Hemali Mistry AKA @ReadytoGlow is a beauty influencer based in Toronto, Canada. She focuses mainly on beauty, fashion and lifestyle posts. Back in 2016 Hemali graduated from the University of Guelph with a Marketing Management degree, and soon after decided to launch Ready To Glow, her own freelance makeup artistry business. Her original goal was to make Ready To Glow the go-to brand for any bridal hair/makeup needs. With this in mind, Hemali used her marketing and sales background to brainstorm ways to differentiate herself from the rest of the market. She began creating mini beauty tutorials on Instagram to engage her audience in hopes that clients would book her based on her skill and bubbly personality. Little did she know her career would take a huge turn.
“My name is Hemali Mistry, more commonly known as Ready To Glow on social media. I started off as a freelance makeup artist and quickly became well known for my fun and quirky beauty tutorials on Instagram especially the one I did on how to place a tikka in your hair. Honestly, I did not think my life would turn into what it is today and I feel super grateful to be in the position that I’m in. I’m so happy to be a voice for South Asian women in the beauty industry because quite often we are underrepresented and forgotten about.
I’m so happy to say I’ve been able to work with major beauty brands and give South Asian women the representation they deserve. Growing up I never saw any beauty campaigns with someone that looked like me. Nobody had my skin tone, or discolouration problem, or thick hairy brows. It was something I had to change because there are too many beautiful South Asians in this world to go unnoticed. My intention wasn’t actually to become an influencer, it just so happened to work out that way, but I’m glad it did. I’m glad I’ve created a platform to make women of colour feel included in the beauty industry. I’m glad there are girls who can look at beauty campaigns now and say ‘that girl looks like me.’
With this being said, I make sure that my content has a touch of my eastern and western upbringing. I was born in Canada in an Indian household, so I was raised with the best of both worlds and I like to show that in my work. I feel like you don’t have to pick just one side of you to show to the world. You can embrace both parts of your upbringing and show the world how beautiful both parts of your culture really are.
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Although my content is heavily beauty focused, I try to take the time to empower people as much as I can. Growing up, I had my fair share of insecurities, both mentally and physically, and also went through many difficult times to get to where I am today. I like to use my platform to talk about mental illnesses, a topic that is close to my heart, and self-love. I think social media has warped our brains into thinking that we are never good enough or that we never have enough. I like to create content that makes people think, and feel good about themselves. One of the main messages I heavily promote is that you’re not alone. I want to show people that we all go through struggles, we all feel insecure, we all have problems, and that no one is perfect. So be kind to yourself and don’t feel like you’re the only person going through something, because even people you look up to have their own problems and insecurities too.
As a female Indian entrepreneur, I just want to reinforce that anything is possible and that you can make your dreams into a reality. More often times than not our South Asian parents/community don’t support risk-taking and unconventional jobs. It can really be a challenge to get over that hurdle and follow your dreams, but I promise it’s worth it. Over the past year, I’ve been able to work with some of the world’s biggest beauty brands like L’Oreal, Maybelline, Sephora, and Rimmel just to name a few. I even recently shot a commercial with Lise Watier out in Mexico, which was one of the coolest experiences of my life. And this was all done through hard work, dedication and following my dreams. I will continue to create a name for South Asian women in the beauty industry through my social media platforms. I hope my journey inspires others and that I can be the role model that I never had for the generations after me.”
-Lots of love,
Hemali
