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ANITA BHAGWANDAS

@itsmeanitab

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Demystifying beauty culture.
Substack: The Powder Room
Beauty Director @condenasttraveller
🖊️ Vogue, Guardian, Allure
My book UGLY👇🏾

POSTS STORIES REELS TAGGED

thank you @britishvogue @chiomannadi for honouring fashion, culture, humanity and grief in such a powerful way 🫂 & thank you to the entire team for a day I’ll never forget <3 @janay_bailey1 @vivekvad @manvibhatnagar_ @kristinaralphandrews @tomomiroppongi @itsmeanitab @zeesw @olaakinlade

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2026 so far shot on my @campsnapcamera
The digi camera with no screen! So its like using film.
KITTYC7 for money off one for yourself! PR gift ad.

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#campsnap #digital
Digital no screen camera

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DIWALI 🪔 दीपावली
@britishvogue @neelamkg @vivekvad

My first British Vogue story, and I’m sharing it from the motherland in the days of our Festival of Lights. It feels almost unreal.

Thank you @chiomannadi for letting us tell it faithfully, in the codes and senses that live in us. And to @neelamkg for letting us step into her world.

I came into womanhood far from home, in between two worlds, learning to make my own rituals and memories. Each Diwali in Paris, my community and I gather around the light and, for a moment, home feels near.

More soon 🤎

Photography @vivekvad
Interview @itsmeanitab
Styling @manvibhatnagar_
Set Designer @odedrako
Makeup @kristinaralphandrews
Hair @tomomiroppongi
Production @lockstudios
My super team @sophiemoncaster_ @clement_lacassaigne

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On @bbclondon as the station’s resident beauty expert, I was joined by journalist and author @itsmeanitab to reflect on the South Asian Beauty Collective’s inaugural Awards with @sunnyandshay.

Anita received the Breaking Barriers Award in recognition of her work challenging colourism and the narrow ideas of beauty that have shaped so many of our experiences. We spoke about what it means to see that work recognised in a space where South Asian beauty stories beyond familiar stereotypes have too often been overlooked.

The awards brought together people whose voices, work and lived experiences deserve to be seen and celebrated. Anita spoke about the power of being in that room, and the sense of possibility created when our stories are recognised on our own terms.

We also spoke about the need for brands to build meaningful relationships with South Asian communities throughout the year. Diwali and Eid can be important moments, but they shouldn’t be the only times brands show up. This is something the Collective has championed for years. As we look ahead to future awards, we’ll be paying close attention to the brands creating thoughtful, consistent work all year round, so that commitment can be recognised too.

For brands, this conversation is an opportunity to listen and learn: to understand the breadth of South Asian beauty, the experiences behind it, and why thoughtful representation matters.

Thank you to BBC Radio London for making space for this conversation, and to Anita for sharing her perspective.

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What a gorgeous partnership! Skin Rocks and Pan Pacific London joining forces to combine five-star luxury and elegance with high-performance, science-led facial protocols.

A lovely occasion but also just really rather fantastic to spend the evening with some ‘old school’ beauty colleagues and some new friends - all to celebrate another milestone for @skinrocks and @carolinehirons

If you want to experience the Signature Reset Facial - and why wouldn’t you? - you’d be in for a 60 minute treatment featuring 30 minutes of lifting massage to ease facial tension. Be honest, you just relaxed your jaw, didn’t you?

If you’re in the City of London, or know someone who is who deserves a little treat, then you know where to go…

I’ve already booked mine and will report back!

Ad pr event

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I didn’t plan on leaving the beauty industry. But in a way, I’m glad I did. 💔

Hear me out

A few weeks ago, I had the pleasure to attend the inaugural @southasianbeautycollective Beauty Awards, created by legend @aartipmakeup

✨It was a stunning event of celebration + heritage

I left thinking about something much bigger

The women behind the businesses.

I spoke to women who have navigated cancer.
Women whose perimenopause symptoms have brought them to their knees.
Women who have experienced profound loss this past year.

❤️‍🔥 And every single one of them is still running a business.

Leading teams.
Making decisions.
Creating.
Delivering.

All while guiding teens through puberty, GCSE’s and A Levels and University Applications.

We talk so much about what women are building.
But how often do we talk about what they’re carrying?

It’s beyond mental load, it’s the future.

After 25 years working in beauty, I’ve become a bit of an insider-outsider.

I understand the ambition, creativity and commercial pressures of this industry, as well as the gloss, the fun, the formulas.

❤️‍🔥 I have such deep respect and admiration for the founder journey.

But stepping to the periphery of it has given me a different perspective:

👉🏼 I can see the human being behind the business.
👉🏼 I can see the silent struggle to ‘hold it all together ‘
👉🏼 I can see the patterns that sometimes add even more pressure to an already demanding life.

The proving. The perfecting. The pleasing. The performing.

Especially heading into Q4, when business demands and personal responsibilities collide between Christmas Activations and gift lists for family and friends

Here is what I see:

You can be brilliant at what you do and still need support ❤️

👉🏼 And the answer to everything women are carrying isn’t to become even better at carrying it.

That’s why my work has evolved.

I still love this industry. I’m just looking at it through a different lens now.

I understand the business.
But my work is about the woman behind it

Thank you Aarti for always including me and for creating magical experiences and spaces.

Congratulations to all the nominees and winners!

Love,
Tahira

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Navratri is one of the most powerful reminders that Hindu culture is not one single expression.

Across Hindu communities, these nine nights are observed in many different ways. Through garba and raas, fasting and prayer, Durga Puja, Golu displays, Mata worship, mandir visits, family blessings, aarti, colour, adornment and quiet devotion.

Some celebrations are highly visible. Others are held more intimately within homes, families and communities. All are meaningful.

For beauty brands wishing to celebrate with Hindu and South Asian communities during this time, real understanding matters. Navratri is not one image, one outfit, one dance form or one cultural reference.

To celebrate well is to go deeper: to recognise the diversity within the community, honour the rituals with care, and understand the beauty, devotion and feminine energy at the heart of the festival.

At the South Asian Beauty Collective, we represent and work with many voices, traditions and lived experiences across the cultural community. Our role is to help brands move with depth, care and cultural understanding, not assumption.

Different traditions. Shared reverence. United as one.

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Getting to see Katrina Kaif when she came to the UK this week was such a special experience. Here are a few words about what I learned at her Kay Beauty celebration ❤️

Thank you so much for having me @katrinakaif @kaybykatrina @spacenk @itsanitarani @blackandwhitecomms xxx

(AD info: no paid or sponsored content. This was a press event.)

#itskaytobeyou #kaybeauty #katrinakaif #spacenk

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A morning celebrating @hadalabotokyo_uki new Booster Serums ✨

Hosted by @shannonlawlor at @1hotel.mayfair we were joined by @milliekendall and @drchristinehall for a conversation around all things J-Beauty and the thinking behind Hada Labo’s skincare philosophy. ❤️

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Getting a BSc honours degree in Biology and Psychology was an achievement, going against my parents and starting my professional Hair and Makeup career was another achievement, but being nominated for Best Creator was definitely not on my cards!!! And being the only Tamil to be nominated in my category was also not something I thought would happen. Not to me! The imposter syndrome was real!

I wanted to take this moment to thank @southasianbeautycollective for putting this People’s Choice South Asian Beauty Collective Awards together. @aartipmakeup has been doing so much for the South Asian Community and for the first time I felt seen and included, which meant a lot to the little old Refugee me!

I hope this inspires anyone reading this, that there is no expiry/cut off date. At whatever age or stage in your life, you can become whoever you want to be, and we are all here to support and encourage. There is finally a community for that!❤️

Photos by @nadafilms

Makeup by me
Hair @arialondon__
Saree @sariculture
Jewellery @vrddhiuk
Hair pieces @indiatrend
Blouse @sakutailoring
Petticoat @varnnathara

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Wow wow wow! So much to say, so much to share! My friend @aartipmakeup founder of @southasianbeautycollective just hosted the first ever South Asian beauty awards event in the UK! 20 years in this industry & I never imagined this progress. Aarti is a former British Airways marketer, turned Mother, MUA, educator & diversity influencer on a mission to celebrate South Asian representation within the cosmetics industry, a total visionary, change maker & power house! I promised over two years ago to support Aarti from the sidelines and behind the scenes, and playing a small part in the awards journey was an absolute pleasure. A ballroom full of some of my favourites x

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How does it feel to be recognised at the very first South Asian Beauty Collective Awards?”, Anita Bhagwandas reflects on receiving the Breaking Barriers Award.

For more than 15 years, Anita has used her voice to question narrow beauty standards and explore who gets to feel seen. She speaks about growing up without seeing herself reflected in traditional South Asian beauty stereotypes, and how that experience has shaped her work. Through her book Ugly and her Substack, The Powder Room, she continues to open up honest conversations about beauty, identity and belonging.

Her award recognises the importance of that work and the voices helping broaden how beauty is seen and understood.

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