Even 'good girls' wear makeup in India. Thanks to Simone Tata

Even ‘good girls’ wear makeup in India. Thanks to Simone Tata

Posted on 7 December, 2025 by yazdi One comment

Whether you’re a Gen-Z shopper whose fashion staples are incomplete without Westside and Zudio, or a Gen-X or Millennial who grew up watching India’s changing relationship with makeup, Simone Tata has touched your life in more ways than you may realise.

Simone Tata died on Friday (December 5). She was 95. (Photo: India Today Archives)

Dig into any Indian woman’s handbag today, whether she’s a teenager or an elderly lady, and you’ll almost always find a bevy of beauty products. A few lipsticks? Of course. A tint that doubles as a blush and eye shadow? Absolutely; multi-functional beauty products are very much in vogue. A kohl pencil (or eyeliner) and mascara for a quick, bold eye makeover on the go? Not surprising at all. And don’t forget the creams, one for busy hands and another for a quick cold-weather fix. These are mere essentials.

But back in the 1950s and 60s, makeup was a major taboo. Only “bad girls” wore makeup. A bold lip colour or lacquered nails could earn you labels you wanted no part of.

One woman, however, challenged this stigma head-on and gave Indian women a new kind of power: the power to embrace beauty, to look beautiful, and to be themselves, through India’s first indigenous cosmetic brand, Lakme. With her firm vision to make makeup both accessible and acceptable, she fought, challenged, and ultimately changed the country’s perception of it.

Did her journey include marching up to then Finance Minister Manmohan Singh to question why he was levying excise duties that made cosmetics expensive for Indian women? Yes. Did it involve teaching herself the basics of business, learning to read balance sheets, turning Lakme into a cultural force that reshaped the beauty landscape for millions? Absolutely.

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