Recreate Vintage Bollywood Glam

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Photo Credit: Saleha Abbasi

Watching old Bollywood movies, we often find myself more mesmerized by the lead actress’s hair and make up than the storyline. MAU Saleha Abbasi, founder of Goddess Makeup, shared her inside tips on how to recreate the timeless look of 1960′s actresses such as Sadhana and Hema Malini.

Prep

1) Apply concealer and foundation followed by a powder to finish the base. I recommend Smashbox High Definition foundation.
2) Brush on Orgasm blush from Nars followed by their highlighter Albatross on the cheekbones.
3) Starting with the eyes, apply an eyeshadow base, such as Primer potion from Urban Decay. Apply a neutral color on the lids like Shag by Urban Decay then brush on a gold highlighter on the brow bone.

Eyes

4) To achieve the vintage Bollywood look, you need to apply very thick black eyeliner. I recommend Clinique’s cream liner. Start by applying a thin line on the inner corners and gradually thickening it as you reach towards the end and then extend curving up almost as high as your eyebrows. Rest your pinky on your cheekbone while lining to get a straight line.
5) For this look, you do not need to line your inner lids, instead apply black eyeliner on the bottom lid and also extend this line curving up. Use a smudge brush to smudge the line so it’s not so harsh.
6) You will also need long and thick false lashes to finish the eyes. Mac has nice ones. After gluing on the lashes, use a little mascara to blend the false lashes with the real ones.
7) Darken your eyebrows and add a nice arch by using Brow Tech by Smashbox.

Frame

8) Since the focus is on the eyes, the lips will be more of a nude. I recommend Honey Love by Mac. Lipgloss is optional.
9) Make sure to tease your hair a lot and make it big to get the vintage glam look!

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Saleha Abbasi is one of the few elite makeup artists in the Chicago land area. She is known for creating spectacular eye makeup for her clients filled with exotic colors and designs. Founder of Goddess Makeup, her signature eye makeup makes her brides and party goers look and feel heavenly.

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Posted on 15 February 2010
Tags: beauty + style, Saleha Abbasi

Tulja

Im totally going to try this, and post a picture in the comments. Why do I think it will look less awesome when I do it. I def would love it for my wedding though. Is there LESS expensive equivalents to this stuff?
Sara

I love these tips! Can we get tips of other looks as well?
http://southasianphilanthropy.org priyanka

Great tips! This is awesome! Bringing back the old days, I love it
Saleha Abbasi

Thank you everyone! I loved recreating this Bollywood look!
Tulja, did you try it? Hope the tips helped :)
Sarah

Gorgeous work, I’ve seen Saleha’s work on fb and I’ve noticed she does something else that most other artists don’t do: she contours the nose to make it look narrower and more shapely! Very smart idea, I wonder what product she uses for those.

As for the less expensive equivalents, there are somethings (such as lipstick) that are easily swapped with less expensive brands, but other things (like primer, eyeshadow) where you really must invest to get the best look. Especially with eye shadow, TRUST me when I say that the brand makes a huge difference and that you should use the best.

The easiest products in this look to substitute are as follows. For gel/cream eyeliner, the cheapest quality substitute you can use is Loreal HIP cream eyeliner, its very easy to use and the pignment load is spectacular. But even this will set you back about 11 bucks. As for the brow darkener, any brand of brow pencil will do, even the drugstore brand ones, just make sure you buy the brow pencil and not the eye pencil, cuz eye pencils are too harsh for eyebrows and will make you look like a witch, no joke. MAC does have nice eyelashes (#9 is perfect for brides!) but you honestly can use any brand eyelashes, just apply them carefully. Ditto goes for mascara, but I must say that DiorShow is a GREAT mascara, but not exactly a must have if you’re on a budget. For budget minded girls, go for Loreal Double Extend Mascara, which is about $9 but has a spectacular false eyelash effect.

As for eyeshadows, I agree 100% with Saleha’s use of Urban Decay eyeshadows. IMHO, these eyeshadows are brighter, better pigmented, and much more suited for desi skintones than MAC eyeshadows. I really do recommend you buy a palette of colors from Urban Decay (which would set you back $30 for 9 colors or about $50 for 16 colors) these are true must haves for a desi girl!

and lipstick? any nude will do, this is the easiest thing to substitute with cheap products. Light nude is best, Twig by Mac is also very popular.
https://www.wlwelifje.com Karie Chech

Hello. magnificent job. I did not expect this. This is a impressive story. Thanks!