Bollywood glamour drives surge in beauty sales this Karwa Chauth

Beauty brands like Sugar, Renee, and Shoppers Stop see festive spikes as Bollywood's portrayal of Karwa Chauth inspires demand for red lipsticks and makeup

“Life imitates art far more than art imitates life,” said Oscar Wilde. In India, where Bollywood often sets the tone for life, Karwa Chauth has emerged as an occasion for beauty brands to shine.

 

Bollywood glamour turns Karwa Chauth into a beauty moment

 

Directors Aditya Chopra and Karan Johar have popularised and glamourised the festival in films such as Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (1995) and Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham (2001). Think song sequences with wives dressed in red as they wait for the moon to rise. Every year, this cinematic influence makes Karwa Chauth a major occasion for beauty and apparel brands as women begin preparations well in advance.

 

For Sugar Cosmetics, this is a yearly phenomenon.

 

“It is a time that beauty brands wait for as action starts to heat up, especially in the week preceding the festival and reaches a zenith the day before Karwa Chauth,” Kaushik Mukherjee, co-founder and chief operating officer, Sugar Cosmetics, told Business Standard. 

 

Red shades dominate festive makeup sales

 

Red remains the colour of choice for most customers. For Sugar, its matte lipstick crayon in the shade Scarlet O’Hara — a cool red — is among the bestsellers during the festival.

 

“It goes with other celebratory colours like gold, and all shades of red across products such as lipsticks or blushes do very well. We have clocked revenues of Rs 4 crore on the day before the festival and expect even higher revenues this year from that single day,” Mukherjee said, adding that the brand expects revenue of around Rs 75 crore in October alone, buoyed by the festive season.

 

Renee sees strong demand across north India

 

For Renee Cosmetics, Karwa Chauth has emerged as one of the biggest occasions.

 

“It is a big occasion in the northern region, just like Durga Pujo in the East or Navratri in the western parts. While it may still be too early to comment, we typically see sales rising 25–30 per cent in the week before, with an instant uptick as people start stepping out more,” said Asutosh Valani, co-founder, Renee Cosmetics.

 

The brand has seen a quick pickup of “30 per cent in the offline channel and almost 50 per cent in online channels,” he added. Demand for the brand’s liquid sindoor, lipsticks, and kajal — both base and premium — rises significantly during the festival.

 

Retailers report boost in skincare and fragrance categories

 

For retailer SS Beauty, it’s not just makeup — skincare products and fragrances also see increased traction during Karwa Chauth, said Biju Kassim, chief executive officer, beauty, at Shoppers Stop.

 

“Karwa Chauth is a customary occasion in the northern and western regions and an important moment for us,” he told Business Standard, adding that the retailer typically witnesses a sales uptick of 5 to 7 per cent during the festival, led by the lip category.