"Growing up in the 00s, I saw fashion and beauty as a space I was not welcome in. From magazines to movies, the South Asian representation was few and far between. All these industries that defined fashion and beauty didn't include anyone who looked like me. I, therefore, saw myself as not beautiful. It seemed that South Asian women were not seen as desirable or aspirational. Being in the space today means decolonizing my mind and rejecting Eurocentric features as the standard of beauty. It means understanding the myths we grew up believing — and debunking them one by one. Most importantly, it means relearning that beauty IS melanin — our skin literally absorbs light and I think there couldn't be anything more beautiful than that!"