At the time I entered the beauty chat few years ago, my theory of beauty and ‘feeling beautiful’ was derived from everything I watched my mother and grandmas do, growing up. A simple bathing routine, thoroughly nourished skin with moisturizers, taking care of hair by periodic oiling followed by deep cleansing, the plucked brows and outlined lips, it used to be a lovely balance of homegrown recipes and packaged products. This Women’s Day 2023 as I cherish every woman, my list has special admiration for the women who ventured into the beauty bazar and made my self care shelf full of innovative, thoughtful and magical products!
As the beauty industry thrived with the advent of skincare and makeup trends, my theories upgraded for better. The inherent idea of self care remained unchanged and so did my regard towards these lovely women I owe so much to. I celebrate them each day, making everyday a Women’s day.
Turning an idea into a reality and pushing it on and above is a thing of resilience, consistency and commitment. I interacted with few of such women who showed how it’s done- From Bollywood actresses like Katrina Kaif and Deepika Padukone to the Beauty experts, read on to meet the women, their astounding brands and their journeys:
Anusha Dandekar, BrownSkin Beauty
Dandekar on the idea behind the brand
I think for Indian skin and brown skin all over the world, it was important to change the narrative, be inclusive and also have representation for an entire color that never had a space in the beauty industry. I have been a brown girl growing up in Australia and a lot of the time wanted to fit in with the kids there so I would hide my culture a little… I didn’t have anyone representing me and making me feel apart of anything… as I got older, I had to build that path for myself and luckily I come from a family that never told me being brown is bad.
When I moved to India I thought it would be so much easier to fit in but slowly realised the discrimination was even more evident here towards each other. So I started this because I wanted everyone in our country to have a place in beauty that they feel proud and empowered with products that are specifically designed for our skin type because we have BrownSkin problems like hyperpigmentation, melasma etc. BUT being Brown is NOT and shouldn’t be the problem!
On the experience of turning into an entrepreneur
It’s been a completely new experience for me creatively, mentally and physically. It’s incredible to create products and learn so much about ingredients and various formulas for skin. You also learn a lot of patience because you want to get it perfect and I can’t stop testing till I’m happy with every bit of the product from ingredients to the packaging to the way we advertise it. I think when being on the camera, I really had to just focus on that one thing, whether it was hosting, acting or singing and I would shoot and leave. However, here It’s a million things happening at once and it never ends, even when you get home!
Anita Hassanandani, Better Beauty
On the idea behind the brand
I have always believed that consistent progress is the true metric of being alive. And progress is nothing but being better. At a time when we are constantly trying to live up to various expectations, I wanted to instil the need to just have a one point focus in life – be a better version of yourself. That’s what Better Beauty is all about – a beauty brand that’s better than the ones you have been using to achieve skin that’s better than before.
We are a completely vegan, cruelty-free, clean beauty brand that believes in potent ingredients that are gentle, effective and develops a love story with the consumer and the planet. Better Beauty is developed with a lot of affection, care and warmth and that’s the story that I want to carry forward with every product that gets launched under this brand, even in the future.
Hassanandani On the journey of creating a beauty brand
From a very young age, I had realised that beauty is simply all about knowing your skin and taking care of it. It can be a complex field but once simplified, you can achieve your beauty goals by fixing it from within. After a point of time in my life, I wanted to provide this gift of conscious beauty and by extension, great confidence in yourself by having a skincare line that takes care of any concerns that people may be facing because of lifestyle or other factors.
I wanted to take an active part in the research, have a compact & effective product line and make sure that we do our bit for the environment too in that process. For me, the goal was simple – to make beautiful skin achievable, affordable premium skincare accessible and the brand sustainable.
On the experience of turning into an entrepreneur
Just before this brand was born, I had become a new mother. I had taken a short hiatus from acting in big projects and that gave me some time to think more about making an impact on a different level. Creating a tiny human made me realise that maybe I could take this thought of making a difference and create a brand from scratch that delivers value-driven output at a mass level.
Being an entrepreneur is so much about decision-making and hardcore responsibility which I think motherhood empowered that side of me. While the challenges have been enormous, I have enjoyed having something that I believe in and back whole-heartedly. Needless to say, the love and acceptance from the people have only created a strong, indestructible ecosystem that helps me keep growing as an entrepreneur.
Bhavika Jain, Director Haruharu India
Jain on onboarding a beauty brand
When I first laid eyes on Haru Haru wonder on an international trip, I knew that the Indian
Market needed this brand. I was sure I wanted to bring it to India and so I started my research on how to connect with the founders to make them believe that India was the correct market for their brand.
I managed to get in touch with them and helped them understand the Indian skincare
market, how welcoming we are to international brands, our wide knowledge of skincare and
ingredients, our obsession with Korean beauty in general and why this brand would work so
well here! They agreed on partnering with us and thus began Haru Haru Wonders journey to India
Post that we started the entire documentation plus legal licenses to import the brand.
We knew we had to give this brand its due and so we created a website and before we even
launched, we got so many queries and we knew, the market was as excited as we were.
Since its launch we have been selling to huge marketplaces like- kindlife, sublime life, vanity
wagon and are soon going to be available at ajio , tira and kult app.
On the idea behind the brand
Haru Haru means “everyday” in Korean. It is a lifestyle skincare brand that pursues honest beauty with a priority in providing fundamental skincare. We are passionate about finding the right, healthiest, superfood ingredients and our goals are to share our daily rituals to everyone to incorporate Haru haru
into their precious skincare routine.
Haru Haru has chosen the best ingredients for people to start off their day without wasting any precious time. Among plant-based ingredients with the strongest vitality, they prioritize the most needed and best ingredient- black rice. Based on repeated experiment and the data by their own laboratory, they come up with the best way to optimize effect and outcome, yet mild and light delivery of active ingredients.
The idea behind the brand was to offer simple skincare products without many active ingredients but that people could use everyday and were highly effective. More so- the packaging is reusable, they have a patented technology and its vegan!
On the experience of turning into an entrepreneur
As a first time entrepreneur, the entire experience has been overwhelming. As not being from a beauty background, everything was so new to me since the day I thought of getting this brand to India. Right from brand sourcing to licensing and import to finally launching it in India. I was always passionate about beauty and having to be actually working in this ecosystem is super exciting.
Haru Haru being a massive success in Korea and the US and being a brand custodian and representing in one of the world’s biggest consumer economies was challenging by itself as the brand had already set the bar higher for me. I am loving this entire journey as everyday there are new challenges, new achievements and higher targets.
Sachi Mittal, OTT Skincare
Mittal on her journey of creating a beauty brand
It all started with my struggle during the pandemic of finding affordable high-quality skincare in
the Indian market. Combined with my passion for skincare and my dedication to establishing a
valuable, long-term, high quality brand, OTT was born. An Indian-made brand, at par with any
international brand which promises to give you an Over The Top experience.
From a career that has extended across various corners of the advertising industry, I decided to marry my understanding of the consumer and experience of branding to create an affordable, effective, well researched, nature-powered luxury skincare brand that is aligned with the Indian customer’s needs and sensibilities.
“Love of beauty is taste. The creation of beauty is art”- Ralph Waldo Emerson. We at OTT, have
tried to create beauty for everyone and the journey has been nothing less than artistic. It’s been
nothing short of a rollercoaster ride. Everyday I have learnt something new and the thrill of
seeing your brand, your baby from inception to the final product being out there in the market is
unimaginable.
On the idea behind the brand
An undying obsession with flowers and their amazing natural abilities to heal, hydrate,
moisturize, cleanse, smoothen and work in absolute harmony with the body is at the heart of our
love for skincare. We believe that consumers deserve effective and high-quality skincare, and we are here to serve just that. We aim to democratise luxury skincare so that everyone can access it. We push the boundaries with cutting-edge research to source the best quality of ingredients and formulations for highly efficacious products of international standards. All this so we can deliver the same high-quality, luxury skincare, but make it accessible to all.
We know that floral extracts are precious, and also the most expensive. And that’s what we are gunning for, because if that’s the best, then we’ve got to have it. We believe that the maximum potential of these extracts have not been harnessed yet. Which is why we use scientific innovation and potent concentrates to unlock the powers of these rich botanicals to create skin potions that give you the best results.
Praachi Bhandari, Co founder of Aminu Skincare
Bhandari on her journey of creating a beauty brand
A curiosity sparked when my father’s critical health journey drew me close to natural and holistic health practices to beat cancer and its effects. I was moved by the power of plants, advanced technologies and how they were able to heal so much more. My journey is majorly inspired by the many months spent in hospitals across India. Later, I moved to Mumbai, where I continued my studies in design, cosmetology, healing arts and deepened my meditation practice. I started a holistic clinical spa offering therapeutic skin care services, committed to building a sanctuary of healing with plant science, purity and its essences at the core.
AMINU was born in this clinical spa, from my desire to create truly effective and safe products. Authentic products that honestly deliver results; nourishing the skin with potent, bioavailable ingredients powered by the helpful science. My background as a cosmetologist, discerning nose and deep knowledge of the precision services rendered, led me to the intensive research in botanical actives, unique technologies with an emphasis in physiology and phytochemistry – integrating the holistic science with the alchemy of therapeutic plant extracts to produce a deeply vibrant, nourishing, and efficacious product line.
I discovered my ability to not only feel and understand a plant’s function as it relates to our skin, but I also developed a rare sense to determine the purity and quality of our raw ingredients from its extraction process and storage conditions. My love for natural skincare practices led me to the becoming of a formulator, plant communicator, loving center and driving force behind Aminu.
On the experience of turning into an entrepreneur
I’ve learned so many lessons at this point that I’ve lost count. I wear a lot of hats from manufacturing, formulation, product development, design and operations – the less glamorous parts of this space, I became obsessed with them and had the opportunity to work with some of the most talented chemists and operators in the space. Understanding the histology of the skin is the most important aspect. Identifying issues and guiding clients toward the proper solutions is fulfilling and can have a huge impact on a client’s life.
Deepika Padukone, Eighty-Two East
Deepika Padukone launched her own beauty and self-care brand, 82 E or Eight two East recently. The aim is to build up a brand with trust and consistency and the products that her brand has launched are carefully crafted and clinically tested for everyday skin rituals- with trending ingredients like lotus extract, patchouli, Ashwagandha to name a few.
Katrina Kaif, Kay beauty
Bollywood actress Katrina Kaif’s Kay beauty was launched in 2019. The actor introduced a vegan, cruelty free makeup brand, which caters to people representing different skin types and tones. The makeup range has everything on the stand from eye-essentials to lip products and skin care as well to become a cult favourite.
Priyanka Chopra, Anomaly
Bollywood actor and Global icon, Priyanka Chopra Jonas’s hair care brand Anomaly was recently launched in India. Priyanka wants to revolutionize the hair care industry by making it gender-neutral, conscious and eco-friendly. She spreads awareness on hair care through her brand and emphasises on how important it is to take care of the scalp and use products that don’t harm our hair.
Masaba Gupta, Love Child
Indian designer Masaba Gupta launched her beauty brand, Love Child which is a mix of beauty, wellness and skincare products, the brand offers a variety of genderless line of makeup, skincare and fragrance that goes beyond the bounds of perfect skin tones and textures. The brand received much love for Masaba’s aesthetics and the cool packaging.
Sonakshi Sinha, Soezi
Sonakshi Sinha‘s baby, Soezi rose to fame super quick with a solution offering line of products which was a call for innovation- the press on nails with an array of assorted nails in all shapes, sizes and designs that are just an order away.