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 lives 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.

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

Bengali cinema & ad films

The Bengali film Knockout, and 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

A long collaboration begins.

2018

First Marathi film

Bucket List, with Madhuri Dixit.

2019

Kareena Kapoor

Makeup for Kareena Kapoor.

2020

Launched makeup workshops

Began teaching, alongside work on Jug Jug Jeeyo.

2021

Shershaah

Makeup for Shershaah.

2022

Jug Jug Jeeyo

Continued work on Jug Jug Jeeyo.

2023

Satyaprem Ki Katha

Makeup for Satyaprem Ki Katha.

2024

Cannes & Crew

An award recognition at Cannes, and the film Crew.

2025

War 2

Makeup for War 2.

2026

25th film — Toxic

A milestone 25th film, marking twenty-five years since it all began.

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.

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

Bengali cinema & ad films

The Bengali film Knockout, and 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

A long collaboration begins.

2018

First Marathi film

Bucket List, with Madhuri Dixit.

2019

Kareena Kapoor

Makeup for Kareena Kapoor.

2020

Launched makeup workshops

Began teaching, alongside work on Jug Jug Jeeyo.

2021

Shershaah

Makeup for Shershaah.

2022

Jug Jug Jeeyo

Continued work on Jug Jug Jeeyo.

2023

Satyaprem Ki Katha

Makeup for Satyaprem Ki Katha.

2024

Cannes & Crew

An award recognition at Cannes, and the film Crew.

2025

War 2

Makeup for War 2.

2026

25th film — Toxic

A milestone 25th film, marking twenty-five years since it all began.

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

Every piece crosses a line.

Skincare

Balance, not transformation.