My Beauty Line Is A True Representation Of Who I Am: Katrina Kaif The celebrity-turned-entrepreneur launched Kay beauty, a beauty line product in association with Nykaa last year

From playing a role of a simple Christian girl with stuttering issues in Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani to being a gunslinging ISI agent in Tiger Zinda Hain, Katrina Kaif has essayed a wide range of characters in her Bollywood career spanning over 16 years, giving little room for her haters to excoriate. With her contagious smile and kind nature, she has managed to become a household name in a country with 1.3 billion population within a short period of time.

With her already successful career in B-town, last year she launched her own brand, "Kay Beauty' in association with Nykaa, kickstarting her new innings as an entrepreneur.

On the occasion of the brand's one year anniversary, Kaif, co-founder of Kay Beauty, interacted with Entrepreneur India over email and shared why she launched the brand and how her entrepreneurial journey has been till date.

"Dream To Build Something'

Kaif, who has always been bold on the big screen and confident off screen, always dreamt of building something that she can call her own. From the very beginning, she has been fond of make-up. Growing up in a family of six girls, she was surrounded with beauty products and was naturally attracted to them. As she grew, and started working in the entertainment world, she used to bombard her makeup artists with questions related to make-up and cosmetic products. With time, the curiosity turned into a genuine interest for her and she wanted to learn about these products as a professional.

"To sum it up, makeup has been an innate part of my journey—from runway to the big screen—and finally I rendered my love for it to launch Kay Beauty, my first ever beauty brand," she exclaimed.

Kaif said with Kay Beauty she wanted to create something that is a true representation of who she is and is authentic to all aspects of her personality.

"I wanted to defy the stereotypes attached to vanity and beauty and I am glad that we are getting there," she added.

"Kay Beauty Is More Than a Beauty Brand'

Kay Beauty offers a diverse and inclusive range of beauty products, from lip crayons and kajals to colour correctors and contour sticks, loose powders. The brand this year also added highlighters to its existing beauty line.

The Phantom actress said that from the beginning she knew what she wanted from her brand—it has to be high performing makeup, a product that people fall in love with because it does what it claims. It has to make the person wearing it seem like it's something that is nurturing to their skin and cares for their skin and is an inclusive brand.

"Our message to all the women is that makeup should be fun, and we are all beautiful in our own unique and special way," she said.

The first B-town actor to have a Barbie doll modelled on her said Kay Beauty is more than just a beauty brand and it is an experience and a community that she wanted to build for her customers where they can feel free to express their creativity and have fun while using the products.

Kaif revealed that in the first year, her brand got a tremendous response from her customers and now she is looking to touch over 200 SKUs by the end of this year. She also hinted that in the next two months, there will be exciting launches in the color cosmetics and face category.

"Want To Bridge Between High Glamour and Care'

Surely, if one visits a mall or an e-commerce website, one will be bombarded with thousands of products from hundreds of brands to try on. There are not only Indian brands, but also international and much expensive brands that have landed in the country in the past decade. When asked what differentiates her brand from others, she said, "Kay Beauty stands for #MakeUpThatKares, as each product is enriched with skin loving ingredients that have been hand-picked to care for your skin."

Kaif said along with Nykaa, the beauty line has discovered ingredients that could be fused with makeup to repair and enrich the skin. Taking some examples, she said her lip products are enriched with marula oil and chamomile to keep lips hydrated and nourished, the kajals feature ceramide and chamomile to keep eyes refreshed and nourished. The brand also provides products that are vegan, paraben-free and cruelty-free.

L-R: Falguni Nayar, Founder & CEO, Nykaa ; Katrina Kaif, Co-Founder, Kay Beauty , Reena Chhabra, CEO Nykaa Brands

She wants her brand to be a bridge between high glamour and care so that everyone can be glamorous without any guilt.

She interacts and does a lot of educational and product tutorials on the brand's Instagram handle for the K community.

Kaif excitedly revealed her brand has been working on a project called Kay Konversations which will feature inspiring women who have overcome obstacles and faced their fears to realize their dreams.

"Be Passionate'

For the entrepreneurial community, we asked the celebrity-turned-entrepreneur to share any tips/suggestions and she said, "The first and the foremost is that you need to be extremely passionate about what you are trying to build."

Explaining further she said one needs to invest time and focus on creating the brand, and that it is important to listen to others and their opinion, but one also needs to listen to her heart at the end of the day.

She said taking decisions and being patient are important qualities for an entrepreneur. She also asked to enjoy what one is doing and then only one can be able to convince others of their products or services.

When asked about her entrepreneurial journey, she said, "My journey in the past one year has been all about learning. I am glad that I have become more decisive. While understanding the several aspects of business, I think I have understood myself a little better. I have also realized that there is nothing better than bringing joy to others."