Sandhya Shekar is an Indian makeup artist. She is primarily known for her signature no-makeup looks. She has created iconic looks of Deepika Padukone for various awards and fashion shows such as the Met Gala and Cannes.
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Wiki/Biography
Sandhya Shekar was born on Monday, 11 June 1984, (age 38 years; as of 2022) in Udupi Karnataka. Her zodiac sign is Gemini. She is also called Sandy by her friends. She did her MBA in Finance and Marketing from the International School of Business and Media. After finding her interest in makeup and deciding to pursue her career in it, Shekar did a professional course in makeup in Banglore under the guidance of her hairstylist Prabhaat and her dear friend Sitara Kudige, who is a stylist. Later, she went to the London School of Beauty and Make-Up and pursued a one-month course there. She further did one more professional course with Nahush Pise in Mumbai.
Physical Appearance
Height (approx.): 5′ 3″
Hair Colour: Black
Eye Colour: Black
Parents & Siblings
Sandhya Shekar lost her father to cancer. Her sister’s name is Soumya Prashant.
Husband
She is married to Vikas Vasudev, an acclaimed portrait and fashion photographer.
Career
Growing up in a village, she didn’t know that makeup can be a career option on a large scale. She thought that it is only limited to beauty parlours. Later, when she moved to Bangalore, she came to know about career options in the field of makeup through her hairstylist Prabhat and her friend Sithara Kudige, who is a leading stylist in Bangalore. Before entering the field of makeup, Sandhya worked for a corporate job at Yes Bank in Banglore for one year. Initially, she started her career as a makeup artist in Banglore, but she didn’t get a good response following which she shifted to Mumbai. At the beginning of her career, she got orders for bridal makeup, and gradually, she got offers for the makeup of models. In 2005, she professionally started her career in the industry as a celebrity makeup artist and worked for an MTV promo and did her first fashion editorial for the magazine Grazia, which she considers to be the turning point in her career. Most popular magazines like Vogue, Elle, Harper’s Bazaar, Grazia, GQ, Marie Claire, Cosmopolitan, etc., are the clients of Sandhya Shekar. She has done the makeup of many Bollywood actresses including Deepika Padukone, Katrina Kaif, Anushka Sharma, Jacqueline Fernandes, Aditi Rao Hydari, Parineeti Chopra, and Kangana Ranaut.
She is known for creating iconic looks of Deepika Padukone at the Met Gala and the Cannes Film Festival. She feels herself to be grateful for getting this opportunity. In an interview with the magazine Grazia, while talking about this, she said,
Doing Deepika Padukone’s makeup for this year’s MET Gala. It’s every make-up artist’s dream to work on the Oscars or the MET Gala. And I’m very privileged and grateful that I got that chance this year.” [1]Grazia
She also did Deepika Padukone’s wedding makeup.
Awards
- In 2016, she received the Elle Artist of the Year award.
- In 2018, she received the Vogue India Beauty Award for Best of Industry Makeup Artist.
Favourites
- Food: Tibetan Food, Fish, Pizza, and Bacon
- Tree: Banyan tree
- Makeup Artists: Deepa Verma, Anil Chinnapa, and Billy B Brasfield
Facts/Trivia
- She follows a non-vegetarian diet.
- Sandhya Shekar believes that a makeup artist always has to remain up to date about the knowledge of tools and technologies used in the makeup industry. She often attends short masterclasses, trade shows, and exhibitions. In an interview, she talked about this and said,
So even though I’ve been at this for like 15 years now, I still go take a 3-5 day masterclass if I see anything is happening in Mumbai or elsewhere with folks I respect.”
- In an interview with Grazia magazine, she revealed that she always carries Shu Uemura Lash Curler, Embryolisse Lait-Creme Concentre Nourishing Moisturizer, Luma cheek and lip tint, and a good eyebrow fixer in her makeup kit.
- She is so fond of makeup that in her childhood, she used to steal her mother’s makeup kit and apply it to herself, and when she was stopped by her mother to use makeup, she used to stain her lips and cheeks with beetroot.
- According to Sandhya, at the age of 32, she went through depression after she had some financial and family issues.
- Shekar loves shopping, gardening, and listening to classical music.
- She was trolled on social media for creating the smoky eye makeup look for Deepika Padukone at various events, but the artist actively replied to the criticisms and sarcastically asked the critics to feel free to do Deepika’s makeup. [2]Reddit
- In 2015, Sandhya Shekar participated in the Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon and won a medal but couldn’t complete the marathon due to ill health.
- She often endorses beauty products on her social media. In an Instagram post, she was seen endorsing the ‘Lovinah Cleansing Balm.’
- She took to Instagram to tell the benefits of green tea for good skin while endorsing “Happy Hormones Blend” green tea by ‘Tree of Life Holistic Health. Through the Instagram post, she also revealed her love for coffee.