold for now.
They are using this time to experiment with colours other than the traditional red, like pink and lavender, Chauhan said.