Heart's Desire

With all-natural ingredients and the Ayurvedic principles of a balanced mind, body and soul at its core, this homegrown brand hopes to give you what every woman wants—glowing skin, lustrous hair and the inevitable glow of all-round wellbeing. CHANDNI SEHGAL digs deeper

- Chandni Sehgal

People find my rosy cheeks adorable. Some ask me the exact shade of my blush. But halfway into my interview with Vivek Sahni, co-founder of Kama Ayurveda, he correctly recognises the reason for my tinted cheeks: “mild rosacea.” He recommends a couple of products that could help—and as the interview progresses, his Ayurvedic remedies (Ashwagandha capsules for immunity, Vitamin E-infused almond oil for skin) flow just as easily as the answers to his brand’s storied evolution. What’s evident is as the Parsons School of Design graduate went from founding a graphic design company to discovering the ancient science, launching Kama Ayurveda in 2002, he has immersed himself and his 17-year-old brand, irrevocably, in the 5,000-year old system of natural healing. Insisting this is pure Ayurveda, and not ‘Ayurveda-inspired’, as he tells me more about his nature-based “problem-solution” oriented products and I’m introduced to solutions that appear authentic, healing and sustainable, I can’t help but be intrigued by his philosophy: “We aren’t saying this is hope in a bottle; it’s a promise in a bottle.” And if a natural potion is promising to finally give me the supple skin that’s been evading me for years—not to mention a head of hair to rival Rapunzel’s—I’m on board.

THE SERENDIPITOUS START