Indian women, western approach

Jenny Frankel, president and founder of Canada-based cosmetic brand NudeStix, which has forayed into India under global retail partner Sephora, feels the reason why many international brands are coming to India is because of the sheer size of the economy and the modernisation of women in the country, which makes the market interactive for different brands.

“The modern-day women here in India are in absolute love with beauty. She is empowered, she is a career woman, she has money to spend on herself to feel good every single day. So, I really do feel it is just the way how the modern-day woman is evolving here in India, and it makes the market very interactive for brands that have products which we feel Indian women would love,” she said.

Talking about the resurgence of nude and organic trends in the country's cosmetic industry, Jenny said: “I think as I spend time here in India and I look at women here, I see they are rushing to work, or picking up kids from school or driving, or at the back of a taxi, or in the bus or walking in the mall.”

“When you look at any Indian woman, she actually has a very western approach to beauty. The western approach to beauty is actually ‘less is more beauty' as opposed to the other regions such as the Middle East where a little more is the approach. So I actually find that Indian women are following the behaviour you see in New York and North America, which is really about natural looking tones, less is more and I think even that from a wellness perspective is going in that direction."

Women, she said want to eat healthier, use less preservatives in food and in make-up, have less fragrance and less synthetic chemicals that might be harmful.