The Face Painter with Vanity Bag

      The Face Painter with Vanity Bag


Someone truly said, “Make-up is not a tool meant to make an ugly thing beautiful. It is meant only to magnify the beauty that already exists”. After the read you all will feel that make–up is an extension of our beauty which not only make us more beautiful but right make-up boosts one’s self confidence too.



One Friday morning, I was pretty excited about the thought of attending the party in the evening to follow. As always, I wanted to dress well and of course wanted to look stunning best with the make-up. Poor me, I thought that I would not be able to make it all possible as I had to attend my workplace too. Straight from the office to the venue would make me look dull in the party, I forecasted. I was glum and uninterestingly was getting ready for office. After some time, my mind tickled and I ended up dialing someone who is a connoisseur in creating magic with make- up and can even transform a bland look to a gorgeous “You”. This is the list of simple instructions she had to offer:



I hung up the phone and did as instructed and voila, was all set to rock the party. You might be thinking, who was the one who boosted my appearance for the party? She is none other than girl next door, Dipthi Aashok. Dipthi had love for fashion since her childhood. In her early days, Dipthi was known as a student of literature, psychology and journalism. However, destiny had kept something fabulous for her. It was fashion in the arena of make-up or styling on her cards. She learnt the importance of make-up when she traveled Europe and found that Bangalore is still primitive in these aspects. In the midst of the year 2000-2004, she started her career as a fashion designer doing an internship under the guidance of fashion designers, Mr. Vidyasagar and Manoviraj Khosla. This helped her to explore and she got exposed to the world of fashion.




Subsequently, in 2005, she tied the nuptial knot and soon after the event she took the opportunity to travel extensively throughout Asia and Europe. The fashion industry in those countries especially make-up segment greatly inspired her and hence she decided to take up make-up as her career. After her come back to India, she worked at the first MAC flagship store in Bangalore. Dipthi was fortunate in being guided by Mickey Contracter (famous bollywood make-up artist) and Vimi Joshi (MAC’s senior make-up artist). She kicked off with free lancing after a year. In May 2015, she launched her own make up and photography studio (DA studio) in Sadashivnagar, Bangalore. She conducts DIY make up workshops, one-on-one sessions and also does consultation for skin and hair related problems.




Like other entrepreneurs, the road was no polished for her. During the initial set-up of the studio, the funding was a major challenge. Getting loans from the bank gave her a hard time. She also countered challenges in marketing her business and creating visibility among the public.

Dipthi was a part of India Men's Fashion week and had been an integral part of many fashion shows. She contributed helping in grooming the staff of some major brands. Dipthi is also open for makeup for marriages, parties or any other occasion.


She worked with famous personalities such as Suman Ranganathan, Ashok Kheny, Siddharamiah (CM), actors like Diganth and Ramya.

To lower the queer interest on convincing different clients for a particular style that doesn’t suit them, Dipthi informed me that she takes the tough job of explaining them their face structure, skin tone and texture and then go ahead with the customization.



She also added that a client’s undertone should be understood before applying make-up techniques. Understanding undertones help in deciding the right shades. Some people having yellow, gold or peach tinge on their skin have warm undertones and pink, red or blue tinge can be seen in cool undertones.

Now a days working women are too busy to stand in front of the mirror. Dipthi suggests them to go for Cleansing, toning and moisturising. While outdoors, she advises to apply sunscreen and asked to go for exfoliation once a week which will be helpful for our skin to breathe. For business women application of bronzer should be minimal and garish and masked look along with heavy eyes should be avoided. She communicated, “Never let the make-up over power you”.



Dipthi concluded by mentioning her future goals. She would like to create her own line of products and would like to create awareness on make-up among women. She wants to get into bollywood industry and also would like to have a full-fledged professional make-up institute in Bangalore. 

Dipthi’s message for the young make-up artists,
“Carving out a successful business as a makeup artist is not an overnight event.Time and focus are required to develop the right set of skills, clients and contacts to reach a pinnacle. One should learn the basics to start the career. Having artistic sensibilities and being able to develop a signature style does help for a makeup artist. We are like painters and the face is our canvas. Most of the skill comes with practice and experimenting.”