Ghazal Gupta's un:fltrd: Revolutionizing beauty with community input

Mumbai-based content creator Ghazal Gupta is challenging the traditional beauty industry by building her new brand, un:fltrd, through a community-first approach. Instead of a conventional launch, the 23-year-old founder hosted India’s first large-scale shade matching workshop, treating it as a "public R&D lab" to directly inform her debut product, the Almost Ready Cushion Foundation.

At the workshop in Mumbai, more than 150 women with diverse skin tones, undertones, and ages tested over 50 foundation shades and six colour correctors. Their feedback and real-time data are being used to refine the foundation’s formula, a radical departure from the industry standard of launching products based on assumptions. "I didn’t want to launch with a guess. I wanted to launch with truth—mine and theirs," Gupta said. "This wasn’t a PR stunt... It was a lab—built by and for brown girls who’ve always been asked to compromise."

Gupta's journey began with her own struggles to find foundations that matched her skin. As a digital creator, she chose to create a brand built by its community rather than relying on paid ads and celebrity endorsements. This community-led formulation process directly addresses a significant gap in the Indian beauty market.

A 2024 Mintel study found that only 12 percent of Indian consumers feel that foundations on the market truly match their skin, as most brands use global shade charts that fail to represent the country's diverse undertones.

This approach aligns with the values of Gen Z, who, according to a 2025 Kantar study, prefer collaborative, transparent, and authentic brands. With its ethos of "just like: you," un:fltrd aims to offer more than just "inclusive" branding; it promises a product that truly understands and represents Indian skin.