Not finding the right shade of makeup that would suit her brown skin perplexed Chennai-based Hrithika Sathish. Her anecdotes are coloured with instances of entering makeup stores, only to leave minutes later, disappointed. Around two decades ago, you see, the industry hadn’t factored in warmer skin tones; it fooled itself with a ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach.

Even brands that did manufacture for brown skin, Hrithika says, wouldn’t take the time to explore the spectrum of skin shades in all their varying complexities. “It often felt like they Photoshopped the colours online to match skin,” she adds.

But, a couple of years ago, she stumbled upon what she was looking for — a lipstick that was specifically made keeping girls with warm skin tones in mind. “The shade was perfect,” she recalls, adding that it continues to be the highlight of her vanity. With every discovery of skincare and makeup by the brand, Hrithika felt more included, like her beauty mattered.

Her story is not in isolation. She is one among the many young girls and women who attribute their confidence to FAE Beauty, a brand championing inclusivity. Right from images that are unedited — FAE Beauty has a strict ‘no-Photoshop’ policy — to driving a rhetoric that is raw, authentic and unfiltered, the brand is setting the stage for change, says founder Karishma Kewalramani, 31.

A firm believer in how beauty cannot and should not be caricatured, Karishma says the brand refrains from propagating unrealistic beauty standards. “We ditched lighting and Photoshop tricks so you can see things just as they are,” she adds; the formulations, too, mirror the same level of detailing. “They are suited to warm climes and work well in Indian settings,” she says.