At BrilliantRead Media, we always strive to bring meaningful and powerful stories from India and around the world to empower and motivate our growing community. As part of this endeavour, we invited Shilpa Shetty and Rubleen Kaur for an exclusive interview with us. Shilpa and Rubleen are the Founders of Finesse – The Finishing School. Let’s learn more about their background, journey and advice for our community!
Excerpts from our exclusive interview with Shilpa & Rubleen:
Could you please talk us through your background and your journey?
Finesse – The Finishing School was founded by us, Shilpa and Rubleen, with a shared vision of creating meaningful, lasting transformation in people’s lives through image, confidence, and self-awareness.
Shilpa is an internationally certified Image Consultant with specialised expertise in Personal Colour Analysis and Body Type Styling.
With over two decades of experience spanning client management, fashion accessories, styling, fashion blogging, image makeovers, and advertising, she brings deep industry insight and creative strategy to Finesse.
Rubleen is an internationally certified Image Consultant and also a qualified personal counsellor trained in Transactional Analysis, REBT, and the Carl Rogers (Carkhuff) Model. Her work uniquely integrates image enhancement with emotional intelligence and inner transformation.
Together, we are recognised as leading colour analysts in the country, and through Finesse, we have worked with over 2,500 clients across individuals, professionals, organisations, and institutions.
This collective experience has shaped Finesse into a holistic finishing school where image, confidence, communication, and mindset are treated as interconnected pillars of success.
Shilpa Shetty
How did you discover your passion?
Our passion evolved naturally through years of working with people and witnessing how deeply personal image and confidence affect one’s life. With every client transformation, we saw how alignment between inner belief and outer expression creates clarity, confidence, and self-worth.
Working with thousands of individuals across different age groups and professions helped us realise that image consulting is not about appearance alone—it is about identity, empowerment, and self-expression. That realisation shaped our purpose and the foundation of Finesse.
Who have you worked and collaborated with?
We have had the privilege of working with and collaborating across a diverse range of luxury, lifestyle, corporate, education, hospitality, retail, and wellness brands. Our collaborations include:
Global luxury and fashion brands such as Valentino, Versace and The Collective; leading beauty and retail platforms like Nykaa and Pernia’s Pop-Up Shop; and renowned hospitality groups including Fairmont Hotels & Resorts and Rainforest Resort, Igatpuri.
We have also partnered with major corporates and institutions such as Aditya Birla Group (UltraTech), Quest Global, The Collective, JITO, and ISFT College & Institute, Raffles Design International (Mumbai) and Fable Street.
Our work spans across lifestyle, media, and wellness brands, including House of Beauty, Your Fitness and Goregaon Sports Club. In the luxury jewellery and retail space, we have collaborated with Aurus Jewels, Manghwani Fine Jewels, Carbazaar and Platinum Rent a Car.
Additionally, we have worked closely with wedding planners such as Copper Events for luxury wedding events across India.
Rubleen Kaur
Despite the challenges, what keeps you going when things get tough?
What keeps us going is impact and purpose. Seeing real transformations in people—professionals stepping into leadership, individuals finding confidence, and clients embracing their authentic presence—gives meaning to everything we do.
Our work goes beyond styling. It changes mindsets, behaviour, and self-perception. Knowing that we’ve positively impacted the lives of over 2,500 clients keeps us deeply motivated, even during challenging phases.
What are the popular programs at your finishing school?
At Finesse – The Finishing School, our most popular and signature service is Korean Colour Analysis. It has been a phenomenal success for us. We’ve worked with a wide range of clients—men, women, students, brides, and grooms—helping them understand their personal colour palette and how to use it in clothing, makeup, and overall image. The transformation and clarity clients experience make this one of our most in-demand programs.
Our second most popular offering is our Quick Styling Program, “Finesse Magic” This is especially sought after by young executives, mid-management professionals, as well as brides and grooms who want immediate, practical styling solutions. It focuses on looking polished, confident, and appropriate for their personal and professional roles in a short span of time.
The third highly popular program is our Kids’ Dining Etiquette Workshop. We conduct this program during school holidays, at least four times a year, and it consistently sees high demand. To date, we’ve trained over a thousand children in dining etiquette, table manners, and social confidence, making it one of our most loved and impactful programs.
What are the three most important lessons you have learned in your life?
1) Confidence is cultivated, not inherited. It is built through awareness, training, and consistent effort.
2) True transformation is holistic. External image must align with internal mindset for lasting change.
3) Growth thrives in the right environment. Support systems, mentorship, and guidance accelerate personal evolution.
Shilpa Shetty and Rubleen Kaur
In your opinion, what are the keys to success?
Success comes from alignment—between who you are, how you present yourself, and how you show up in the world. It requires self-awareness, responsibility, curiosity, discipline, and consistent action.
At Finesse, we believe success is not only about competence, but also about credibility, confidence, and communication. When inner belief and external presence work together, success becomes sustainable.
What advice would you give students and young professionals who want to have a successful career?
Start investing in yourself early. Build not just technical skills, but also communication, etiquette, emotional intelligence, grooming, and personal presence.
Your appearance, behaviour, and confidence often speak before your qualifications. Learn how to present yourself with clarity and authenticity. With the right guidance and self-awareness, growth becomes exponential.
Shilpa Shetty (Left) and Rubleen Kaur
Last but not least, what about your journey makes it satisfying or exciting?
What excites us most is transformation—both visible and invisible. From discovering personal colour palettes to building confidence and self-worth, every client journey feels meaningful.
Being recognised as leading colour analysts in the country and having worked with over 2,500 clients is deeply fulfilling, not as a number, but as a reflection of lives touched, confidence built, and identities transformed.
One of our most popular and widely celebrated offerings is Korean Colour Analysis, which has also been one of the most viral and successful programs at Finesse – The Finishing School.
The experience of watching clients discover their personal colours and curated palettes has been incredibly rewarding for us. Seeing their faces light up as they recognise how the right colours transform their appearance has been one of the most satisfying and wholesome aspects of our journey.
Along the way, we have been fortunate to collaborate with esteemed brands such as Nykaa, Aditya Birla Group, The Collective, Versace, and Pernia’s Pop-Up Shop, among many others. These collaborations have added immense value to our work and strengthened our belief in the impact of image consulting.
Overall, our journey so far has been deeply fulfilling and exciting, and we look forward to working with many more such brands while continuing to create meaningful, confidence-building experiences for our clients.
Finesse continues to excite us because it allows us to create impact, purpose, and lasting change
BrilliantRead is committed to bringing stories from the startup ecosystem, stories that reshape our perspective, add value to our community and be a constant source of motivation not just for our community but also for the whole ecosystem of entrepreneurs and aspiring individuals.
Note: If you have a similar story to share with our audience and would like to be featured on our online magazine, then please write to us at [email protected], we will review your story and extend an invitation to feature if it is worth publishing.
