9 Ingenious Makeup Tips That Are Especially Useful For South Asian Women

Red lipstick is actually a godsend for dark circles.

Lauren Zaser / Alice Mongkongllite / Via BuzzFeed Life

Meet Deepica Mutyala, a 26-year-old beauty expert and YouTuber from Houston, Texas.

Deepica Mutyala / Via instagram.com

She's currently living the ~life~ in New York City.

Ever since her video about using red lipstick to get rid of dark circles under your eyes went viral, she's been making killer videos about beauty product reviews and the techniques that actually work.

Deepica Mutyala / Via youtube.com

Deepica's videos tutorials do a bang-up job of demystifying makeup in general, but she also focuses on making things a hell of a lot easier for South Asian women specifically.

Deepica Mutyala / Via instagram.com

Does that "nude" lipstick work on brown skin? What about this eyeshadow pigment? Which companies make the best foundation for South Asian skin tones? Deepica asks it all — and shows it all — on camera.

So we asked Deepica to show us the beauty tips and tricks every South Asian lady should know.

1. First up: Foundation. When you're looking for a match, test on your neck — not your arm — for the most accurate shade.

Lauren Zaser / Alice Mongkongllite / Via BuzzFeed Life

"Make sure you find a foundation that is actually your color. That may require mixing a few shades. I was trained to want to look lighter growing up, but that lead to making my skin look ashy. A good test to ensure that the color matches you is to take a picture with the flash on and see how it looks in the photo. Sometimes I think I found the right shade by testing on my arm, but that’s not always the color of my face," she says.

What Deepica is wearing: CoverGirl Queen Collection All Day Flawless Foundation

2. Before you get the rest of your makeup in order, apply sunscreen (year-round) and make sure the formula melts into your skin for that ~flawless~ finish.

Lauren Zaser / Alice Mongkongllite / Via BuzzFeed Life

"The problem for me has always been finding a sunscreen that blends into my skin without leaving a white residue. I have yet to discover a drugstore brand that can do that. Also SPF usually doesn’t have the most pleasant scent and leaves my skin feeling greasy which makes applying makeup over it difficult. I finally discovered an SPF product that solves all of these issues and it’s Supergoop Everyday Sunscreen with SPF 30 - no grease, no awful fragrance, and blends into my skin like a charm," says Deepica.

Look for sunscreens that are lightweight serums, as opposed to heavy creams, for formulas that will actually blend.

What Deepica is Wearing: Sunscreen #1 is Supergoop! Every Day SPF 50.

3. Eyebrows are the focal point of the face, so get those bad boys in order using eyeshadow and a slanted brush.

Lauren Zaser / Alice Mongkongllite / Via BuzzFeed Life

"It’s the technique that most Indian women don’t realize they need (because they already have dark, thick brows) but can’t live without once they see the difference it makes. It really takes the brows to another level."

What To Use:

- Brown eyeshadow, 1-2 shades lighter than your natural brow shade (Deepica uses CoverGirl Eyeshadow Quad in Go For The Golds)

- White eye pencil (Deepica uses NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil in Milk)

- Slanted eyeshadow brush (Deepica uses The Balm Slanted Eyeshadow Brush)

What To Do:

Step 1: Dip your brush into the eyeshadow and mark the head (beginning), arch (middle) , and tail (end) of your eyebrow.

Step 2: Use small, hairlike strokes to fill in your eyebrow with shadow. Start with a light amount and add more as you need.

Step 3: Use a white eye pencil under the eyebrow, along the bone, an use your finger to blend. This basically highlights and cleans up the brow all in one shot.

4. Get a golden ~glow~ by using gold eyeshadow all over your face. JK! Just use it on the parts of your face where the light naturally hits.

Lauren Zaser / Alice Mongkongllite / Via BuzzFeed Life

"Gold tones look great on Indian skin because it works well with the warm tones. If you have dry skin, use a cream gold shadow and if you have oily skin, use a powder shadow."

What To Use:

- Gold eyeshadow (Deepica uses CoverGirl Eye Shadow Quad in Go For The Golds)

- Small eyeshadow brush

What To Do:

Step 1: Dab a small eyeliner brush into the gold shadow and apply along the waterline of your eye.

Step 2: Move over to the inner corner and dust gold shadow in there, too.

Step 3: Sweep the eyeshadow over your eyelid...

Step 4: ...and over your eyebrow bone.

Step 5: Dab your finger into the eyeshadow.

Step 6: Apply shadow along your cheekbone, from the center of the cheek up towards your temple.

Step 7: Use the shadow down the bridge of your nose.

Step 8: With the eyeshadow brush, dab a tiny bit of eyeshadow over the cupid's bow of your lips.

Blend the eyeshadow with your fingers or the brush to make it look more subtle, and you're all set! Watch this video from Deepica for even more instruction.

5. Here's Deepica's signature trick of using red lipstick to cover dark circles:

Lauren Zaser / Alice Mongkongllite / Via BuzzFeed Life

"I regularly complained about my dark circles to makeup artists I worked with and I noticed a few would apply a dark spot corrector under my eyes, which was essentially an orangey/red-pigmented cream. The purpose of the red pigmentations was to neutralize the green colors under my eye as a base before applying concealer. I remember wondering, 'What makes this product any different from a lipstick?' I decided to try it out, and it worked wonders!"

What You'll Need:

- Orangey-Red Lipstick (Deepica uses MAC Cosmetics So Chaud)

- Concealer (Deepica uses MAC Cosmetics Concealer in NC 42)

- Lip brush

- Makeup sponge

What To Do:

Step 1: Dab your lipstick brush into your lipstick and start applying to your under eye area.

Step 2: Cover your entire under eye area with a thin layer of lipstick.

Step 3: Move up to the eyelid and cover with a thin layer. Let the lipstick sit undisturbed for about five minutes.

Step 4: Dab some concealer onto the back of your hand and dip your makeup sponge into the concealer. Applying with the sponge will help you to better blend the concealer.

Step 5: Gently dab concealer over the red lipstick until you no longer see red.

Step 6: Go in with a second layer of concealer if necessary. Then let the concealer set and you're done!

Watch this video for even more detailed instruction.

6. And once you're ready, make your eyeshadow POP by using a white, chubby eye pencil as a primer on your eyelids.

Lauren Zaser / Alice Mongkongllite / Via BuzzFeed Life

"Specifically on Indian skin, it’s hard to find eyeshadows that are pigmented enough to really pop. By using a white base to neutralize the natural pigmentation of your eyelid, your eyeshadow appears more vibrant," Deepica says. If you use a white base with a creamy formula, it'll really hold onto the texture of the eyeshadow.

What To Use:

- White eye pencil ( Deepica uses NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil in Milk)

- Eyeshadow (Deepica uses CoverGirl Eyeshadow Quad in Va-Va Violets)

- Eyeshadow brush

What To Do:

Step 1: Apply white eye pencil to your lid where you'll be applying eyeshadow.

Step 2: Use your finger to blend the pencil.

Step 3: Using your brush, apply eyeshadow directly over the white pencil.

Step 4: Blend the eyeshadow with the brush and you're done!

Watch this video from Deepica for more details!

7. Make your blush stay put by using a cream lipstick as a base, then powder blush on top.

Lauren Zaser / Alice Mongkongllite / Via BuzzFeed Life

"Cream blushes tend to have a higher pigment and show up better on Indian skin the best. I love to layer a cream blush with a powder blush over it to really make the apples of my cheeks pop. A favorite beauty hack of mine is using bright pink lipsticks and dabbing them on my cheek," Deepica says.

What To Use:

- Powder blush (Deepica uses Stila Custom Color Blush)

- Lipstick (Deepica uses CoverGirl Lipperfection Lipstick)

- Makeup sponge (Deepica uses Beauty Blender)

- Blush brush (Deepica uses Japonesque Blush Brush)

What To Do:

Step 1: Rub your finger into the lipstick.

Step 2: Apply the lipstick onto the apples of your cheeks, blending as you dab.

Step 3: For even more blending, use a Beauty Blender along the apple of your cheek.

Step 4: Swirl the brush into the powder blush.

Step 5: Sweep the powder blush over the cream blush.

You're done!

8. Contour dem cheekbones with some bronzer.

Lauren Zaser / Alice Mongkongllite / Via BuzzFeed Life

"The shade of the bronzer should be 1-2 shades darker than your skin tone depending on the level of intensity you’re looking for in the contour. I like to suck in my cheeks and make the silly duck face to see where the contour line should go," she says. For a more advanced technique, you can use a contouring cream or a foundation one shade darker than your skin tone.

What To Use:

- Powder bronzer (Deepica uses W3LL PEOPLE Bio Bronzer Powder)

- Kabuki brush

What To Do:

Step 1: Shake powder bronzer into the bronzer's cap.

Step 2: Swirl the kabuki brush around in the bronzer.

Step 3: Tap the brush against the cap to shake off any excess powder.

Step 4: Suck in cheeks so you can see where they hollow out. Sweep the bronzer up into the hollow, towards the temple.

Step 5: Apply a touch of bronzer at the temple.

Step 6: Brush bronzer along the jawline and blend anywhere necessary.

9. And finish your look with a lipstick color besides the classic, creamy red.

Lauren Zaser / Alice Mongkongllite / Via BuzzFeed Life

"A traditional Indian lip color is red. My mom wore it and my mom’s mom wore it. That’s not to say I don’t LOVE a good red lip, but there are ways to take a traditional beauty look and modernize it for today and lip color is a great example of how to do so. A lip color can really change your entire beauty look and accentuate your face," she says.

What Deepica's Wearing:

- Annabelle Cosmetics Stay Sharp Waterproof Lip Liner in Vintage (Nude)

- Anastasia Beverly Hills Lip Gloss in Pastel Pink (Light Pink)

- CoverGirl Colorlicious Lipstick in Spellbound (Hot Pink)

- CoverGirl Colorlicious Lipstick in Divine Wine (Fuchsia)

- Charlotte Tilbury Beach Stick in Es Vedra (Orange)

- Smashbox Always Sharp Lip Liner in Crimson (Berry)

For even more ~life-changing~ tips from Deepica, subscribe to her YouTube channel and follow her on Instagram!

@deepicam / Via Instagram: @deepicam