Gurleen Gill Shares Her Diwali Makeup Routine and Other Holiday Favourites

It’s time to celebrate the festival of lights.

Toronto-based makeup artist Gurleen Gill (@GlambyGilly) joins three other local collaborators in Sephora Canada’s latest campaign, which celebrates the glamour of Diwali. Here, Gill shares some of her favourite highlights of the holiday, which will be celebrated on November 4 this year, including how she plans on taking her makeup to the next level.

What are some of your family’s favourite Diwali traditions?

My family loves to start the day by going to a temple, also known as Gurdwara. Diwali is a little different for every community, but for the Sikh community, we actually use this holiday to celebrate liberation and a major moment in our religion’s history, which speaks to strength, freedom and resilience. We decorate using diyas, which are clay lamps that are usually handmade in India. We use mustard oil to light them and they burn all day long. We put them all around our house, including every windowsill and even outside, if it’s not too windy. At night, our whole family will get together for fireworks, which is so fun.

How do you like to dress up to celebrate the holiday?

My mom and I love to get glam. This year, I want to go all out because we didn’t get to celebrate as usual last year due to COVID. I try to make sure my outfit, makeup and jewellery all complement each other. When it comes to Indian style everybody thinks everything should be hyper-glamorous, but I try to remember balance, especially for Diwali. If I’m wearing yellow, I will bring out the gold in my eyes, and obviously use some glitter!

What’s the best way to ensure your makeup will last all night?

You need a great fixing spray and setting spray. Fixing spray is something that will melt the powder makeup formulas into your skin, and setting spray is what will keep your makeup intact for over twelve hours. A lot of people don’t know the difference, but you need both.

What’s your favourite part of the makeup look you’re wearing in the campaign?

I love a glamourous eye and I absolutely loved this look with the glitter and pink and purple eyeshadow. The eyeshadow palettes we used were so pretty. I had never used this one before, and the result was so gorgeous, I was shocked. Sometimes colours don’t show up on my eyes in the same way, especially because I have warm-toned Indian skin, but the result was beautiful. We went through a phase of matte, simple eyeshadow, but colourful eyes are really trending now. We’re getting back to creativity in makeup, which I’m really excited for.

What other makeup trends are you really into right now?

I love a pop of blush because it brings youthfulness and colour to my face. I have extremely dry skin so cream products work really well for me. You just place it like you would a powder blush and then very lightly go over it with powder to set. I feel like it keeps my skin very hydrated.

What is the most important thing about Diwali?

It is the festival of lights, so it’s all about being positive, happy and resilient. Even if you think you cannot get over a hard situation or you don’t see the light at the end of the tunnel, it’s important to remember there’s always light. After the year that we’ve all faced, it’s all about getting together with your family, celebrating and having a good time.