Celebrity makeup artist Namita Soni has called out the growing trend of “unrealistic” bridal expectations, blaming heavily filtered Instagram and Pinterest images for distorting what real beauty looks like. Speaking days after crafting the bridal looks for Netra Mantena at her lavish November 23 wedding to Indian-American tech entrepreneur Vamsi Gadiraju at Taj Lake Palace, Soni said modern brides often arrive with mood boards containing “18-filter” reference photos and demand to look exactly like them—an impossible task in real life.

“Human skin has texture—pores, acne marks, and scars. I can give you the most flawless version of yourself, but I cannot make you look like an Instagram filter,” Soni told ANI, adding that she now has to prepare up to six mood boards and seven hairstyle-plus-makeup combinations per outfit because brides refuse to reveal their actual personality or preferences. “They just want all options served on a platter,” she said.

The veteran artist, who has worked with Aishwarya Rai, Deepika Padukone, Sushmita Sen, Sonam Kapoor, Janhvi Kapoor, and Malaika Arora, revealed that some brides even edit their trial photos themselves—face-tuning and over-correcting—then get upset when the wedding-day result doesn’t match the doctored image. “They cry because they don’t look like the filtered version they created themselves,” Soni said.

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Beyond the bride, Soni highlighted interference from relatives as another major challenge. “The minute I finish the look, aunties swarm in and start giving opinions. I just pack my kit and leave,” she laughed. She stressed that trust between bride and artist is non-negotiable: “Once she trusts you completely, she relaxes and lets you do your magic—that’s when the real glow comes through.”

Netra Mantena’s wedding, which drew comparisons to Isha Ambani’s 2018 nuptials because of a striking diamond necklace, put Soni’s comments in the spotlight. The artist, who describes Sushmita Sen as her “biggest girl crush” and “even more dynamic in person,” urged future brides to embrace their authentic selves rather than chasing digital illusions. “Filters are fantasy; real beauty is confidence and skin that breathes,” she concluded.

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