In pictures: Aditi Rao Hydari’s beauty evolution

By Anjan Sachar, Avanti Dalal6 May 2020

While her radiant skin and glossy hair has stayed constant throughout the ears, Aditi Rao Hydari has kept things interesting in the beauty department, with everything from lavender lipstick and graphic eyeliner

Aditi Rao Hydari's beauty looks emphasise her glowing skin and shiny hair, and this has held true since her film debut in 2006. When she acted in film Malayalam film Prajapathi (2006) her dewy skin and shaped eyebrows were only embellished with a little lip gloss and eye liner. The actor then rose to fame after her performances in Delhi 6 (2009) and Yeh Saali Zindagi (2011). Hydari then starred in Murder 3 (2013), Boss (2013) and Wazir (2016), after which she made waves in Padmaavat (2018), which became her biggest commercial success.

The beginning

In 2012, the year right after her first lead role in a Bollywood film Yeh Saali Zindagi, she was seen sporting '90s favourite skinny brows and balmy pink lips. However, years later, Hydari chalked that up to being a major blunder: “Plucking my eyebrows when I was younger despite my mum advising me not to,” she said about her one beauty regret. When she attended the music launch for the film in a pink sari, a wipsy side fringe and super sleek strands was her hairstyle of choice. While promoting London, Paris, New York (2012), she added curls to her repertoire. That same year, she walked the IIFA Rocks red carpet with a bold smoky eye and highlighted strands—a significantly different avatar from the years before. At the Stardust Awards in 2013, a voluminous braided bun and strong highlight suggested a change in looks to come.

Come 2014 and Hydari's look transitioned from no make-up to base-heavy, with filled-in brows, smudged eyeliner and voluminous lashes. “I like to use liner and neutral brown eyeshadow to define the eyes, a swipe of mascara to open them up, and well-defined brows to round out the look,” she said in an interview with Vogue India. At the Vogue Beauty Awards, after her success with Murder 3, she turned up the glamour levels by wearing side-swept bombshell curls and a burgundy lip. Not one to skip trying something new, she wore faux bangs, an exaggerated cat eye and orange lips for another award show, just a few months later.

Coming into her own

In 2015, her brows were shaped differently as they got thicker on the insides and tapered on the outsides, while she picked pink as a frequent lip colour and swapped her eyeliner for lengthy lashes and hints of blush. “I like to keep my eyes clean, just some light mascara, sometimes not even that, flushed cheeks, highlighter and bold lips,” she said of her signature go-to look. She took her hair game up a notch with various styles like a slicked-back ponytail, blown out curls, crown braids and side swept 'dos, especially on the red carpet.

Her signature look

For makeup, the actor moved away from her bright lip colours and opted for fresh nude skin, bold arches and long lashes—a look that eventually became her signature. “I like to keep my make-up simple. I prefer nude make-up as it gives me a natural, fresh look. So, just a dab of pink on the lips and cheeks and I'm good to go,” she said that year of her makeup essentials. When she attended the Vogue Beauty Awards, this stood true, but Hydari added a little purple underliner to her eyes for a pop of colour. A light lip, like a pink or pastel lavender was a new favourite. But with her hair, Hydari still liked taking chances, even wearing a crimped ponytail to a red carpet that year. Even at the Vogue Beauty Awards in 2017, her strands were slicked down into sculptural waves, while her makeup was matte, nude and light.

For Deepika Padukone's wedding reception in 2018, she brought back a darker lip with a more saturated red shade, but kept the eyes simple—just adding a pastel eyeshadow instead of resorting to a smoky eye. In 2020, Hydari joined stars like Padukone and Anushka Sharma by cutting her hair into a lob—a hair length she'd never really tried before. With a new haircut to play with, and a propensity for trying cool new trends (like graphic eyeliner and messy ponytails), it's clear that her beauty looks will just get more interesting.