Skin Deep

Paraben-free, cruelty-free, and especially great for medium to dark tones, Vasanti, the Canadian beauty brand, aims at brightening while enhancing the natural attributes of the skin. Tanvi Dagli Modi speaks to the Indian women behind it.

IN 1996, PINKI GOSAL WAS WORKING AS AN ASSISTANT at a beauty studio by Marilyn Miglin in Chicago. Miglin walked in, took one look at Pinki’s eyes, said, “Get some concealer on her” to the rest of her staff, and kept walking. It was like a scene out of The Devil Wears Prada. The staff rushed to cover up her darks circles but every shade they tried looked too white and ashy. Upon her return home to Canada, “this sparked off a conversation between me and my childhood best friend, Monal [Patel],” says Pinki, who heads product development at Vasanti.

This was nearly 20 years ago. What started offas a chat about the woes of makeup between two friends led to the launch of Vasanti (meaning ‘of spring’ in Sanskrit) the same year. The duo developed a line of high-performance skincare and cosmetics aimed at women with medium to dark skin tones— those with olive, brown, and yellow undertones. Since the launch of its first cream eyeshadows, lip pencils, and lip glosses in 1999, the brand today has over 130 products on offer, and is available in over 200 stores across Canada. Actors Aditi Rao Hydari and Lisa Ray as are amongst their many fans.