Miss World 2017 Manushi Chhillar is the newest global brand ambassador for Estée Lauder and joins the family of global talents that includes Adut Akech, Ana de Armas, Amanda Gorman, Bianca Brandolini D’Adda, Carolyn Murphy, Grace Elizabeth, Karlie Kloss, Kōki and Yang Mi. The lovely Manushi who has a certain innocence about her, chatted with The Telegraph about what this association means for her and more.
Congratulations on signing Estee Lauder! How do you choose what you want to be associated with? Does it have to resonate with you on a personal level?
For me, especially growing up, I used to look up to all these amazing women who would be associated with certain brands. We all tend to create a parallel between who the celebrity is and what brands they endorse and what those legacy brands stand for. Today, with a lot of digital marketing, you have these short-term associations, but when I was a kid, you had these really long-term associations between an individual and these legacy brands. So, I have always tried really hard in whatever little time I have had of being fairly popular to kind of replicate that in my life. It has always been important to be a part of something that I believe in and I look at things from a long-term perspective because you have a story to tell.
I feel lucky that Estee Lauder believed that I would be the right face for them. It is important for me to associate with brands that have a similar story. I have been a personal fan and have used a lot of their products before this association. So, this has been my most exciting association. Being a global representative is a big platform for me.
Who are your personal favourites from the existing bouquet of brand ambassadors?
I think there are so many all over the world. Every time I am at a duty-free, there is a new face, but I think Karlie Kloss would be my answer.
What are your earliest memories of make-up?
I think my mother was not very big on make-up, but she loves her lipsticks and she would have this large collection of lipsticks and would wear her red lipstick to work every day. She loves her reds. So, my early memory would be playing with her lipsticks when she'd be at work and I have ruined so many of her very difficult-to-find lipsticks and she has been kind and forgiving about that.
I think I always liked the idea of make-up but never knew how to do it till I actually entered a pageant. As a toddler, my parents would put talcum powder on me and I must have seen it in movies or TV, women powdering their faces. I took a bottle of powder, emptied it on a table and with a handkerchief, patted it on my face and ended up looking white as a ghost. I must have been three or four. They have a picture of it. I have been fascinated with things that I thought were ladylike! (Laughs)
What is the purpose of make-up in your life?
In my life, it is very different. When I am shooting for a film, make-up has many roles to play. If I have to go on a red carpet or a party or at an event, it is about adding that extra glamour to how you look, but even as an actor when you don't need that extra glamour and need a natural look, make-up helps create a certain character. Today we have much-advanced technology and cameras, but back in the day, cameras would only catch the light which would reflect off your make-up. So, it was important for actors to wear make-up. Of course, they were a lot more than what we wear today. Today we have much better cameras and we can actually go without make-up.
When I wasn't an actor or wasn't doing pageants, make-up for me, and even today in my normal day-to-day life, it's more about feeling good about yourself. I really enjoy it if I have that 20-30 minutes before going out. I find it meditative and I enjoy that me-time and find it close to self-care. I am not saying make-up is necessary but it does help build your confidence. We all want to look a certain way and it is such a big part of how we feel about ourselves and we all want to feel like we take care of ourselves. Make-up is a part of that. How we present ourselves to the world, whether we are going out to work or to meet friends.
Are you good with your make-up?
I am really good with my make-up (laughs) and I am very proud of how I do my make-up. In fact, I always tell my team that if it's last minute and you cannot find anyone, I am going to do it on my own. I have done my own make-up throughout the pageant days. In fact, for the Miss World finale, I did my own hair and make-up. The more you practise, the better you get. I enjoy doing make-up.
Being a beauty pageant winner, what do you think true beauty really is?
If I look back and think before the pageant and today, I wasn't someone who consciously thought about beauty or what's beautiful, to be honest. I have always found people who are confident in themselves to be attractive and in a way, beautiful. I like people who are comfortable and confident in their own skin and I think for me it hasn't changed.
Of course, beauty is evolving. Today, thanks to social media, Instagram and filters, it's a lot more complicated... how we look at the physicality of a person, but I still feel, outside of Instagram, when we are in the real world and real life and actually meet people, confidence and niceness always stand out.
Someone who is nice on the inside, it automatically reflects on your face. For me, beauty is likeability. It is not something which is tangible. You can't change the tangible aspects of beauty. That changes every year now. I have never found those tangible things to be standards of beauty.
Do women put pressure on themselves to look a certain way and live for others rather than themselves?
This is so funny because this was the discussion I was having with my siblings two days ago. A lot of what we do as humans in society, we tend to forget to do things for ourselves and take a lot of pressure to do things for others. The truth of it is we think the others are sitting and watching, they are probably sitting and thinking the same and not even focusing on what we are doing.
Not just women, I think men too take a lot of pressure on how they look, in a different manner of course. Not just for celebrities. I have a mother and a sister and at some point, I also wasn't an actor. I know women do take a lot of pressure on how they look even when they are not celebrities, which is alright as long as it makes you feel good. If it becomes a task and something that is stressing you out and you feel you have to prove to others, that's when it becomes unhealthy and stops bringing joy. The joy in looking a certain way is to be able to pick out a certain dress that you feel great in and feel good about yourself. I don't think it's in trying to please others. They are probably not even noticing.
What has been your personal mantra to live life?
It is ever-evolving, but right now, it is just to live life for myself and for a long time, I was and still am in a competitive world. Whether you had to get certain marks in the Boards or get into a certain college... I was in a competitive environment in Miss World. Now is actually when I have started to chart my life on a long-term (basis) and not based on these goals that are to be achieved in a few months or years. I have realised that life is short and there is so much to experience in life and I want to experience life for myself. I want to enjoy each day. I was always a person who would keep planning her future and the truth of it is when I actually became an adult and started following these plans, nothing ever goes according to your plan. My new mantra is to enjoy life and live a balanced, good, happy and healthy life with my loved ones. Having a simple life is very underrated but I think it's worth it.
My career as an actor has just started. Finally, my first film (Samrat Prithviraj) released! So, there is a lot to look forward to over there as well. My mantra is to take life as it is and make the best out of what you have.