Kaushal, who has been vlogging for over a decade now, grew up in the UK with family and cousins. She credits her upbringing that minimised her challenges as a brown girl. “Even at school, my teachers were very supportive whenever I wanted to enjoy or represent my culture,” she adds and it also became a reason she started creating content on and around desi makeup looks and tips.
“It all started as self-therapy; being around makeup and doing these things felt very therapeutic,” says Kaushal, one of the OG beauty vloggers and co-author of The Greatest Self Help Book. However, what started as therapy to keep her sane amidst her stressful job soon became a reason that mentally broke her. “Every hate comment began to impact me, and I came to believe that the Internet had reached my breaking point,” she says. What followed was her long but fruitful journey towards finding solace in therapy, practising self-love and coming out stronger and better.
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ELLE: How did you start your journey?
Kaushal: I love to create videos and make content; it just helps me keep myself sane and gives me so much joy. Earlier, I used to work in a very pressured environment that gave me a lot of anxiety; at the time, I wasn’t even aware of what this feeling was. It started in such an authentic way that not many people were doing this as a full-time job. So I tried giving it my heart and doing it to fill the gap I discovered because there weren’t many sources to look for Indian makeup inspiration or things like that back then.
ELLE: The short videos effect on your work
K: I started my journey on Youtube, which holds my main audience, and followed other platforms. I am personally not a fan of small videos or these bytes because makeup is like that, so you would need details on how it looks and more descriptive viewing. Even back in the days when videos were not a thing on Instagram and it was only about pictures, I used to post a picture and ask them to check it out on YouTube, so I tried to use all the platforms in some way or another. My videos, you know, are more on the educational side, where I try to explain a lot of stuff in detail. But even after this reel craze everywhere, I feel Youtube will always be the dark horse for longer video content.
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ELLE: Tell us about your book
K: I share almost everything about my daily life on social media, earlier I wasn’t much aware of the unsaid boundaries I need to keep with it. Every comment or hate speech began to wear on me, and I came to believe that the Internet had reached my breaking point. Not just my family, but my viewers started noticing that I wasn’t that happy in my videos. So I started going to therapy, and I feel privileged that I got this chance to heal myself. The first five sessions just ended with me breaking down, but this journey has already started healing me. My husband has always been so supportive of me, telling me things that encouraged me to start my therapy.
I have been focusing more on self-care content try to add little things here and there. I even started journaling, and I can’t explain the wonders it did for me. I started collecting these tiny notebooks or diaries to jot down whatever I was feeling at the time or to simply write down the things I was grateful for. I would say my husband was the reason behind it because he started journaling in his teenage days. With all of this, Vex also asked me to join our ventures, because giving people what they are struggling with is what we seek.
During our research, we found that people are missing three things: healthy routine, meditation, and journaling, so why not combine them? We have a lot of free meditation music and podcasts on Spotify and other music streaming services. The book is like a journal and a companion you can carry anywhere and that will help you build a healthy relationship with yourself.
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ELLE: What challenges did you face in the UK?
K: I grew up in a joint family with my cousins and everyone. My parents were kind enough to give me a mindful upbringing that didn’t make me feel like an outcast in school or anywhere. Even at school, my teachers were very supportive whenever I wanted to enjoy or represent my culture. Somehow, all this is a big reason for what I do. When it comes to hate comments, I used to brush them under the rug, but one day I saw all these emotions pile up. I started blocking and removing people from my Instagram who weren’t kind with their words. I tried to let these things affect me, but, as you know, change doesn’t happen overnight, so it is still a work in progress. Once while watching “Keeping Up with the Kardashians,” I saw how Kim was sad about the hate but also realised that the person who commented got ahead in his day after commenting. Why should I let their world ruin my day?
ELLE: Is there anything u love doing that we don’t know about you?
K: If people think I sit in my house with my face full of makeup, it’s natural for them to think that, but I really like being make-up-free at home in my pyjamas. Cause when I started this journey at one point I wasn’t enjoying my makeup or doing it so I have tried to get into a healthy relationship with it. Like you can love something so much and still take a break from it.
Favourite New Makeup Trend:
I love the clean girl, no makeup aesthetic.
A trend that you hate: Like the trends that keep reappearing under different names, such as over-highlighting and others.
The biggest trend of 2023: Sustainability and Hybrid Products
New Year resolution: Finding more happiness and sharing it and doing more self-care.
How do you unwind: Meditation, going on a walk, jigsaw puzzle
Budget Shopping Or Splurge- Budget for makeup and splurge for skincare cause when your base is healthy your makeup products won’t matter much.
OTT character’s makeup you liked: Emily, I feel her makeup is chic and classic, kind of always on trend; even after a few years, you can recreate it and it will look fresh.
Inspo/ Muse– My feelings,” “how am I feeling that day?” highly reflect on my makeup.
Beauty hack: Always put concealer on first it just blends your foundation easily and looks more natural. And prep your skin well: cleanse, exfoliate, and moisturize.
Also, read Influencer Camila Coelho On Her Clean Beauty Brand, Coping With Epilepsy & More
