Maitreyi Ramakrishnan praises her ‘baddie’ grandmother for giving her makeup tips

“She taught me how to do like eyebrows, the importance of doing your top eyeliner,” the actor says about her grandmother.

Maitreyi Ramakrishnan revealed some of her best makeup tips and how she inherited them from her “baddie” grandmother.

The 20-year-old actor documented her skincare and makeup secrets in a video for Vogue shared on Tuesday. During the clip, Ramakrishnan detailed how a majority of her makeup “tips” were introduced to her by her grandmother.

“Most of my makeup tips, and makeup hacks, have all been from my grandma,” the Never Have I Ever star said. “My grandma’s a baddie. She taught me how to do like eyebrows, the importance of doing your top eyeliner, not just your bottom waterline.”

Ramakrishnan, who is Sri Lankan and Canadian, expressed her gratitude for her grandmother and mother, as they steered away from the stereotype that it was a “bad thing” if South Asian people’s skin got darker when going outside.

“I’m very thankful for my mom and grandma for the way that they raised me because many South Asian people were told ‘don’t go out into the sun, don’t go play in the sun because you’re going to get darker and that’s a bad thing,’” she continued. “My parents, my grandparents, they never did that.”

“Hopefully, moving forward, other young little South Asian kids and kids of colour have that experience, because colorism is f***ing whack,” she added.

Elsewhere in the video, Ramakrishnan detailed how she has had the “privilege” of working with artists who can pick the perfect foundation shade for her.

“It’s always so hard to colour-match as a woman of colour,” she said. “It’s hard to get makeup sometimes. I though am very cognizant of the fact that I have the privilege of makeup artists who really help me find my match.”

This isn’t the actor’s first time sharing details about her makeup and skin care routine. During an interview with Self back in 2020, Ramakrishnan shared the importance of removing her makeup before bed.

“I go in with a bunch of toners and makeup removers, because I absolutely hate myself if I fall asleep with my makeup on, which admittedly has happened before,” she explained. “I think I have done that more in quarantine than I have in my entire life. I am quite ashamed about that, but it is what it is. I am human.”