Freida's skin tone was not altered, says beauty brand

Indian actress Freida Pinto's lighter skin tone in a new advertisement of L'Oreal Paris has sparked controversy but the cosmetic brand has denied that they resorted to photoshop to get the fairer skin tone.

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The 'Slumdog Millionaire' star, who was signed as the face of the brand in 2009, appears fairer compared to her original skin tone in their new ad for 'Colours Take Flight' make-up.

The cosmetic brand claims that the fairness comes because of the lighting effect and not because it was altered on computer.

"Freida Pinto has been a spokesperson for L'Oreal Paris brand since 2009 and we highly value our relationship with Pinto. This campaign was meant to highlight Freida Pinto's make-up colours applied on her eyes and lips. Thus, some powerful studio lights with ring-flash have been used for this purpose to create a "runway" effect on the picture," the brand said in a statement issued here.

"There has been no whitening retouching process whatsoever on Freida Pinto's face," the statement further read.