Beauty’s New Face: Tara Chandra & Her Sister On Creating An Inclusive Makeup Brand For Sensitive Skin

The relationship between sisters is as unique as they come. The genetic and gendered bond between sisters is often fuelled by a spectacular kind of love, one that is rooted in understanding, shared memories and the mutual ability to annoy the living daylights out of one another. 

Speaking to sisters Natalie and Tara Chandra over a video call, I saw a glimpse of that magic. The two Sydney-based Chinese-Indonesian women have decided to take their sibling status into the business arena by creating a beauty brand together. 

The idea came to Tara — a Gen Z internet personality, model and digital artist — naturally, from her lived experience with eczema while grappling with the ongoing demands of content creation.

“I can't think of any beauty brand that caters specifically [for] skin sensitivity [or] skin conditions,” Tara tells Refinery29 Australia. “So what our beauty brand really wants to address is that compromise that I think a lot of people have to make, which is they either have to compromise the way that they look or the way that their skin feels,” chimes in Nat. 

“[Tara has] had sensitive skin for a really long time and she's also kind of known for her iconic winged eyeliner. But at the same time, it's sort of come at a cost, because she'll have flare-ups and it'll be really painful for her to put on eyeliner,” she continues.

It’s been an idea that’s been brewing for years and the pair tells me that their dad was also heavily involved in the brand’s early days. Family has always been an important pillar of this business idea, and other work they do, something that I can’t help but admit sounds simultaneously like a dream and a nightmare. 

For instance, while sharing (or stealing) clothes from one's sister is a ritual for many and a catalyst for arguments, it's something that Tara and Nat embrace through their joint Instagram account @copycatnat.

“[Nat is] definitely the more patient one of us as sisters,” says Tara. “She's always been very supportive of everything I've done. I make her squat for my photos and she really commits to it — actually, [she] can't even squat so that’s saying something,” she laughs. “She shows her love through hugs and she constantly asks me for hugs. I think that says a lot about her character.”

Nat echoes this sentiment. “Family is really, really important for both of us. I can say that Tara is my ride or die, like literally my ride or die.” With experience working with NGOs, start-ups and political agencies, and as a curator for TedX Sydney, Nat brings her business-savvy brain to the table.

The Chandra sisters are careful to hold their cards close to their chests; the responsibility of what they’re creating isn’t being overlooked. For now, no specific product hints or even the name of their beauty brand has been released. There’s a lot riding on their shoulders and they are aware of it.

After 2020’s reiteration of the Black Lives Matter movement, and the subsequent Pull Up For Change campaign, diversity and inclusion were dragged into the limelight for dissection.

Nat points to how the lack of women of colour in leadership roles in the beauty industry is a byproduct of a system that fails to uplift people of colour. “Consumers have not demanded it so businesses have not shown up to the systematic issue that affects everybody. And that's just a really broad analysis of capitalism and business in general,” she says.

The Creative Co-Operative found that last year, more than $10 billion of venture capital funding went to Australian start-ups — but less than 0.03% of it landed in the hands of early-stage women of colour founders. Through Atelier, the sisters won a $100,000 investment to fuel their business idea. 

Tara is earnest in her response about what this representation means to her. “[We’re] being the change as Asian women. I think as a child, I would have really loved to see myself represented in beauty.”

Nat agrees, but is also wary of perpetuating the ‘model minority’ myth. “I think it's really, really important to disrupt [the] line of thinking not just [about] the meek, Asian woman, but also the tiger, boss woman,” she says. “You're not a stereotype… you're a person.”

Diving deep into their niche of beauty that works cohesively alongside sensitive skin conditions is a way that they’re hoping to tackle this. In their research, they found that 70% of people globally have self-declared sensitive skin, and that one in 10 adults have experienced atopic dermatitis. “The fact that so many of us have experienced sensitive skin or skin conditions, yet the media and beauty industry don't cater to us, is really astonishing,” says Tara.

The pair live at home with their parents and their dad was more than happy to sit through their pitch for Atelier half a dozen times and set up pitch opportunities with extended family members through group chats. “He was very involved in the whole process and help[ed] us rework our pitch many times. So when he found out he was obviously really excited,” Tara says.

Asian parents are notoriously bad at expressing emotion, but when I asked the duo about how their mum responded, I didn't expect to be met with a burst of laughter.

"When we found out, I called my mum immediately, because she was at work, and she was like, 'What? Wait, what does this mean?'," Tara says. "She is the biggest cheerleader, she's very supportive but she's also a little bit confused," adds Nat, laughing.

With this new venture, the Chandra sisters are pushing the preconceived boundaries of what's expected of makeup brands, women and Asian-Australians. We'll be waiting eagerly on the sidelines.