CIDESCO, the world standard for beauty and spa therapy, announces the results of its annual makeup and body art competition, which took place in September of 2017 at the 65th CIDESCO World Congress in Mumbai, India.

Open to both students and professionals, and designed to identify and reward the world’s most skilled and creative makeup artists, the competition delivers awe-inspiring results year after year, with the quality and creativity of work produced increasing each time.
This year’s entrants were tasked with creating unique looks on the theme of Five Elements of Nature. Supporting the wider theme of the congress, Nurture through Nature, the makeup competition allowed artists to create theatrical, full-body artworks that drew inspiration from the earth’s most beautiful, natural components.

Entrants celebrated the power and volatility of nature with their artwork. Winning the student category was Bhushan Sutar, with his subject, The Importance of Being in Nature. Runners up were Manisha Gauhane, with Creation of the Universe, and Swati Vangi, with Water and Fire Disaster.

In the professional category, Kiran Manjrekar took first place with his subject Mother Nature. Runners up were Jiten Giri, with Pancha Mahabuta, ― a Sanskrit term meaning “five great elements,” and Ashish Galande,  with The Relationship between the 5 Elements of Nature & God.

The winning artists created dramatic body art using props, prosthetics, exceptional-quality makeup, and hairstyling to enhance their ideas. The competition called for all areas of the body on display to emulate the artist’s theme within a five hour period. The artists then presented their work on stage accompanied by music they selected themselves to support the concept of their art. The judging panel was made up of some of CIDESCO’s most experienced professionals, including Godard Koremans, Joma de Roos, Julie Lew, Julia Leone, Jyotsna Thopte, and Beverley Crowther.