If you’re looking to recreate Athiya Shetty’s enviable sun-drenched, skin-first selfies à la Hailey Bieber on Instagram, you’ll want to know the actress’ beauty and wellness secrets she swears by. Shetty’s social media pages are not only rife with her favourite breakfast picks, adorable polaroids with beau KL Rahul and make-up experiments, but they also help transport you to cheerier, brighter climes. Here are our favourite beauty and wellness moments we loved, shared and double-tapped from Shetty’s Instagram.
Hydration really is key
While every celebrity and ‘skinfluencer’ waxes eloquent on the importance of drinking water, it is the one age-old and time-tested way to ensure that your skin remains supple, hydrated and healthy. As for Shetty, this was a beauty trick passed on to her by her grandmother. “She’s always forcing me to drink a lot of water. I love it because it’s natural and it really hydrates your skin,” she shared. It’s not just H2O, Shetty also drinks lots of coconut water and water-rich fruit juices too, especially when on a tropical vacation.
Cleansing is an important step
Being an actress, Shetty’s job entails having to wear foundation, concealer and other potentially pore-clogging make-up products often, so taking it off before winding up the day is important to her. “It’s really important to take off your make-up properly and let your skin breathe,” she shared. Taking your make-up off will ensure that your skin cells are able to regenerate at the right speed, which will prevent your pores from getting congested, and will leave your skin glowing and healthy.
Never skip sunscreen
While this is another piece of anti-ageing skincare advice that is beaten to death on the internet by beauty enthusiasts and dermatologists alike, they’re not wrong in doing so, and SPF really is the holy grail of skincare. Sun damage can manifest on the skin as pigmentation, dryness, acne and fine lines, so slathering on sunscreen is important to nip that in the bud. Shetty has always shouted out the product—even back in 2016. “I always wear sunblock before I leave the house. It gives me a glow and makes me feel pretty.” Her pick of choice is a light matte one “because it’s not thick and doesn’t look like sunscreen.”
Sometimes DIY skincare is all you need
While Shetty likes trying new skincare products, she dabbles in DIY remedies too. While she may borrow some beauty tips from her grandmother (like drinking water!), the actress gets her beauty recipes from the internet, just like the rest of us. “I YouTube phrases like ‘fresh face‘ and these recipes come up for face masks. Whether it’s pureed tomatoes or yoghurt, I make natural face masks at home. I’ve been doing that since I was a child,” she confirmed. Even her moisturiser of choice is from her pantry: “At night, because I have dry skin, I put two-three drops of coconut oil on a cotton pad and apply.”
Intuitive eating and exercising is sustainable
Shetty makes it clear through her Instagram that she’s not a fan of crash diets or manic workout routines. The Motichoor Chaknachoor star never resorts to starving herself and enjoys her favourite foods guilt-free while adding movement through her day through hikes, yoga sessions and home workouts. “For me, I eat everything. I feel you only live once so might as well enjoy all the food that there is. But it’s important to eat right. I make it a point to work out if I binge and have that balance,” she shared.
Start your day with a balanced breakfast
While egg dishes are her go-tos as often seen in her photos on Instagram, Shetty keeps it balanced by eating healthy and nutritious breakfasts to take her through the day. Her favourite picks? Fruits, pancakes, toast and smoothies. This is great advice because a good meal in the AM replenishes your supply of glucose first thing in the morning and fuels your energy levels and alertness.
Use hair rollers for endless volume
If you want that voluminous, ’90s-inspired, fresh-out-of-the-salon blown out hair of your dreams—especially if you have thin, fine hair—Shetty recommends using rollers to get the hair to dry into a certain shape and form. They can be used to create curls, waves or just texture, depending on what you’re looking for. Instead of reverse-combing your hair (which can cause breakage), use hot rollers to set those bouncy waves, and leave them in until they cool down.
Skinimalism and light make-up is in
Shetty knows that she needs only a handful of make-up staples to look presentable especially when she’s in a rush. “Applying mascara is my favourite thing to do,” she said, as she usually accentuates her eyes with a lengthening and curling mascara. “I curl my eyelashes really fast and everyone’s like ‘how do you do it!‘. It’s really weird. I can do it without a mirror and I can do it in a moving car!” If you’re in a rush, it helps to have a low-effort, signature make-up look that’ll never let you down.
Choose a signature scent for yourself
Finding the right perfume can be a difficult task, and takes a lot of trial and error to finally find the one that’ll really work for you (and your pheromones). But if you have landed on one you’ve loved—bonus points if it has a sweet memory attached—it’s always a good idea to stick to it. “There’s just one perfume I love and have stuck to for a long, long time. It’s Narciso Rodriguez For Her. My mom uses it and it’s just something that I’ve grown up smelling,“ Shetty shared.
Have fun with your make-up looks
While bare-faced selfies are her go-to posts, Shetty isn’t afraid to try something out of the ordinary, like green eyeshadow or bold pink lipstick. It also reflects her make-up philosophy: “I love experimenting. It’s all about trial and error. There are no such things as making mistakes. People are very afraid of making mistakes and that’s why they don’t experiment, but that’s silly. You should experiment because only then you know what looks good on you.”
