Aditya Madiraju owns over 800 makeup brushes (mostly unwashed)

“I’ll probably get cancelled for this, but I don’t clean my brushes,” says Aditya Madiraju over a video call, pausing only briefly before continuing. “I’m a regular consumer at heart, and regular consumers don’t clean their brushes. And dirty brushes work better. You can fight me on that, but that’s just the truth.”

He says this with the calm assurance of someone who owns—by his own estimate—somewhere between 700 and 800 of them. In his mind, it all evens out. “I’m filming seven to eight videos a day,” he explains. “There’s always a clean brush somewhere. My cleaning just happens…in longer intervals,” he laughs. “But clean your brushes. Please.”

This is the energy he brings to beauty: disarmingly honest, a bit chaotic, and refreshingly unserious about the rules. But before he was schooling his audience of 2.9 million on Instagram about blush placement or showing them how to do a smoky eye in under five minutes, Madiraju was in the world of finance, working in data risk management. It was stable, structured, and “fun… but repetitive”. Makeup, which began as a post-work decompression ritual, slowly took over. “A blush is a blush,” he says. “A blush is not an Excel sheet. And that’s amazing. I wake up every day and remind myself that my work is in my makeup studio and I’m grateful for that.”

We caught up with Madiraju to talk about chaotic organisation, car-seat glam, fatherhood, and the essentials he never leaves home without.

You used to do makeup after work to feel calm. Has that changed, now that it’s your full-time job?

Not at all. It’s still very peaceful. I feel my best when I’m creative. Whenever I had anxiety growing up, I’d go paint. Makeup is that escape for me now. The other day I found this $1 drugstore lipstick that looked better than the $90 ones I’ve tried. I woke up in the middle of the night at 11 pm (I usually go to bed by 8:30) and saw my DMs where someone said, ‘This lipstick looks so good. What is it?’ So, I got down to it. I did my hair, filmed a video, posted it, and went back to bed. And that was just for this one piece of makeup.

The relationship has gotten better, if anything. Like, I feel great in this room, and I get super excited about every single thing. Makeup loves me and I love makeup. We’re in a very committed relationship.

You’re in your studio right now. What’s it like there?

I’ll be honest with you—I don’t want to show you everything, because it’s very messy right now. [Author’s note: it wasn’t.]

Beauty girls and boys are very, very organised. They want everything clean, prim, and proper. I am not that guy. I’m clean, but organisation? Not my thing. I’ll use a blush, put it down, and I will never find that blush again.

I don’t even remember the last time I cleaned my brushes. That said, I own about 700 to 800 brushes. This is my work—like how an office has staplers, this is my stapler. Because I film seven to eight videos a day, I rarely reach for a dirty brush. There’s always a clean one. So, my cleaning happens in…longer intervals. When I hit that peak, I’ll spend two full days washing brushes, reorganising, checking expiry dates, colour-coordinating everything with my cleaning lady. This is the part I absolutely do not like. But please. Clean your brushes.

How do you deal with the volume of PR packages?

It’s overconsumption and it really bothers me. I get five to seven PR boxes every single day. I give away a lot of it to local makeup artists, family, and friends. I even send out boxes to people who comment on my videos randomly. I just don’t post about the giveaways because I think that’s tacky.

But even then, it piles up. I’ve actually reached out to a lot of great brands that I love to take me off their PR lists. Now I wait till the new launches hit Sephora, Ulta, or the drugstore, and then I go and buy it. I feel the day I stop buying is the day I lose passion for makeup. It’ll start seeming like work, so I never want to lose that.

You have a toddler! Is she curious about makeup?

A two-and-a-half-year-old! She sits with me when I open PR boxes. She knows not to open anything because she gets that it’s Papa’s work. She’s been holding a makeup brush since she was three months old, so she knows what a blender and everything is. But she understands it’s not a toy. She doesn’t touch my stuff without permission, just like she doesn’t touch my husband’s laptop.

Her excitement ends when the PR box comes apart because the colourful box is exciting. As soon as I take everything out, she’s not interested. Other than that, she’ll sometimes help me clean my brushes.

She’s not wearing makeup anytime soon, though. I’m gonna be that parent. Maybe when she’s 12 or 13 and super passionate about it, sure. For now, a lip balm is enough.

Let’s get into your on-the-go kit. Are there staples?

For sure. I won’t go out without the new Danessa Myricks setting spray, the Fenty Beauty blurring powder, and an e.l.f. lip balm. But whenever I go out, I’m usually testing a new product, doing a wear test through the day.

You’ll never get a straight answer from an influencer about their favourite products. When I started in 2018-19, I had a whole different set of products that I absolutely loved that I can’t even remember the names of. There’s just so much new stuff that my kit is never the same.

Do you actually find yourself doing makeup on the go a lot?

All the time. My husband takes forever to get ready and I just sit around till it’s time to go. So, I’m always finishing my makeup in the car. I can actually do mascara and winged eyeliner in a moving car, and it’ll look exactly the same if I did it in the house. It’s just practice—and it’s fun.

Do you enjoy doing makeup on other people?

For fun, yes. For campaigns, if required. But I’m not a certified makeup artist. Makeup artists have a different level of patience and professionalism. I would probably make a bride cry on their wedding day. Like, even now, when I do makeup on my friends and family and they’re like, oh, could you use a lighter foundation? I’m like, how dare you? I get at least 15 to 20 requests every single day, and I route it to different makeup artists.

When I’m doing makeup for friends and family, I have staples, like the Make Up For Ever HD Skin palette. And because I like to mix my own foundation, the One/Size waterproof setting spray is another one that’s always with me, along with this three-second L’Oréal setting spray.

Have you considered getting certified?

I did! I spoke to schools and one of them told me they refer to my videos in their classes, so they were like, what the hell are you gonna do here? And I was like, oh. A lot of people in the community tell me I don’t need certification. But just because I have a following, I’m not going to cut into someone else’s bread and butter.

I really respect makeup artists, so you will never catch me calling myself one. Maybe I’ll use the hashtag makeup artist when the videos aren’t doing too well, but that’s pretty much it. Makeup enthusiast, educator, and nerd—that’s me.

What’s your everyday makeup look?

I don’t wear any makeup every day. I live in suburbia—two hours away from the city. The only thing I’m doing is taking my dogs out for a walk and playing with my daughter in the backyard. So, it’s just moisturiser, sunscreen, and lip balm. The only thing I will wear every single day, however, is this eyebrow gel from Rare Beauty, because my thick brows get very crazy.

Today, I have a little bit of skin tint and concealer on, and I set it with a blurring setting spray. But right after this interview, I’ll wash this off and put on lip balm and the eyebrow gel again.

I’m a huge skincare person and my skincare mantra is, the less you do, the better. The most important thing is to wash your face everyday—I end up washing mine three to four times a day. Use a good exfoliating mask for texture and pores. A lightweight toner or serum if you want. I go with Caudalie Vinoperfect—it’s literally perfect. Then a thick moisturiser and let it sink in. Sunscreen if you’re stepping out. That’s pretty much it. We all are doing too much for no reason. I love Korean skincare and it works—but if you overdo it, your skin will give up.