UK-based content creator from Kerala uses makeup to transform into celebrities

Content creator Nivya Vineesh transforms into celebrities like Prithviraj using makeup, drawing inspiration from YouTube tutorials and social media.

A layer of foundation and concealer, some contouring, a dash of highlights, glue stick, eye gel, brow and faux eyelashes, hair and beard later content creator Nivya Vineesh transforms into Prithviraj from Aadujeevitham.

Fahadh Faasil as Aavesham’s Ranganna, Amala Paul as Saira in Aadujeevitham, Brahmayugam’s Kodumon Potty (Mammootty)... It is fascinating to watch the UK-based creator transform into celebrities.

But the one that excited her the most was ‘becoming’ her mother as a Mother’s Day surprise for her family back home in Thrissur. “This is one transformation that I have been excited about!” That she resembles her mother was an advantage.

“With makeup one can transform one’s face to look like anybody but the basic shape of the face also comes into play. Since my face is lean, a rounder face is not easy. For instance it took several tries to get the shape of Mohanlal’s face right.” KS Chithra, Sridevi, Suhasini, Shahrukh Khan, Salman Khan, Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Jungkook, Suriya, Jyothika, Bhavana, Kamal Haasan… her list of transformations is long. 

Nivya has not learnt professional makeup, a lot of what she knows she has picked up from makeup artist Kannan Rajamanickam’s YouTube channel and socials. “The inspiration to try transformation videos came from there. I saw him transform a model to look like actor Nayantara. That made me think of giving it a shot,” she says. One of her first transformations was also Nayantara. 

Experimenting with makeup was a means of keeping herself occupied. The mother of two girls battled postpartum depression after the birth of her first child. “I had the second baby during the pandemic, fortunately I was in Thrissur during the lockdown. I posted the first video on YouTube in 2021. When I returned to the UK, I continued. Nayantara was the first transformation.” She started posting content on her IG handle @niv_vin_arts the same year.

This graduate in Zoology, who has been living in the UK for the past nine years, has done a course in graphic design and animation. Passionate about the arts, especially drawing, she teaches art to kids at home at West Drayton.