Egyptians have been credited with the invention of winged liner, coloured faces and painted lips. Had they not invented makeup the world would have been deprived about its concept for a very long time. The famous Egyptian queen Cleopatra used lipstick that got its hue from ground carmine beetles, while other women used clay mixed with water to color their lips. Most notable, though, was the ancient Egyptians’ use of kohl. Both men and women would paint the kohl, a mixture of metal, lead, copper, ash and burnt almonds, all around their eyes.

Bobbi Brown is a professional makeup artist from the US and the founder of her namesake makeup brand, however, the brand was acquired by Estée Lauder Companies in 1995. When she started working as a professional makeup artist in New York City in the 80s she was not satisfied with the lipsticks on the market. She did not get the creaminess, long staying, odourless and natural lip coloured products. Hence, with the help of a chemist she came up with a collection of 10 natural colours.

Pat McGrath, a British makeup artist was honoured as the most influential makeup artist by Vogue and was also conferred as Time’s 100 most influential people. She has created beauty looks for the prestigious fashion weeks – Milan, Paris, London and New York and the world’s most influential brands. Pat’s signature is found on some of the trending looks like the dewy skin, no-retouching-necessary foundation specially for selfies.

Lisa Eldridge is a makeup artist and the Creative Director of Lancôme. Well-known for her naturalistic approach to beauty, she received her first break with Elle Magazine wherein she got to work with model and actress Cindy Crawford. She worked with Shiseido (a Japanese skincare company) in 1998 to develop a makeup line that was targeted for the Asian fashion industry. Lisa writes a regular blog with a focus on application technique for women regardless age, colour or ethnicity.

Mickey Contractor started out as a hairdresser after dropping out of a conventional degree. On the behest of actor Helen he went onto learn makeup and since then there’s been no looking back. Mickey’s clientele boasts a bevy of well-known Bollywood actresses and one of the richest women in Asia – Anita Ambani. His signature is dewy skin and highlighting the best features of a face rather than hide it under layers of makeup. Apart from his impressive clientele he is the Director of for Makeup Artistry MAC India, has also launched few makeup lines of his own.

Ambika Pillai, celebrity makeup artist and hairstylist is a renowned brand by herself. She has worked on numerous bridal makeup and fashion looks. Well-known across fashion, movie and bridal circuits, she has not restricted her work only for just a few. Her brand ideology is based on the need of the masses. A self-taught makeup artist, her clientele is not just from India. She has also lended her expertise to international fashion weeks in New York, London, Paris, Singapore, Dubai, Mauritius, Switzerland etc. Ambika has also indulged in bringing out her own products. She has worked on colours and textures to suit every Indian skin tone.

Elton Fernandez is a makeup maven and has worked with a host of celebrities and is also known among the fashion brigade and bridal sector. Maybelline New York‘s brand ambassador in India, he has established his name in the fashion and glam industry. He has reinvented the concept of beauty and respects dark skin tones, inorder to abolish dark skin colour biases. He won the Vogue Beauty Awards for the category ‘Best in the Beauty Industry Award’ in 2016. He truly believes that makeup is only an extension of one’s personality and not the other way around’.

Ojas Rajani is a famous celebrity makeup artist who is known to create exquisite looks on all clients. After honing make-up skills from the prestigious Miami School of Design, he made a mark in Bollywood and bridal makeup. Ojas has worked in the industry for more than 11 years and specializes in dramatic bridal eye makeup and hairstyle. He enjoys a starry clientele and has also woven his magic on International celebrities.

Iman, the Founder of Iman Cosmetics founded the brand for women of colour in 1994. The brand was designed specifically for African American, Asian, Latina and multi-cultural women with skin tones in a myriad of shades. The brand offers skincare and cosmetics, including 16 foundation shades. The brand was borne when during one of her shoots she experienced the lack of products for women with dark skin tones.

Deepica Mutyala is a US based beauty entrepreneur of Indian origin and Founder of Live Tinted, an inclusive community for under-represented community. A vlogger who broke out onto the screen with a tutorial  on red lipstick undereye circles hack in 2015. With a need to find a solution for the in-between skin tones she went onto create a multi-purpose colour corrector that can be used as a eye, cheek and lip colour. Instead of launching her products first, she initially built a community of women of women that emphasized on inclusive diverse beauty. The brand’s latest product is the Unity Balm Gloss, a combination of balm and gloss in one product. Deepica’s company is backed by cosmetic giant Bobbi Brown and Birchbox cofounder Hayley Barna.

Rihanna, well who isn’t aware of her! She has made a success of everything she has put her hands in, from singing, acting, fashion to now beauty business. Rihanna’s beauty brand Fenty Beauty provides a wide range of hard to match skin tones, creating formulas that work for all skin types. The brand offers multiple shades of foundation and undertones, lipsticks, highlighters, countour and eyemakeup ranges. Fenty beauty products are designed to be lightweight, even as they deliver the requisite coverage that effortlessly layers, to make skin feel natural.