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The one thing I acquired from my mother’s make-up routine, as limited as it is, is an enduring love of eyeliner. My mother may have grown up in Jaipur in India, geographically as well as culturally very different to my upbringing in the UK, but it’s something we have always shared.

In hindsight, her mantra was quite purist. As someone who cared a great deal about avoiding unnecessary chemicals in her beauty regime, she instilled in me the belief that I should never apply too much to my face, and instead look after my skin. As a result, her dark, defined doe eyes were one of the few constants whenever she wore make-up and one of the first memories I have of personal beauty.

It’s something I saw everywhere during my yearly visits to India from a young age too. I would spot eyeliner on female family members, or strangers in saris on the back of scooters. Seeing the variety of different women with smudges, flicks or thick lines adorning their eyes cemented how central it was, and is, to beauty in India. In contrast, it was a look that felt less of a constant in the west - a red lip or smoky eye were comparatively iconic with the way eyeliner felt in India.

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The wonders of eyeliner are an open secret that has rendered it ubiquitous among Indian women throughout history; it’s transcended countless generations and remains just as important to millennials navigating Western influences and Indian culture as it was for those they descended from. From the edgy, smudgier styles donned by the modern actresses on South Asian screens today - women who confidently flip between jeans and lenghas as proof of how contemporary they are - to the Bollywood heroines of the ‘60s with their dramatic flicks, eyeliner has been - and will always be - central to Indian beauty.

Ruchira Sharma (third from left) with her parents and sister

Known as kajal in Hindi, eyeliner is centuries old. In contrast to the countless brands on offer now, women historically made this substance using a muslin cloth, sandalwood paste and castor oil to burn the residue. The result could be likened to the holy grail pots of eyeliner dubbed an arsenal in countless women’s handbags today.

Aside from the aesthetic appeal, many Indian women thought kajal could be cooling to the eyes as well as protecting them against buri nazar (the evil eye). It’s a superstition that remains today. Historically, dancers of Bharatnatayam (an Indian classical dance) would apply kohl heavily to their eyes to draw attention to them. Since Bharatnatayam relies as heavily on the dancers’ facial expressions as it does the subtle movements of their bodies, it only serves to pull audiences’ gaze as much towards their suggestive eyes as possible.

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Similarly in Bollywood, India’s largest film industry, there has long been a trope of women using their eyes to beguile both audiences and their love interests. Until recently, films were so family-friendly that they never featured kissing - so eyes were the subtext to this hurdle in romantic films. From a coquettish glance to smouldering stares, eyes would serve as a separate narrative for audiences, the dark liner making it impossible to ignore.

Indian actress Deepika Padukone at the Cannes Film Festival in May © Getty Images

While my mother has never thought to use eyeliner in this way there’s always been a strength to her process. As she gets ready to leave the house, her last few steps include a careful swipe of liquid eyeliner and the application of a rust-coloured lipstick. There’s a sense of her readying herself for the day ahead and despite the limited time she has to indulge herself, framing her eyes is something she always fits in.

One thing about my mother is that she rarely likes attention; she’s strong but shy. So, there’s a power in her exaggerating and showcasing one of her best features despite this. It’s a move than reinforces the brilliance of make-up to celebrate specific parts of your beauty in a way that feels comfortable. That’s exactly how I feel when I wear it too. Whether it’s an interview or a date, lipstick is my daring choice whereas eyeliner is my safety armour. The minute I wear it, I feel grown-up. I imagine there’s something that connects me to my mum in doing so and I become a stroke more comfortable in my skin.

Ruchira Sharma

Of course, I’ve only reflected on this after countless experiments with thin wonky lines and haphazard angles protruding from my lashes. Without realising it at the time, I used her everyday look as inspiration and then afterwards - once I’d mastered it - developed my own version. I would play with liquid, gel and shadow to merge the Western beauty tropes I grew up with with that piece of my other home.

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