If you haven’t heard of Deepica Mutyala, you might recognize her from a YouTube video that went viral in 2015. Mutyala’s idea was simple: use lipstick to color–correct dark circles and make them easier to conceal. When the video went viral and more and more people found the hack useful, she realized she had the opportunity to fill a much-needed space in the beauty community.
Mutyala identifies as South Asian. As a person of color, it can be difficult to find a space in the beauty community. Many products aren’t inclusive for a range of skin tones, and most of the famous faces in the beauty community aren’t people of color. Instead of seeing this as an obstacle, Mutyala took it as a challenge, launching Live Tinted in 2018 — an online community geared toward a more inclusive beauty industry.
From there, Mutyala created new beauty products to combat the biggest issues faced by the Live Tinted community. Her famous “Huestick” — a multipurpose cosmetic that can be used to color–correct and also as eyeshadow, lipstick, or blush — is based on her original lipstick video and is great for dealing with hyperpigmentation. The Huestick comes in eight shades, covering any skin tone. Mutyala has also launched a multi–use balm and highlighter serum. Both of these products are multi–purpose, a common theme among Mutyala’s work — she understands that simplifying beauty routines is incredibly important.
It’s clear that Mutyala isn’t playing around when it comes to these products. Live Tinted has an enormous number of five-star reviews and has won multiple awards — the Huestick itself won the Allure Best of Beauty Award in 2020. The rave reviews, combined with the space Mutyala has created for marginalized communities and her honesty and dedication toward creating useful products, has made her a powerful force in the beauty industry.
Live Tinted is so important, because of its inclusivity. Growing up as South Asian, I always found it difficult to find products suited for my skin and beauty concerns. I remember coming across Mutyala’s video for dark circles and trying it right away. Today, it’s still an essential part of my glammed–up beauty routine; watching Mutyala grow her platform and business since then has been incredibly inspiring. To see a South Asian person take huge strides as an advocate within the beauty community is wonderful.
There’s still a lot of work to do toward diversity and inclusivity within the beauty industry. However, Mutyala’s work has led to meaningful progress. Representation is always important, especially when you’re creating products for a wide swathe of customers. As diversity becomes a more mainstream goal in the beauty industry, it’s exciting to see fresh faces in the field.
Here’s to a more inclusive space — because everyone should be able to enjoy the art of makeup.