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L’Oréal Paris celebrates 27 glamorous years at Cannes with Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Aditi Rao Hydari
Mumbai: L’Oréal Paris returns as the official makeup partner of the Festival de Cannes, scheduled from 14 to 25 May 2024. With an esteemed history as the festival’s makeup partner, L’Oréal Paris enters its 27th year with the theme ‘Many Ways To Be An Icon’ that mirrors the brand’s philosophy of confidence and self-empowerment, reinforcing the belief that every individual is inherently deserving.
This year, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Aditi Rao Hydari are all set to flaunt their iconic presence at the Cannes Film Festival. It is a testament to their talent, beauty, and the ever-growing influence of Indian cinema on the global stage. A pioneer in her own right, Aishwarya was the first Indian female actor to serve as a Cannes jury member, symbolizing the brand’s commitment to global representation.
The Indian film industry luminary and L’Oréal Paris ambassador Aditi Rao Hydari expressed her excitement, saying, “I am thrilled to embark on this journey to the esteemed Festival de Cannes as the spokesperson for L’Oreal Paris. I strongly advocate that women should confidently embrace their unique selves and I truly resonate with the theme of this year “Many Ways to be an icon”. For me, being an icon isn’t about fitting into a mold; it’s about embracing one’s unique journey and inherent worth. It is an honour to be aligned with a brand that has consistently championed the cause of women’s empowerment, fostering confidence and growth in every facet of their lives.”
Additionally, the brand presents the fourth edition of the L’Oréal Paris Lights on Women’s Worth Award, with actress and L’Oréal Paris ambassador Elle Fanning to take over from Kate Winslet as the Juror. Founded to spotlight the gender imbalance in filmmaking, this award honors one promising female short-film director from among the official Cannes Short Films selection and the selection of La Cinef Short Films.
L’Oréal Paris embodies an inclusive representation of beauty that resonates with women across the globe. Aligned with the brand’s core values and cause initiatives, the brand ambassadors transcends boundaries and echo the brand ethos. Through their partnership with L’Oréal Paris, they aim to amplify the message of self-worth and inspire millions worldwide to embrace and honour their unique individuality. As the Festival de Cannes’ official makeup partner, it inspires ambassadors, actors, and actresses to showcase this empowered beauty vision on the red carpet.
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PNB partners Kiwi to launch credit-enabled UPI for users
Targets 180 million customers; RuPay card offers 0.5 per cent to 1.5 per cent cashback
MUMBAI: Swipe, tap, or scan credit is quietly slipping into the rhythm of everyday payments, and Punjab National Bank wants in on the action. The state-run lender has partnered with Kiwi to roll out credit-enabled UPI payments for its 180 million customers, marking a significant push to blend traditional banking with India’s fast-evolving digital payments ecosystem.
At the centre of the collaboration is the launch of the PNB Kiwi Credit Card on the RuPay network. The card is designed with a digital-first approach, offering fully online onboarding and seamless integration with UPI, allowing users to transact via scan-and-pay while accessing credit.
The offering also brings in a rewards layer, with cashback ranging from 0.5 per cent to 1.5 per cent on online transactions, positioning the product as both a convenience play and a spending incentive.
The move comes as UPI continues to dominate India’s digital payments landscape, increasingly blurring the lines between debit-led transactions and credit access. For PNB, which operates over 10,000 branches around 60 per cent in semi-urban and rural areas, the partnership signals a targeted effort to extend formal credit to segments that have traditionally remained underserved.
The collaboration also reflects a broader industry shift, where banks and fintech platforms are converging to embed credit directly into payment flows, reducing friction while expanding access.
With RuPay credit cards gaining traction and UPI evolving beyond peer-to-peer transfers, the PNB–Kiwi tie-up positions both players at the intersection of scale, accessibility, and the next phase of digital finance in India.
