Make-up and snack

(From left) Looks created by Premchand based on Maggi and Pass Pass

The lockdown has been a time to unleash creativity in the most unique ways for many. For Dubai-based NRI content creator Divya Premchand, this meant channelling her love for cult Indian snacks and turning them into eye-catching quirky looks.

If you head to her Instagram page, you'd be amazed by the 20-year-old's timelapse videos of recreating make-up looks inspired by iconic Indian snacks from Haldiram Bhujia, Maggi, Pass Pass, Poppins, Lays Magic Masala to even Kurkure. The series that went live in July has resonated with Indian followers and expats settled in different corners of the globe.

"The response has been overwhelming. It's lovely when people get in touch with me and share nostalgia," she laughs. When asked about how her love for make-up began, she recalls how as a little girl, she would drape her mum's dupatta, douse her face with colourful make-up and lipstick. During a summer vacation visit to her grandparents in Hong Kong, she even took up a three-week course to acquaint herself with the art of masterstrokes, concealing, contouring and doing different
make-up looks.

The Instagram page, which was started in 2017, took off only recently. A big reason for followers flocking to it was the series she experimented with. Premchand began by recreating the looks of iconic Bollywood actresses like Helen in Caravan, Parveen Babi in Suhaag, Madhuri Dixit's Chandramukhi avatar and Deepika Padukone as Shantipriya in Om Shanti Om. She had also nailed several Disney princess looks, with the cerulean doe-eyed princess Jasmine one going viral close to the release of Aladdin.

When asked about the inspiration behind the Indian snack series, she shares, "Honestly, I am not the first make-up blogger to turn to food for inspiration. Several Indian and global bloggers have done it. While their looks were about generic food and Western snacks, I wanted to focus on snacks that hit home. When you are living away from India, it's difficult to find them on the shelves, barring a few Indian stores. So, I wanted to pay a tribute to these cult snacks," the Instagrammer adds.

Her father Prem was her go-to person to brainstorm on the snacks to choose for the looks. His heartwarming anecdotes of relishing these snacks while growing up made the series even more special, she tells us. "Replicating the theme on the packaging alongside shooting, takes two to three hours," she shares, adding that the trickiest look to pull off was Maggi, given its endless swirls. What's next in store? With three more cult Indian snacks that she is tight-lipped about unveiling, she wishes to bring many more exciting looks to her followers. Guess, we'll have to wait.

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