ATHLEISURE MAG #81 SEP ISSUE | LIVING IN HER TINT Deepica Mutyala

The fall is a great time of year to look at fall fashion as well as our skincare choices that we can include in our cosmetic kits. We've really enjoyed including Live Tinted as it's a clean skincare and cosmetic line that keeps skin looking radiant as well as covering up blemishes and marks that we would rather cover up when we choose. We took a moment to sit down with the brand's founder, Deepica Mutyala. We talk about how she built her brand, the importance of representation and what is coming up in the next few months.

ATHLEISURE MAG: Prior to launching Live Tinted, can you tell us a bit about your background?

DEEPICA MUTYALA: I have been an active member of the beauty industry my whole career, even before creating my 2015 viral color correcting hack. I began my career in corporate beauty and, since the release of the video, transitioned to working as a full time beauty influencer. It was from this engagement across social media that I began to become passionate about connecting those who the traditional beauty narrative often leaves out – especially WOC. It was with this in mind that I went on to found Live Tinted, first as just an online community platform, where beauty consumers could trade insights and feel cohesion through similar shared experiences and beauty concerns. In 2019, based on shared community feedback, Live Tinted grew into a full fledged national beauty brand with the launch of our first product – the HUESTICK.

AM: When you launched your company and called it Live Tinted, what did that name mean to you?

DM: As mentioned above, Live Tinted was first launched as a community platform. Thus, the name “Live Tinted,” really embodied the mission behind the community’s creation and purpose – to encourage beauty consumers, of all different backgrounds and hues, to live their tint – embracing their natural physical beauty and feeling comfortable and empowered doing so.

AM: We love and use Live Tinted – our faves are HUESTICK’s Origin for dark spots, HUEGUARD for primer and Ray’s Copper Eye Masks to name a few – what is the ethos of this brand?

DM: Thank you – so happy to hear that your team enjoys the products! All Live Tinted products are created with purpose in mind, beauty meets skincare offerings that target specific issues that our community struggles with – i.e. HUEGUARD is an SPF option with no whitecast, HUESTICKs for color correcting on all skin tones, etc. This brand ethos, based on community sourced feedback, is incredibly important to our brand and has informed all of the innovation that we have created to date and will continue to roll out in future.

AM: Your product assortment continues to grow. What’s your process in terms of identifying the next area you want to target, the product that will focus on it and bringing it to market?

DM: Our main goal at Live Tinted is to continue to innovate tangible and effective beauty solutions catered specifically to our Live Tinted community’s needs and direct feedback. While of course, we weigh feasibility around production, supply chain, and more when evaluating whether it is possible to bring a new, requested product to market, we always put our community first, setting realistic goals around innovation and ensuring everything we put out has them first in mind!

AM: You’ve done a number of collaborations, but you just dropped LT X Never Have I Ever. We have a number of readers that are fans of this Netflix show. What was it like partnering with the show?

DM: Yes! At Live Tinted, we are always looking for synergistic partnership opportunities. In the case of our recent collaboration with Never Have I Ever, I knew from the start that this was a partnership that made a lot of sense for Live Tinted – not only because I am a genuine fan of the show, but because of the overall mission and message behind the production.

Never Have I Ever is the show we all needed growing up and I'm so proud that we are partnering with them! It feels so good to be part of the change. To know that people growing up today see Live Tinted and Never Have I Ever and see themselves represented, maybe for the first time, makes me so excited and proud.

AM: Are there additional products coming out that you can share with us that we should keep our eye out for?

DM: Yes, so many! Just this past August, we launched our new, go-to lip product, HUEGLOSS – universally flattering glosses that nourish your lips while adding a beautiful, non-sticky reflective glow. We also are launching HUEBEAM in the second half of this month – a silky smooth, highly pigmented Blushing-bronzer duo featuring two bronzers and one blush with a gradient finish that allows you to go from subtle to full impact color. Looking into the rest of 2022 and 2023, we plan to continue to expand our cosmetics portfolio with exciting new products – catered towards every part of the face from complexion to brows!

AM: As we continue to the fall, look forward to the holiday season and 2023, what are you focused on with Live Tinted?

DM: Moving into the later half of the year and the holiday season, we have a lot planned as a brand! Notably, for the gifting season, we will be unveiling two packaged kits: Guard & Glow Kit & Huegloss Trio – highlighting some of our favorite heroes and new Live Tinted products. Additionally, leading up to holiday, around the traditional South Asian holiday of Diwali in October, we will be unveiling an exciting collaboration!

AM: You were named in TIME Magazine’s 2022 Next Generation Leaders. What did it mean to you to have this honor?

DM: Yes, this was a huge honor and an incredible milestone moment! For me, receiving recognition as a next generation leader by a source as credible as TIME is proof that everything we have created thus far with Live Tinted is making a difference. It is through the emergence and promotion of diverse brands in the beauty category that we are starting to see the narrative change and more people feel represented and included in the space. I am so proud to be at the helm of that charge and am excited to see the continued growth in this area – especially as generated through the Live Tinted brand.

AM: As a WOC co-founder of Athleisure Mag, it’s amazing to see diverse women lend their voices across various verticals. As a WOC in the beauty space, what does it mean to you to create a brand that you’re passionate about that’s successful and being someone who others can look up to when they think about how they will make an impact in the world?

DM: This is a responsibility that I do not take lightly. Again, I am so honored and privileged to have the voice that I do and intend to continue to be vocal across both my own and the Live Tinted platforms.

With that being said, I also want to encourage other young up-and-coming female entrepreneurs and WOC leaders to find their own passion and calling – taking my career as a case study to then find their specific voice within their respective category of choice. I think it's always important to act as a mentor while also encouraging other WOC to make their own mark on society – pushing for continued inclusion and representation in unique and meaningful ways.

AM: When you’re not focused on your line, how do you take time for yourself to recharge your batteries?DM: When I’m not thinking about Live Tinted, I’m probably taking a walk with my friends or watching a show on Netflix. if I’m in Houston- spending time with my nephew & niece.

IG @deepica

@livetinted

PHOTO COURTESY | Deepica Mutyala