THE HOMECOMING

Raised around the globe, these indie beauty brand founders revisit their cultural identities for inspiration.

- Mamta Mody

Over the past few years, as the promising league of women-lead natural brands took over our beauty routines, we’ve been introduced to high-performance clean ingredients and decadent ayurvedic rituals that were earlier filed away for the ‘self-care Sunday’ that never happened. In some instances, it also gave the founders a reason to revisit their cultural roots. Whether it was two friends who discovered the healing powers of ayurveda first hand or a Toronto-based exec who found science behind her father’s home remedies, their brands have stripped away the less approachable elements of beauty and are bringing time-tested wisdom to a global audience.

TAZA AYURVEDA

The elevator pitch: Ayurvedic wellness rituals to beat urban stress

Divya Viswanathan and Amy Engel (who first met at Columbia Business School) discovered the true potency of ayurveda when Western medicine failed to treat their personal health concerns. “Growing up in Mumbai, oil massages and powder shampoos were part of my family traditions. It wasn’t until I rediscovered ayurveda as an adult that I truly came to understand and value these rituals,” says Viswanathan. Driven by the passion to share these natural solutions, the duo is working with two ayurvedic medical institutes that are regulated by the Indian Ministry of AYUSH to create authentic formulations. Since the basic tenet of Taza is that the skin and gut are pathways to overall wellbeing, it was only fair to include a digestive supplement, an abhyanga body oil and a nourishing facial oil in their line-up. Tazaayurveda.com

TULA

The elevator pitch: Doctor-backed skincare loaded with natural probiotics