When Ankush Bahuguna gave us wings

The second season of Bahuguna’s show launched last week, and featured Prajakta Koli as the first guest. Pic/Pradeep Dhivar

Good makeup begins with good skin," says Ankush Bahuguna, as he applies a peach blush on this writer. The digital creator, who has 1.1 million followers on Instagram, started off making funny reels that either featured his mother Manju or other creators such as Shivani Bedi. It was in the pandemic, he says, when he realised that everything had to be done by himself, that he took to makeup. "I started by practising on mom - who didn't even have much makeup. And then it just grew from there," says
the influencer.

The reels, in which he turns his mom and friends into goddesses with just a flick of the brush, led him to create his own YouTube show, Wing It With Ankush, the second season of which launched last week. "I used to be a makeup noob, now I know a little more," says the Andheri resident. "I do watch other beauty videos, but I feel that they are not for the real person - they are not easy or doable. You are not just seeing the end result; I am showing you how to do it. I am also using very little makeup - because the more makeup you use, utna cake-up hoga. That's how I have learnt most of it… by trial and error… by winging it!" It's makeup, or just the art of putting it on, that he says sometimes helps people become themselves. "When you are in the chair, your insecurities rise to the surface… but so does your confidence. You can know a lot about people by observing how they do their makeup."

His aim is not to make you look flawless; that's a myth, he feels. "I am not highlighting your under eye, I take attention away from it. With just minor tweaks, you can flaunt your best assets." The showstopper on his show this time is a follower. "I was nowhere without them, and I have made it because of them. It's a big
deal for me."

1 First, colour correction

"Sometimes, after putting on concealer, the undereye area can look a bit grey. So, I have used a peach coloured corrector with an eye shadow brush. I am blending it for a more skin-like effect. Put a little bit over the eyes as well, and buff it out - go around in circles with the brush so that it doesn't clump up. It's hacks like these that can make a whole lot of difference and are easy enough to do every day."

2 Clever concealer

"This is an added step to the colour corrector: If you apply concealer after the colour corrector, the undereye will look more natural. Your eyes won't look tired, or have a greyish tint."

3 Contour O-Clock

"We are now going to do some underpainting with grey contour powder, which may look scary. All this has to be put before the foundation. You can do it on both sides of your face - near the jawline - to get rid of a double chin. It will cast a shadow on your face. People usually use an orange powder, but that shows too much. Do the same for your nose, and slightly on the cheek bone. It gives your face contours - has the same effect as framing the face with hair."

4 Blush, blush

"To continue the underpainting, we will also take a lot of blush and put it before the foundation. The best way to find what shade suits you is to go to a store, so that they can help you. After that, you can switch to [buying it] online. The blush is always put on just the high points - cheeks, forehead and chin, so that it all ties up together."

5 Concealer > foundation

"Just dot the concealer in very small amounts everywhere, but the spots holding the blush and contour powder. When you underpaint, you don't need to cover your whole face. It then all blends into each other, and looks as if your skin is glowing from within. Once that is done, just set any area that can crease, and make it less shiny, dust powder over the whole face."

6 Bright-eyed

"Most brown people have eyelid pigmentations, and the best way to combat that is with an orange blush. Orange naturalises darkness, and brightens up your eye… they will look healthier. If you have glitter eye shadow, apply it on your eyelid to open up your eyes."

7 Wings, baby, wings

"Take your lower eyelid as reference and then move outwards. Next, fill it up. Don't do the full liner. Just a little batwing. I still struggle with wings, but I'd say don't shy away from trying, and also from failing. So, best of luck!"