Tamannaah Bhatia on playing Cosmo India’s muse for the biggest beauty trends RN

The vibe on Cosmopolitan India’s beauty shoot with Tamannaah Bhatia was contagiously energising. Watching her pull off look after look with ease and a sense of camera confidence that only comes after years of befriending it, was surreal. But this wasn’t surprising. This is an actor, who started work when she was merely a teenager and has dabbled in four entertainment industries—Hindi, Telugu, Tamil and Malayalam. 

She posed with poise and almost water-like fluidity, with skin that looked nourished and radiant as ever. When we asked her how she manages to keep her skin so healthy despite having to use makeup almost daily, Bhatia chalked it up to her discipline. She said, “I feel like my discipline has mattered the most in my beauty journey. There is no shortcut or overnight solution. It takes years of determination to follow the right routines that lead you to look or feel a certain way.” She added, “I was always told to use and apply products that my skin needed and keep the climate in mind. And this advice I follow even now.”    

We’ve learned the hard way that no matter how many beauty reels you binge on or products you add to your cart, creating a routine requires you to explore options before zeroing in on what works best for you. And once you have it, you commit to it, completely. 

Having said that, it’s still an ever-evolving process, changing with age, seasons and new concerns. We asked Bhatia if she had any skincare pitfalls while she was cementing her regime and she shared, “I realised oils don’t work for me. So, most of my products are water-based. I searched hard for products that suit me as my skin is very sensitive. As soon as I would try to introduce a product, my skin would start itching or tingling. I try not to rub my skin or be very aggressive with it. For me, something as basic as cleansing is also a very delicate process. However, the one thing I swear by is weekly exfoliation; it works like a charm.”  

If you’re in your early 20s, procrastinating on your skincare routine like it’s your post-retirement plan, you’re making a major beauty faux pas! Bhatia asserts that it’s important you take care of your skin, even when it doesn’t look like it needs extra TLC. She explains, “You don’t have to wait until a certain age to start taking care of your skin and giving it the food it needs.”  

However, it isn’t just her skincare drill that makes her the perfect muse for Cosmopolitan India’s beauty digital cover. A scroll through Bhatia’s Instagram will tell you that she is experimental and adventurous with her looks, be it donning graphic eyeliner, bold kohl-rimmed eyes or red-hot lipstick.

And so, through meticulous research, we decided to create beauty looks that exhibit four major trends of the year. These trends highlight one individual feature each while we keep everything else muted. 

The first trend we recreated was draped blush. For the uninitiated, it’s a more subtle, dewy version of the sunburnt flush, popularised by the beauty trend queen—Hailey Beiber. The idea is that blush, which is generally applied on just certain parts of your cheek, is now draped across your nose, from one end to another. Using the PatMcgrath Electric Bloom blush, Saie Beauty Cheek Dewo and the Saie Beauty Super Gel liquid highlighter, we created this look and it left Bhatia with a gorgeous pink-hued glaze. 

The beauty of this trend lies in its uber-femininity and minimalist technique that allows the skin’s natural texture to come through. When we asked Bhatia what she loved about this look, she explained, “It was very beautiful! The draped blush is something I have always done. It’s part of my go-to makeup routine. Which is why this look felt like an extension of me. It almost felt like I was not wearing any makeup.”  

Bhatia’s minimalistic beauty philosophy is something we can all take cues from. Playing on just that, next, we decided to work with a trend that is equally low-key and dramatic—ombré lips. A renovated and edgier version of the dark, overlined lips that were an overarching trend in the '90s, this look requires two or more lipstick shades applied in a way that creates a soft gradient look. “I love how we tweaked this look to flatter me. This trend is not one you should take literally; there is room to play,” Bhatia pointed out.
 
To create this look, we used the MAC Chestnut lip liner and a blend of two YSL matte lipsticks for the gradient effect. The trick here is to use the dark shade to outline and then go lighter with the lightest shade resting right on top for an accentuated shading effect.  

Next, we decided to create a striking look by making her lashes blue! We used the blue YSL Lash Clash mascara with some light blue eyeshadow in the inner corner of the eye, which beautifully brought out the brown in Bhatia’s eyes. This look was iconic for two reasons—blue is having a major moment right now, and the vibrant mascara is a fun way of playing with textures in a way that people don’t usually do off runways. Bhatia gave this look a big nod, “After this, I would totally invest in blue mascara. The lashes were placed slightly angular to give the eyes a lifting effect. And the blue mascara looked extremely flattering on these feathery lashes.” 

Finally, for the fourth trend, we decided to give metallics an upgrade. We went with a grunge mermaid look, with Bhatia in a beetle-green shimmering eyeshadow and wet, glistening hair. There is no denying that metallics has remerged in 2024 to claim a podium position when it comes to beauty trends. The eye look was created using a Natasha Denona eyeshadow palette topped off with a Bobbi Brown lip gloss to get that almost glass-like ethereal effect on Bhatia. We loved the fact that Bhatia said this is exactly how she would do an edgy look, “It has some structure but at the same time, it’s fluid and makes a statement.” This look is sexy with a side of softness.  

What made this beauty trend guide more interesting is that we had a digital cover star so versatile and confident, that she could pull off a plethora of looks, effortlessly. Before calling it a day, Bhatia left us with the perfect definition of beauty, the only one that truly matters, “When you’re younger you might feel like you are trying to cater to other people’s perception of beauty but as you grow older you realise just coming into your own is the most beautiful way of being. As I grew older I realised that beauty is essentially what you feel about yourself. And that has become and continues to be my definition of beauty.” We could hear the mic drop!  

Shoot talent: Photographer: Sushant Chhabria; Stylist: Devanshi Tuli; Editorial Coordinator: Shalini Kanojia; Make-up Artist: Sonam Chandna; Hair Stylist: Daksh Nidhi; Assistant Stylists: Bidipto Das, Junni Khyriem, Muskan Sharma; Assistant Hair Stylist: Shriya Saxena; Artist Reputation Management: Raindrop Media 

Location Courtesy: JW Marriott Juhu 

Look 1: Tamannaah is wearing dress by Self Cntrd; Earrings, Estaa Gems; Ring, Aahira Diamonds 

Products used for the draped blush look: Foundation: Chanel ‘Vitalumiere Aqua’; Blush: Pat McGrath ‘Divine Blush’; Saie ‘Cheek Dewo’; Highlighter: Saie ‘Glowy Super Gel’; Mascara: Lancome Paris  ‘Lash Idole Waterproof Mascara’

Look 2: Tamannaah is wearing shirt, AFew By Rahul Mishra; Earrings, 18carathouse

Products used for ombré lips: Foundation: Charlotte Tilbury Hollywood ‘Flawless Filter’; Lips: MAC Cosmetics Lip Pencil, Mix of two YSL ‘The Slim Matte Longwear’ Lipsticks; Blush: Dior ‘Backstage Rosy Glow’; Mascara: Dior Diorshow ‘Pump ‘N’ Volume Waterproof’; Eyeshadow: Roen Beauty ‘75° Warm’ Eyeshadow Palette

Look 3: Tamannaah is wearing dress, Love Birds Studio; Bodysuit, Shivan And Naresh; Ring, Abhilasha Pret Jewellery

Products used for blue lashes look: Mascara: Yves Saint Laurent Mascara ‘Lash Clash Electric Blue’; Lips: Makeup by Mario ‘Moistureglow Plumping Lip Serum’; Blush: Haus Labs by Lady Gaga ‘Color Fuse Blush Powder’; Highlighter: Westman Atelier Highlight Stick ‘Lit Up’; Eyebrows: MAC Cosmetics Eye Brows ‘Big Boost Fibre Gel’

Look 4: Tamannaah is wearing dress, Raw Mango; Earrings, Estaa Gems

Products used for metallic grunge look: Eye shadow: Natasha Denona ‘Glam Eyeshadow Palette’; Danessa Myricks ‘Colorfix Metallics/Creams’; Lip gloss (used on the eyes): Bobbi Brown ‘Crushed Oil-Infused Gloss’; Kohl liner: Chambor Studio ‘Pro Lashboost Liner’; Lips: Rhode Peptide ‘Lip Treatment’; Bronzer: Milk Makeup ‘Bionic Bronzer’

Also read: Khushi Kapoor talks about her evolving idea of beauty and product philosophy

Also read: Two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu on being an inspiration for young girls in India