Tamannaah Bhatia's Alter Ego: LOVETC Bets on 90s Shimmer

Tamannaah Bhatia is the face of Alter Ego, a new colour cosmetics collection from LOVETC, the Birla Cosmetics brand founded by Ananya Birla. Trade outlets Mediabrief and Licence India reported the launch on 12 October 2026, describing a six-product range that draws on 1990s beauty, maximalism and shimmer, and a teaser campaign built around one question: "Who wore who?" Here is what has been reported about the collection, the campaign and Tamannaah's role at the brand.

The collection: bold colour and metallic finishes

According to Mediabrief, Alter Ego features bold colours, metallic finishes and defined makeup looks, inspired by 1990s beauty, maximalism and shimmer. Licence India describes the same six-product range as built for experimenting with different beauty styles and using cosmetics to express contrasting moods and identities.

On LOVETC's own website, the Alter collection page lists three kits, each priced at Rs 3,500: the Rose After Dark Kit, the Sunset Soiree Vanity Set and Midnight Metallics. The Sunset Soiree set, according to its product page, brings together a matte liquid lipstick, a Chromagic metallic lipstick and a creme-to-powder blush. The brand pitches it for festive celebrations, special occasions and "sunset-inspired glam".

The product page for the Sunset Soiree set lists hyaluronic acid, marula oil, vitamin E and vegan squalane in the lip formulas, which the brand says help keep lips conditioned. It describes the blush as a buildable cream that turns into a velvety powder finish and can be blended with fingertips or a brush.

The suggested routine is simple. Swipe on the matte liquid lipstick for intense colour, layer or switch to the metallic lipstick for a statement lip, and finish with the blush on the cheeks. These are the brand's own claims, and we have not tested the products.

"Who wore who?": the teaser campaign

Both trade reports describe a mystery-led rollout. Mediabrief says it began with unusual changes on LOVETC's Instagram account, including a distorted logo, a revised bio and cryptic posts that hinted at an unfamiliar presence on the page. Fragmented captions, partially loaded visuals and cropped product labels offered clues to the six products before the official reveal.

The activation also reached creators. According to Mediabrief, actors and creators including Fatima Sana Shaikh and Diana Penty received PR boxes addressed to different names. Their posts about the unexpected deliveries, and LOVETC's replies using the same incorrect names, spread the campaign across creator communities.

The 48-hour build-up ended with a campaign film starring Tamannaah, which tied the clues together and introduced the collection. Mediabrief says the campaign explores the relationship between makeup and self-expression and how different beauty looks can bring out facets of a personality.

The campaign is not only online. Mediabrief and Licence India report out-of-home placements in Mumbai, airport advertising in Mumbai, Delhi and Bengaluru, and cinema placements in Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru and Hyderabad, supported by digital and social media.

Tamannaah's six months at LOVETC

Alter Ego is not Tamannaah's first outing for the brand. afaqs reported on 16 April 2026 that LOVETC had named her the face of the brand as it completed its first year in the market. Launched in 2025 by Ananya Birla, the brand spent that first year on lips and eyes, with products priced between Rs 650 and Rs 1,850, according to afaqs, which also reported plans to enter the face category with a foundation range designed for diverse Indian skin tones.

At the time, Tamannaah said: "I have always loved beauty as a form of self-expression, and what drew me to LOVETC is that it feels playful, thoughtful, and modern at the same time." Ananya Birla told afaqs that every launch is held to the same brief: "Does it perform? Is it playful? Is it kind to the person wearing it?" She added that Tamannaah "brings together an authentic love for beauty with a connection that cuts across audiences and geographies."

Bollywood Hungama, reporting the April announcement, said that first campaign featured her across the brand's range, from foundations to lipsticks.

Why the alter ego idea fits

Tamannaah's own career has moved across industries and images. Her Wikipedia biography notes that she made her debut as a lead in the Hindi film Chand Sa Roshan Chehra in 2005 before becoming a leading actress in Telugu and Tamil cinema, with Baahubali as a turning point. In Hindi she has since appeared in Himmatwala, the Netflix anthology Lust Stories 2 and the series Jee Karda, performed the song "Nasha" in Raid 2, and in 2026 starred in O'Romeo with Shahid Kapoor.

That range, from glamorous song numbers to grounded streaming roles, is the kind of contrast the "Who wore who?" line plays on. LOVETC has not said publicly why it built this collection around her, beyond Ananya Birla's April remarks about her reach.

What we could not confirm

The trade reports do not list the individual names or prices of all six products, the shade range, or who made the campaign film. We have not seen the film itself. The ingredient and finish details above come from LOVETC's product page and are the brand's claims.

Sources

Cover photo: Shrinivas G Kulkarni, Wikimedia Commons, [https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Tamannah_Bhatia2.jpg](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Tamannah_Bhatia2.jpg) (CC BY-SA 4.0).