This post was originally published on our partner website India.com.
Deepica Mutyala has the kind of job most beauty aficionados all over the world lust after. As a senior manager in brand development at the popular New York-based beauty subscription company Birchbox, Mutyala works with the latest innovations in the beauty industry.
“All in one day, I could be doing our co-founder Katia’s makeup before going on Good Morning America, filming a video tutorial on the ‘perfect smoky eye,’ meeting with a brand on how they can create more cost efficient samples, and talking to a manufacturer on the hottest new beauty product on the market!” enthuses Deepica.
But that wasn’t always the case for Texas-native Mutyala, who dreamed of moving to New York to work in the beauty industry, from a young age.
Despite belonging to a family of medical professionals, Mutyala was determined to embark on a career in the beauty world. She said she was always the girl doing everyone’s makeup and knew at an early age that she wanted to make beauty her profession and passion.
“My idea of a fun night was sitting at home with my friends or family and experimenting with new products (and it still is!),” Mutyala said. “To this day, I have regrets of never working at a beauty counter – that would be the dream!”
“In college, I participated in a marketing case competition for L’Oreal USA that showed me firsthand what it would be like to be a Brand Manager for a major beauty house. This opened the doors to a summer internship at L’Oreal USA in NYC,” Mutyala said.
Even though the internship did not turn into a full-time job after graduating, she took a job as an analyst for L Brands working on Victoria’s Secret Pink.
“At the time, I was devastated because I was convinced that my career path would be working at a major beauty company, go to business school and then start my own brand,” Mutyala said.
Although this was not a part of her long-term plan, she said she felt it was important to learn about the data and analytics side of the fashion/beauty world.
Along with her full-time job, she said she started a beauty blog as a side project/hobby.
“It was my way of staying truly tapped into the beauty world, but more than anything, it was fun!” Mutyala said.
In her day to day research, Mutyala noticed a company that was doing monthly shoe deliveries, chosen by beauty stylists and tailored to your liking, and wondered why a concept like this did not already exist for the beauty industry.
“I thought I had a eureka moment and even bought a domain!” she said
After doing some research, Mutyala said she soon realized a company called Birchbox was mailing monthly deliveries of personalized beauty, grooming, and lifestyle samples, tailored to your profile.
“It was much more of a savvy business model than I had envisioned – there was a 360 approach to beauty that had never been done before,” she said.
This led her to applying for an open position within the company and was later hired as a campaign strategist. Within a month, she moved to Manhattan from Texas to work for the fast-growing start-up company.
“I feel extremely fortunate to work at a company with co-founders Katia Beauchamp and Hayley Barna, who truly care about the career path of each of their employees,” Mutyala said. “One thing, Katia said to me before that has really stuck with me through the years, is the importance of shaping my own career path. No one is going to make things happen for you, but you.”
Mutyala said she started her time at Birchbox as a campaign strategist, where she designed and executed campaigns for their beauty brand partners. But after a close evaluation of her career goals, she said she switched to a new role in brand development.
“I get to work hand in hand with product development, which exposes me to the newest and latest innovations in the beauty world and consult brands on making better business decisions,” Mutyala said. “Even though I’m not on either the editorial or social media team at Birchbox, I’m given the opportunity to help lend a hand in creating beauty looks and strategies for those teams as well.”
For new-age-beauty-fanatics wondering how Birchbox works, Deepica explains, subscribers get products in their box based on the information they provide in their beauty profiles.
“You specify your hair type, skin type, level of beauty knowledge, splurge items, etc. in this profile and with the help of a patented algorithm, [and] we send you a curated box monthly,” Mutyala said.
As for Mutyala’s own beauty box, she said her most bought product is lipstick.
“If you knew how many I owned, you’d think I had a problem. I carry three with me (at the minimum) at all times because I never know what mood I’ll be in. Some people collect coins, I collect lipsticks,” Mutyala said.
So what’s next for this talented beauty maven?
“You never know what will happen, but being at Birchbox, I am so inspired by female CEO’s and entrepreneurs,” Mutyala said. “I hope to one day add to this list and have my own beauty company. I would love to develop a line from all my learning of working in this industry. The best brands and companies out there are those created around a personal need. I want to develop a line that serves all the market holes that I see, which quite frankly is a lot!”
Here’s Deepica’s expert beauty and makeup tips for South Asian women:
Ditch the eyeliner for mascara and brightening concealer:
“South Asian women tend to wear extremely heavy eyeliner. I think it was how we were raised because I was definitely guilty of this too. I think we think that our eyes look dull without it, but the real trick to making your eyes look awake is a good mascara and brightening concealer under the eyes. If you brush your lashes inward versus outward with a good volumizing mascara, it opens up your eyes. Also, a trick, that I’ve been doing to get the effect of an eyeliner in a more subtle way, is getting my mascara wand close to my waterline and essentially wiggling it to act as an eyeliner. It gives a smudged/smoky eyeliner effect without going overboard. Don’t get me wrong, I love me a good winged liner, but there is something refreshing about skipping the intense liner every once in awhile.”
Try bolder looks:
“Another reason, I’m into the subtle liner looks, is because it also leads to a bold lip look. South Asian women tend to think that the boldest lip, they can touch, is a red, but that’s not true. It’s all about confidence when you wear it. Own it and everyone else will wish they were too. Makeup is all about having fun! I want more South Asian women to experiment with new looks out of their comfort zone. You’d be surprised at what you discover!”
Discover the power of coconut oil:
“I recently started to use coconut oil on my hair, body, and face. Yes, the same coconut oil South Asian women grew up seeing their mom put in their hair. I used to rebel when my mom wanted to put it in my hair, but it’s really served as a miracle product for me. I’ve already noticed my hair look shinier, face feels more nourished, and body is less dry. It’s funny how sometimes the simplest products can make the biggest impacts.”
Invest in a good dark spot corrector:
“If you have extreme dark circles under your eyes (like me and most South Asian women); use a bright red/orange lipstick as a base under your eyes before applying concealer. The bright pigmentation of the lipstick evens out your skin tone.”
Check out Deepica’s newest YouTube channel:
