PURITY SEEKERS Organic make-upper
IF BEAUTY LIES IN THE EYES OF THE BEHOLDER, THESE WOMEN ARE ENSURING IT ALSO LIES IN THE EYES OF THE RESPONSIBLE CONSUMER — WITH THEIR NATURAL, CHEMICAL-FREE BEAUTY PRODUCTS
They are today’s cleanse-preneurs or purity seekers. Their office is the home kitchen. Ridding the beauty industry of chemicals, infusing purity into regimes with magical potions, natural ingredients and pure oils. With their tiny home boutiques across India, their products with aroma oils, smoked lavender, rose, cinnamon, clay, honey, coconut, aloe vera, lemon grass, black sea salt, fruits and naturally found ingredients have given the beauty industry chemical-free and environmentally responsible options. Yes, responsibility to others, and to the ecological disaster the world is heading towards is their biggest concern. With a market share pegged at `45,000 crore and growing, the Indian diaspora is seeing an indigenous and thriving resurgence of such home-based products. Even as some Indian brands rule the retail, and international chains open stores here, a very mindful and responsible family of believers decided to go basket in hand, pick the choicest organic ingredients, to create beauty that our grandmothers would probably nod wisely at.
Mumbai-based Rubeina Karachiwalla, founder, Ruby Organics, an organic make-up line says, “According to a report by Transparency Market Research, the Indian organic cosmetic market is expected to become a `10,000 crore market by 2018 with a CAGR of 20-25 per cent, while the global market share is expected to rise to $13 billion by 2018 with a CAGR of 9.6 per cent.”
The mantra is paraben-free, vegetarian, non-animal tested, chemical and preservative-free. All seeking to purify our beauty routines, while giving back to earth, the commonality of these cleanse-preneurs is their staunch belief in their trade. Rubeina Karachiwalla’s Ruby Organics offers an organic and natural make-up range, the first of its kind. Sunayana Walia’s Raw Beauty offers a slew of home-grown organic products in Jalandhar while Bindu Chopra, an NCR-based home cosmetics whiz, has, with Ahad, given aloe vera gels, clay packs, frankincense soaps, neem, tulsi etc. a new lease of life. Bengalurean Sapna Rao decided to embrace this wholesome goodness with her line of exotic soaps, scrubs and balms, bringing wholesome beauty and responsible consumerism, and she also makes soaps for pooches. Infact, even men are preferring the goodness of these products!
Rubeina Karachiwalla began her explorations in the kitchen, and today she offers organic makeup at rubysorganics.in. “Consumers are becoming more conscious and responsible. Sustainability and environmental consciousness are the need of the hour. Our society is looking for credibility and reliability as cosmetics are crammed with parabens, allergens, carcinogens, synthetics, fragrances and fillers with harmful effects on us and the environment,” says Rubeina who saw this void and worked really hard (with no background in beauty) to find a solution. For her, making women happier was the inspiring factor. The girl who wanted to detoxify beauty regimes says, “Growing up, like every other teenager, I was fascinated with beauty products and cosmetics. I had never paid attention to what goes inside products, but my curiousity led me to discover a number of toxic ingredients present in regular make-up brands. I felt this sense of guilt every time I was burdening my skin with makeup and it bothered me to a point where I had to find a way to make make-up healthier. I just had to.” So, she literally went in search of wholesome ingredients for her line of products.