All the highlights from the Vogue Beauty Festival 2020 you need to catch up on

You came, you saw, you followed. The Vogue Beauty Festival 2020, a three day virtual affair hosted on August 28,29 and 30—Vogue India’s first and biggest virtual bash—saw the global beauty community come together on your screens with the most insightful tutorials, masterclasses and conversations. From JLo’s trainer and Jennifer Aniston’s makeup artist to Hrithik Roshan’s nutritionist, the coolest names in the industry were your personal beauty and wellness guides for the weekend. Everyone was invited—the readers, the consumers, the experts, the beauty lovers and the wellness and fitness enthusiasts. 

Plus, there was so much more from our partners—Ajio, Forest Essentials, Her Story,  and Pinterest—and participating brands that included Bath and Body Works, Inglot, Kérastase, Maybelline New York, O3+, Olay, Schwarzkopf Professional, System Professional, Vasansi Jaipur, Wella Professionals and Wow Skin Science. 

If you couldn’t catch your favourite session over the weekend, you can head to Vogue India's Instagram, Facebook and YouTube channels to watch everything you missed! Ahead, we list out reasons why you should do the same.

August 28, 2020

The festival kick-started a day before, where Her Story's 2019-2020 ambassador Sobhita Dhulipala had a live chat with Vogue India's editor-in-chief Priya Tanna about film and fashion. On the first day of the festival, we started with a deep dive into the Ayurvedic philosophy and its implementation in our daily lives. Nutritionist to the stars—from Will Smith to Hrithik Roshan—Mona Sharma not only took us through the fundamentals of the Ayurvedic diet but also gave advice on how to implement Ayurvedic actions for a vibrant body from the inside out.

The day also saw members of the Vogue India team playing dress up by matching their fashion picks from Vasansi with the perfect makeup looks, and, readers participated in a fun contest to win a hair care-kit from Schwarzkopf. Everyone’s biggest lockdown dilemma—how to give yourself a blow dry—was solved by hairstylist Michel Baltazar, while NYC-based dermatologist Dr Shereene Idriss answered your most Googled skincare questions (yes, dark circles and uninvited acne were part of the list). As digital beauty writer Avanti Dalal chatted with Wella Passionistas ambassador Adhuna Bhabani on the secret to never having bad hair days at home, the day ended with Pilates expert Radhika Karle’s workout routine to up your fitness game while you stay in.

August 29, 2020

Proving that yoga truly is the best form of self love was day two’s first session—a grounding yoga flow by Adriene Mishler, who taught us to find the beauty within with asanas that left us feeling light and positive. We suggest bookmarking this one for days when you could do with a little pick-me-up, without anyone’s help but yourself. No better way to follow that up with a glow-boosting facial without an actual facialist coming over—beauty editor Sneha Mankani shared her five step facial routine with Forest Essentials that would leave your skin feeling revived and luminous. Lucky viewers of VBF also got a chance to win hampers from WOW Skin Science India.

We then spent a day in the life of the medical director of The Ageless Clinic, Dr Harshna Bijlani, where she shared her in-depth pro-level skincare routine (lots of notes were taken). As wellness influencer Shaana Levy-Bahl chatted live with Dr Harald Stossier, founder and medical director, VIVAMAYR Austria, we learned just how important it is to keep our gut health strong and the many ways it can affect our entire body. Brightening up the day was everyone’s favourite nail artist, Betina Goldstein, with a DIY nail art session, where the pro showed her step-by-step tutorial on the prettiest floral nail art and a cool graphic one for the minimalists. Then, Maybelline’s Elton Fernandez gave Vogue.in’s managing editor Nitya Chablani tips to wing it like a pro and makeup artist Amrit Kaur demonstrated how to get a lit-from-within glow using O3+ products.

The day was filled with masterclasses from the beauty industry’s biggest experts. The master hairdresser behind Princess Diana and Kate Moss’s strands, Sam McKnight conducted his masterclass by recreating iconic hairstyles from the AW2020 runways. Dr Barbara Sturm gave us lessons on what to do, undo and re-look at our skincare routine, and beauty aficionados, including Vogue India's junior beauty editor Sanjana Salukhne, showed us how to find your beauty inspiration on Pinterest. Dr Nigma Talib took us through her 10 most essential commandments of naturopathy, and after listening to her, we’re definitely going to steam our vegetables more often—watch her session to know why!

The evening saw EIC Priya Tanna moderating a panel discussion titled Vogue Conversations: The Future of Beauty. It was riveting, informative and insightful—as Diipa Khosla, Luke Coutinho, Dr Harshna Bijlani, Manish Bhagat and Karishma Manga Bedi discussed where the beauty industry is headed during and post pandemic.

Finally, it was time for the Vogue Beauty Awards product winners to be unveiled, a big part of which were chosen by you, our readers. Day two ended with a luminous chat between makeup artist to the most beautiful women in Hollywood, Gucci Westman and Sneha Mankani, as they decoded what ‘clean beauty’ means to makeup and exchanged notes on hacks and tricks to conceal and highlight right.

August 30, 2020

What better way than to start the last day of the beauty festival with a sweat session by Gunnar Peterson—the man behind Jennifer Lopez and Khloe Kardashian’s toned bodies. His full body workout with no weights, no accessories was all about having fun while you move your muscles. After gaining that healthy workout glow, beauty influencer Mi-Anne Chan showed us how she paints happy skies, neon strokes and squiggly electric lines on the eyes. 

The day also had world-famous astrologer and author, Susan Miller of Astrology Zone who gave us a peek into each zodiac sign’s beauty future. Did you know that Virgos are more inclined towards clean beauty and love all things organic and natural and that a Scorpio is all about being a sexy siren? Check her session out now (if you haven’t already) to know what your zodiac sign’s beauty traits are. Next, The House of Pixels—the photographer duo behind Deepika Padukone and Sonam Kapoor’s perfect Instagram shoots—showed you how to play with light, props and background to do your own photoshoot sans a professional crew.

The eventful Sunday afternoon had beauty influencer and creator of U Beauty, Tina Craig, who showed us how to take the day off in the most tech-forward way. Tip from Tina: Always, always double cleanse! Then, model and actor Lisa Haydon spilled her lockdown secrets with Kérastase, revealing everything from her favourite candle that helps her unwind to the hair oil she swears by. We then indulged in a skincare masterclass where senior Ayurveda doctors at Forest Essentials, Taruna Yadav and Shweta Netke shared their tips on an ideal AM to PM Ayurvedic skincare routine with traditional techniques that are sure to give you a healthy, nourished glow—exactly what your dosha is asking for. Bollywood’s most loved makeup artist, Namrata Soni also showed us how to add some colour to our lockdown life—by painting sunset colours to the eyes.

Evening workouts are always fun—especially when you have Gwyneth Paltrow and Victoria Beckham’s fitness trainer, Tracy Anderson telling you what to do. She took us through her signature cardio-sculpt sequence that made us sweat and also lifted our spirits.

What’s common between world-famous makeup artist and entrepreneur, Bobbi Brown and wellness aficionado, Mira Rajput Kapoor? The ‘keep it real’ philosophy. The interaction saw them both swirl, swipe and dab makeup with Brown giving her tricks for the perfect no makeup-makeup look. We’ll let you in on her favourite hack: swap lipstick for blush.

The day ended with the Vogue Beauty Awards—the grand finale to the Vogue Beauty Festival 2020. Queens of social media Kusha Kapila and Diipa Khosla, the hosts of the evening, kept us entertained as we felicitated the best in the industry—from the most beautiful faces in Bollywood to the best experts you have been relying on throughout the lockdown. Check out the award ceremony now for the stellar lineup of all winners for 2020—highlights include Sushmita Sen, Alaya F, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Sushmita Sen and Ayushmann Khurrana.

What's next?

A deep-dive into caring for your hair colour is next on the schedule, as Vogue India's Sanjana Salunkhe chats with Wella ambassador Natasha Naegamvala. Plus, what happens when editor in chief of Vogue India, Priya Tanna and actor and beauty entrepreneur, Katrina Kaif come together to talk all things business and beauty? Stay tuned to find out. 

Also read:

Vogue Beauty Festival 2020: All the beauty and wellness experts you can expect to watch during the three days