Padma Lakshmi is an American author, actress, model, television host and executive producer of Indian descent. Her debut cookbook ‘Easy Exotic’ won her the Best First Book award. She has been the host of the US reality television program, for which she received a nomination for Outstanding Host for a Reality or Reality-Competition Program. In 2010, ‘Top Chef’ won the Emmy Award for Outstanding Reality-Competition Program. Her debut memoir ‘Love, Loss and What We Ate’ was released on International Women's Day, March 8, 2016.
Speaking about her collection with M.A.C she said, “You know I’ve loved MAC products for years and years, [since] back when I was a model in my 20s. We’d been talking about doing something together for very long and about three years ago, they came to me and said, Can we please do this already?! So I said, Okay sure. Usually these capsule collections have about a dozen products, but our line has 17, because I just couldn’t decide. It’s been a really fun experience.”
When asked about her signature beauty look the actress revealed, “My signature beauty look, especially when I’m filming Top Chef, is something really simple. I use a navy blue eyeliner—there’s one in the collection called Indian Ink, and it’s fantastic. I think navy blue really brings out brown eyes and is less harsh than black. So I usually use the blue eyeliner with a little wing, and then I follow it up with a nude brown lipstick called Nude Fudge. That seems to work well when I’m filming the show because I eat so much on the show. I do wear bright colours like the Sumac or the Blue Blood by M.A.C on occasion, but generally, this is my routine for a quick fix.”
What’s your favourite piece from the collection, if you had to pick one?
Gosh, it would be so hard just to pick one piece from the collection. But I really love the Blush Duo. It has both a pinky colour and a peachy colour, and it imparts a natural healthy glow that looks like it’s coming from outside. None of us have just one undertone in our skin, so it’s nice to be able to have a layered look that looks natural and like you just went for a run. Although it’s a light colour in the palette, it really does show up on your skin, even if you have darker tone.
Speaking about the inspiration behind launching her own brand she said, “I’ve always loved makeup, even when I was really young—like six or seven years old. I had fully-formed opinions about what colours I wanted to use, and creating the Padma collection was just an extension of everything I’ve been doing anyway. Mixing makeup colours and pigments is not much different from mixing spices or essential oils. It’s all about taste and getting the details right. I have to say the M.A.C team was pretty patient with me when I went back and forth time and again to get it right. The collection is basically all the products I’ve always wanted for my brown skin, but was never able to find in the market.”
What are the beauty products you always have in your bag? “A little bit of concealer, a lip liner, lip balm and eyeliner. I also always have an eyelash curler. My eyelashes grow downwards naturally, so I need to curl them and put on some mascara. That’s all I need.”
Padma Lakshmi also revealed her daily beauty routine
“Well my daily beauty routine fluctuates, depending on whether it’s a weekday or weekend. My weekday usually starts around 6am. I get my daughter up, and we make a green juice together in my house. I think a lot about beauty comes from what you put into your body, not just on your skin. So it has to do with eating well, drinking a lot of water, and eating a lot fruits and vegetables. I start my day with that juice. It usually has kale, spinach, carrots, beet, some ginger and some turmeric. It can have other vegetables which are in the house [as well]. Whatever there is, goes into that blender. And then after the juice, I tend to just cleanse my skin or refresh it with toner. Then, if I’m just taking my kid to the bus stop or to school if I have the time, it’s not much more than that. My daughter likes to tell me to drop her off at school looking like Top Chef Padma, but I usually do it looking like Gym Padma. And that means minimal makeup. When I’m not working, I try to not wear too much makeup, and keep my skin as clean as possible. If I feel like I’m breaking out, I usually do a steam with tea tree oil in the night—just like you would when you have a cold—with a towel and a big pot of boiling water. That really helps clean the pores. I’m really good about exfoliating; I exfoliate almost every day with a scrub in the shower.”
Have you ever tried to create a beauty product at home?
Yes. I love to be a Do-It-Yourself-er. Back when I was a teenager, they used to have these little clay pots with a cork—they had some earthy brown powder that you could supposedly use for eyeshadow, blush and lipstick—and that’s what I would use. I’d basically take a little pan, empty out whatever old eyeshadow there was, and make my own lipstick using the powder and a little Vaseline. That way it was ready to go—it was very small and I would just apply it to my lips and be done.
What’s the most important beauty tip you’ve learnt over the years? “The most important beauty tip I’ve learnt is to really try to reduce stress. I know it really sounds cliché to say get enough sleep and drink enough water. But it really shows on your face, and no amount of lipstick or mascara is going to take that away. I don’t want to look like someone else, I just want to look like the best version of me, and most of that comes from your mental attitude and emotional wellbeing.”
Is there a beauty look that you haven’t tried but want to? “I haven’t tried being blonde.”
Speaking about her one favourite lipstick the actress said, “If I could only wear one lipstick colour—Blue Blood. It is such a pure, brilliant red; it goes well with anything. And you don’t even need anything else on your face. Maybe just curl your lashes and apply the hue—you’ll look like a femme fatale.”
