India is a country where everything, from food to clothing, is colourful and beautiful. From the name of cities like Jaipur (meaning “the pink city”) to temples, women’s clothes, jewellery, make-up and even spices, everything inspires beauty. And, of course, Indian women are most of the time seen as the most beautiful creatures of the country.

What’s so special about female beauty in India is that Indian women tend to keep beauty secrets from their grandmothers and keep using them to maintain a tradition in their makeup. Their complexion must be bright and their skin smooth, as a symbol of wealthiness.

In India you cannot only find endless colorful clothes, street food, historical monuments, but also endless variety of fairness creams. Why? Simply because of India’s colonial past a.k.a the British Empire. Being fair meant having wealth, luxury, and more importantly a status that commoners did not achieve in their lifetime. Apart from Bollywood’s obsession of London, fairness creams discourage women to spend more time under the sun. Several adverts are made that show women gain more success after using fairness cream, thus implementing the idea that life is tough if you are dark skinned. Well-known fairness brands in India, sells fairness cream, lotion, face wash etc. After targeting the female audience for years, it moved on to male species, thus highlighting the importance of being light skinned.

As for their hair, bright and recognizable all around the world, they must be black, long and thick. Indians are known for their gorgeous, long and soft hair. All Indian women have to do is waive that hair around once and twice, and they will have hearts falling on their feet. Hairproducts are essential 101 beauty tips to look like a true Indian beauty.

Henna is used to decorate their hands. Bindies, which are first a symbol of the Third Eye, are more stylized and became a fashion accessory. For the body type, a skinny woman is considered unhealthy and ugly. But Western ideals tend to give a place to slenderness in India, especially through the movie industry.