Namrata Soni

Some Lesser Known Facts About Namrata Soni

• Does Namrata Soni drink alcohol?: Yes^[6]Instagram

• Namrata Soni is an Indian makeup artist who is famous for her signature luminous skin-like makeup look. She has worked with the world’s top publications including Vogue, L’Official, Elle, Harper’s Bazaar, Cosmopolitan, Marie Claire, Femina, etc. Her work can be seen in various feature films including Om Shanti Om (2007), Kabhi Alvida Aa Kehna (2006), Main Hoon Na (2004), Salaam Namaste (2005), Aisha (2010), and many more.

• When she was a child she wanted to be a pilot or lawyer, but she was infatuated with her mother’s dresses and makeup, which developed her interest in makeup. In an interview with the Vogue magazine, she was asked what inclined her towards the field of makeup, to which she replied,
  

  One of the reasons I was inclined towards this profession is because I saw my mother and other women in my family wearing Estée Lauder, YSL and Chanel products, and every time they left the house, I and my sister would go and start dressing up. We would apply multiple nail polishes, blush, lipstick and eyeshadows. My love for it started then.”

• She was sent to a boarding school for her studies. When she was in boarding school she used to cut the hair of her friends.

• Later, when she was a college student, her mother asked her to do an internship during summer vacation, she decided to assist Coleen Khan (makeup artist and hair stylist) as a hairstylist, who was Namrata’s aunt’s friend. Collen Khan encouraged Namrata to take a professional grooming course for makeup and hairstyling.

• She did a 1-week course with Marvie Ann Beck Academy of Makeup. She learnt the basics of makeup and hairstyle during this course. Later, she went to study for a six-week program at Delamar Academy of Makeup in London where she learnt prosthetic and casualty makeup. In an interview with Vogue, she said,^[7]Vogue
  

  When I started assisting Coleen Khan, she encouraged me to do a basic make-up course just to groom myself. I went on to do one with Marvie Ann Beck. I learned the basics of make-up in a one-week course and loved it and felt like this could be a profession I could take on. A year later, after I finished college and had decided to go study further, I wanted to learn different things, not the same that was in India.”

• In 2003, after completing her course in London she returned to Mumbai and worked in few films as a makeup artist. Later, she started assisting Dilshad Pastakia who was a famous name in the field of makeup industry in 2003.

• According to Namrata, she likes to spend time with her family and friends rather than partying on a weekend in clubs.

• There was an informal ban on women to work as a makeup artist till 2014. In 2014 the ban was uplifted by the supreme court. During 2003-2014, Namrata Soni had faced many situations where she along with other makeup artists had to work in disguise and sometimes had to hide in vanity vans of celebrities from the union members from Cine Costume Makeup Artists and Hair Dressers Association who would visit the sets in Bollywood film city. Before 2014, only men were allowed to do makeup and women were allowed to do hairstyle. In an interview with The Indian Express, she talked about how Farah Khan and Dharma productions helped her in those situations,
  

  It was really frustrating when I started out because we had to hide inside vanity vans when the Union would turn up. I have been dragged out of make-up rooms on set and had to call cops for protection. I would also get threats: “You come to Film City, we will show you what we can do. We will chop off your hands”. It was scary, but my family’s support kept me going. Also, the huge support from directors and producers, especially Farah Khan, Karan Johar, Aditya Chopra, Yash Chopra and Sajid Nadiadwala. If it weren’t for them, I would still have to hide inside vanity vans.”

• She has a special bond with Sonam K Ahuja. Namrata has worked with Sonam K Ahuja in the movie ‘Aisha’ (2010) and since then she has been Sonam’s go-to makeup artist. Namrata also accompanied Sonam K Ahuja for Cannes 2013, her favourite look is of Sonam K Ahuja in Cannes 2013 red carpet in which she wore an Anamika Khanna couture with a statement nathni. In an interview with The Indian Express, she was asked about her bond with Sonam K Ahuja to which she replied,^[8]The Crimson Bride
  

  A bond was created 11 years ago when we started working and we both just understood each other. She was very young and experimental. I needed someone on whom I could try beautiful looks and she needed someone who would be willing to try things without being scared or worry about the feedback and the trolls. I have a special fondness for her Cannes look in 2013, where she is wearing an Anamika Khanna couture with the nathni.

  

  

• Namrata’s first editorial makeup was with Vogue, she did the makeup of Preity Zinta for a cover shoot for Vogue’s editorial.

• She has her own makeup academy where she teaches students the art of makeup and hair. She started her academy in 2019 and rebranded the name from Namrata Soni’s School of Makeup and Hair to Namrata Soni Makeup Academy in 2020. She actively organises short courses for makeup and hairstyle and also provides certification.

• She was working with a venture in collaboration with Khushbu Mehta in The School of Makeup and Hair since 2019, where she taught hairstyling and makeup design as a mentor. She parted ways with that venture in 2020 and established her own academy Namrata Soni Makeup Academy because her name was being misused. Khushbu Mehta’s venture organised courses in the name of Namrata in which Namrata was not even part of. Addressing the same issue, she wrote in her Instagram account that –
  

  It has come to my notice that a lot of courses are being offered wrongly in my name, ones that I am no way a part of, whatsoever – misusing my previous content to market things incorrectly. This is to clarify that if you would like to learn from me – I have only one Academy where I will henceforth teach my courses. That is Namrata Soni Makeup Academy.”

• In 2019, she collaborated with different makeup brands and launched her own line of makeup products. She introduced a makeup pouch collaborated with the company Pipa Bella and false eyelashes in collaboration with the company Wynk Lashes.

• She has launched her own makeup brand on 17 December 2020 by the name “Simplynam” which is associated with Sephora India. All her products of her brand are available at Sephora India.