About Lekha & I

Fifteen years of noticing what actually works.

Lekha Gupta, Founder

My story

From boardrooms to backstage - and everything that taught me along the way.

I didn't start here. I started in financial services, spreadsheets, strategy, boardrooms. Then I walked into a makeup chair and never really left. What I carried from that first life was something more useful than technique: the habit of asking why something works, not just whether it does.

That question has followed me through every film set, every bridal morning, every backstage moment before someone steps into the light. I've learned that confidence isn't applied. It's built slowly, through the right knowledge and the right tools, in the right hands.

I've also seen what's missing. The clutter. The noise. Too many products promising too much. Too few spaces where a YOU - whether YOU live in Mumbai or Muzaffarpur, can learn what actually works for their skin, their craft, their life.

Lekha & I is not a brand. It's a commitment - to give back what this journey has taught me, in forms that are genuinely useful.

Lekha Gupta, Founder

The journey

Me, Lekha.

2007

Finished MBA

Stepped into a corporate career - spreadsheets, strategy, boardrooms.

2008

Moved to Mumbai

Relocated from Kolkata with the ICICI Group.

2009

First brush with makeup

A first encounter with professional makeup, under Maestro Cory Wallia.

2010

The dilemma

A fork in the road - the stability of a job, or the pull of a makeup profession.

2011

Chose makeup

Committed to the craft, and trained formally in Singapore - MAKEUP FOREVER ACADEMY

2012

First bridal project

The first bride, and the beginning of a body of work.

2013

Miss India & first film

Miss India 2013, and the short film Nayantara's Necklace with Konkona Sen Sharma.

2014

First feature film & Stepped in the world of ad films

The Bengali film Knockout was her first ever feature film and then she found her way into the world of ad films with director Pradeep Sarkar.

2015

Runways & calendars

Kingfisher Calendar, India Resorts Fashion Week, and Lakme Fashion Week.

2016

First Bollywood project

A first Bollywood project with Daisy Shah, and a journey that began with Karisma Kapoor.

2017

Journey with Kiara Advani with Lust Storied & Kabir Singh

A long collaboration begins & continues

2018

First Marathi film with Madhuri Dixit

Bucket List, with Madhuri Dixit and bginning of a warm relationship with her

2019

Bollywood Beauties

Gradually started working with the Bollywood heroine like Kareena Kapoor, Alia Bhatt, Tabu and the likes

2020

Launched makeup workshops

Began teaching, and thats where the spark started

2021

First Recognition received

Recognised by Burda Media for incredible makeup work

2022

Filmography started to rise and continued

Makeup for films like Shershaah, Jug Jug Jeeyo, Good News, Kalank, Total Dhamaal, Satya Prem ki Katha, Bhool Bhulaiyaa and the list continues .....

2023

Brand Collaborations & MasterClasses

Did brand coallborations with eminent brands like Garnier, Nykaa, PinkVilla, Elizabeth Arden and hosted Masterclasses as Expert for such brands across.

2024

Stepped into the world of CANNES

Stepped into the world of CANNES

2025

Integration with LOREAL Paris & TIRA

Became the official makeup mentor for the RUNWAY TO PARIS

2026

Lekha & I

And her journey continues..... Alongside YOU!

2007

Finished MBA

Stepped into a corporate career - spreadsheets, strategy, boardrooms.

2008

Moved to Mumbai

Relocated from Kolkata with the ICICI Group.

2009

First brush with makeup

A first encounter with professional makeup, under Maestro Cory Wallia.

2010

The dilemma

A fork in the road - the stability of a job, or the pull of a makeup profession.

2011

Chose makeup

Committed to the craft, and trained formally in Singapore - MAKEUP FOREVER ACADEMY

2012

First bridal project

The first bride, and the beginning of a body of work.

2013

Miss India & first film

Miss India 2013, and the short film Nayantara's Necklace with Konkona Sen Sharma.

2014

First feature film & Stepped in the world of ad films

The Bengali film Knockout was her first ever feature film and then she found her way into the world of ad films with director Pradeep Sarkar.

2015

Runways & calendars

Kingfisher Calendar, India Resorts Fashion Week, and Lakme Fashion Week.

2016

First Bollywood project

A first Bollywood project with Daisy Shah, and a journey that began with Karisma Kapoor.

2017

Journey with Kiara Advani with Lust Storied & Kabir Singh

A long collaboration begins & continues

2018

First Marathi film with Madhuri Dixit

Bucket List, with Madhuri Dixit and bginning of a warm relationship with her

2019

Bollywood Beauties

Gradually started working with the Bollywood heroine like Kareena Kapoor, Alia Bhatt, Tabu and the likes

2020

Launched makeup workshops

Began teaching, and thats where the spark started

2021

First Recognition received

Recognised by Burda Media for incredible makeup work

2022

Filmography started to rise and continued

Makeup for films like Shershaah, Jug Jug Jeeyo, Good News, Kalank, Total Dhamaal, Satya Prem ki Katha, Bhool Bhulaiyaa and the list continues .....

2023

Brand Collaborations & MasterClasses

Did brand coallborations with eminent brands like Garnier, Nykaa, PinkVilla, Elizabeth Arden and hosted Masterclasses as Expert for such brands across.

2024

Stepped into the world of CANNES

Stepped into the world of CANNES

2025

Integration with LOREAL Paris & TIRA

Became the official makeup mentor for the RUNWAY TO PARIS

2026

Lekha & I

And her journey continues..... Alongside YOU!

What we believe

Expertise first. Commerce second.

Knowledge

Confusion to clarity

Every offering starts with the same question: what does this YOU actually need, not what's trending, not what photographs well.

Practice

Built to last

A skill etched for life. Skin that's calm in its own skin. A piece that carries your values. Nothing here is disposable.

Structure

The same eye, everywhere

Whether reading a face, formulating for skin, or choosing a material, the same precision, the same refusal to accept less than what works.

Inclusion

Every YOU, wherever you start

The capitalized "YOU" is deliberate, this house is for anyone who shows up for it, regardless of where they begin.

The house

Three crafts. One eye.

Makeup Academy

Skills fade. Craft doesn't.

Bags & Accessories

Crosses a line between discarded & considered.

Skincare

Balance, not transformation.