Netra Mantena’s makeup artist Namita Soni says brides’ expectations are ‘unrealistic’ as filters distort real beauty

Bridal makeup artist Namita Soni discusses the challenges of meeting brides' unrealistic expectations, influenced by social media.

Netra Mantena and Vamsi Gadiraju’s grand wedding has been the talk of the town for the past few days. Celebrity makeup artist Namita Soni did the bridal makeup for Netra, the daughter of Rama Raju Mantena, who is the Chairman and CEO of Ingenus Pharmaceuticals. In light of Netra and Vamsi’s big fat wedding, makeup artist Namita Soni shed light on the unrealistic expectations brides have today.

Namita Soni slams ‘filtered’ bridal expectations (Instagram/Namita Soni)

Namita Soni on unrealistic expectations

Netra Mantena and Vamsi Gadiraju, an Indian-American tech entrepreneur, tied the knot at Udaipur’s iconic Taj Lake Palace on November 23. Namita Soni, who previously worked with Bollywood stars like Sonam Kapoor, Sushmita Sen, Aishwarya Rai, and Deepika Padukone, prepared Netra for her big day.

In an interaction with ANI, Soni opened up about the challenges she has encountered in recent times as a bridal makeup artist. According to Soni, most brides are indecisive and unsure about how they want to look.

Soni exclaimed that she has to “create a mood board, not one but about six for every outfit”. “They don’t want to tell us who they are or what their personality is. They want us to give them all the options,” the makeup artist said.

A mood board is a collage that refers to the outfit, makeup preferences, and a suitable hairstyle. “For each look, I prepare seven hairstyles that would suit the outfit and seven makeup options that would suit the bride. And again, the expectations are unrealistic,” Namita emphasised.

You cannot look like a filter from Instagram

Namita Soni complained that most clients are misguided by what they see on social media platforms Pinterest and Instagram. “They are pulling images from Pinterest and Instagram, where everything is filtered. They show me these ‘no-makeup’ pictures, and I am like, ‘Are you sure? This has 18 filters on it. I can’t make you look like this,’” Soni told the outlet.

She explained that the human skin has “texture—pores, acne marks, scars”. “I can make you look like the most amazing version of yourself, but not like a filter,” she added.

Indian women and trust issues

Namita revealed that some brides she worked with were upset because they did not look like the filtered versions on social media platforms. “Brides edit them—they face-tune, beautify, overcorrect,” Soni said.

Amid unrealistic expectations, dealing with the bride’s family is another challenge. “The minute I finish, aunties come in and say whatever they want. So I wrap up and leave,” Namita added.

It is crucial for the bride and the makeup artist to have a relationship of trust. “Once she trusts you, she lets you do what you do best, which is so important,” Namita explained.

“I have worked with Sushmita Sen, Aishwarya Rai, Deepika Padukone, Janhvi Kapoor and Malaika Arora,” she said. She also confessed that she “had the biggest girl crush” on Sushmita Sen. “Whatever you think she is, she’s bigger than that—dynamic and amazing,” Namita said about Sen, who won Miss Universe 1994.