When Shilpa Jain speaks about beauty, she does so from experience — not just of creating it, but of observing who gets validated and who doesn’t. An award-winning celebrity makeup artist trained at the Academy of Freelance Makeup, London, and Electra Academy by Cory Walia, Shilpa has worked with some of the most recognisable faces in Indian cinema, including Priyanka Chopra, Jacqueline Fernandez, Anil Kapoor, Revathi, Sunil Shetty and Soha Ali Khan, apart from national and international clients and Grammy-nominated artists.
“I’ve worked with some of the biggest celebrities in the country, and what I’ve realised is that talent and beauty are not the biggest differentiators — confidence and validation are,” she begins.
It is this realisation that led to She’s India, an inspirational beauty pageant co-founded by Shilpa and held in Yusufguda. She shares, “Celebrities are used to being celebrated. They have teams, platforms and constant appreciation reminding them of their worth. But there are thousands of women who don’t get that validation — and that changes everything.”
Rooted in a philosophy she strongly believes in, Shilpa states, “She’s India stands for being perfectly imperfect. I’ve been fortunate to work with women in both the world of makeup and the world of training. I’ve always believed that She’s India is the beginning of a much larger vision.”
She explains that the first edition itself revealed how deeply women connected with a platform that genuinely values them. “This edition has shown us how strongly women resonate with a space that truly celebrates them. We want to build that energy and take it forward. Going ahead, we don’t see She’s India as just a pageant. We want it to become a community — a movement that goes beyond the stage,” she warmly adds.
Having spent years on film sets, ad shoots and fashion platforms, Shilpa says her biggest takeaway from celebrity culture was humility. “People assume that stars carry airs, but some of the most senior actors I’ve worked with have been incredibly grounded,” she notes.
One particular incident stayed with her: “I was working on a big ad shoot, and there wasn’t enough light in the room. A very senior celebrity simply sat on a closed WC seat and told me to do her makeup there. There was no attitude, no drama — just professionalism. That taught me how far humility can take you,” Shilpa shares.
Another moment that deeply affected her was working with a popular actor who had battled cancer. She recalls, “While I was doing her makeup, listening to her story, I realised that her beauty wasn’t coming from what I was doing. It was coming from within. That aura was so powerful it moved me to tears. When you work this closely with people, you realise makeup doesn’t create confidence — it only reflects it.”
Shilpa says observing this contrast — between celebrated lives and unheard stories — stayed with her long after the makeup brushes were put away. “I’ve met homemakers, teachers, entrepreneurs whose stories are far more inspiring than what we see on screen, yet they go unnoticed,” she expresses.
One of the key segments of She’s India, the Maharani round, was designed to do exactly that. “We wanted women to feel like queens — not because they’re wearing a crown, but because they begin to believe they deserve space, respect and acknowledgment,” she explains.
Shilpa’s own journey — from television anchoring and theatre to becoming a celebrity makeup artist — shaped this philosophy. She explains that in films, actors are told exactly what role they are playing. However, she states, “Here, we don’t tell women to fit into a role. We help them discover their best version; the one that feels authentic. Empowerment begins when you stop trying to be someone else and start celebrating your own story. Makeup is part of the pageantry, and through training we also want to empower women who may want to become makeup artists,” she says.
Shilpa traces her love for makeup back to her childhood in the plantations of Assam and Darjeeling. “I grew up surrounded by beauty. Nature was my biggest inspiration, and I saw colours everywhere. Instead of painting a canvas, I chose a face as my canvas,” she recounts.
Describing herself as bohemian and gypsy by nature, she says colours continue to inspire her work. Despite being recognised as Best Celebrity Makeup Artist in India and being named among Hyderabad’s 20 Most Influential People, Shilpa says accolades are not what drive her anymore. “Meditation keeps me grounded. Our families have taught us to stay rooted — no matter who we meet or where we reach. Feel beautiful from within, look beautiful outside as well. When you help another woman feel that way, that’s real success,” she highlights on a concluding note.