Cosmetology Is My Calling - So Here I Am, To Help Your Brand Too!

Beauty is my mission, but more than a purpose or passion - it has been a calling that has helped me lead household names to product expertise and perfection.

Like every girl who embraced her femininity as her identity, I loved dressing up and grooming, experimenting with the ‘nuskhas’ of grannies and never missing out on a new product launch.?

So when life presented a crossroads to choose what I shall do for the best part of my day for the rest of my life, I chose to study Cosmetology. This is when, a girl from Jhansi enrolled for B.Tech in Cosmetology in Mumbai. In my second year of Bachelors, I knew I had a bigger goal to achieve - a space among the best 17 in the world at ISIPCA, Versailles in France, which is a very prestigious higher education institution in the field of perfume and cosmetics. ISIPCA provides world-class expertise in scientific and technical aspects to budding cosmetologists, who go on to create a niche, or their own brands.

My Journey to Perfection

After college, I used to travel to Bandra from Navi Mumbai every day for my French Classes, working round the clock to build a profile strong enough to make a place among the cream of the world in the beauty industry. I knew I had to give up on some vacations, visiting family or going to parties - but I was determined to get what I wanted. In my final year of college, I applied for ISIPCA and by God’s grace, my penance paid off and I got through!?

France is the Mecca of fashion, cosmetics and fragrances. Hence, studying there opened my doors to European and world-class culture and quality. It was an intensive 1 year of getting trained both in perfumery, and cosmetics. Later, I worked for my business management master's, ready to join a global brand to learn and grow in the diverse cosmetic products industry.

The Road Home

Home is where the heart is, hence I came back to my country armed with the secrets and tricks of the best brands and their brains. I was in Delhi back with my family. Unlike the West - opportunities here were hard to spot instantly.

Back in 2011, the cosmetic industry was not that big in India and all the MNCs were in Mumbai. Finally, after trying a lot I grabbed a job in a Noida-based company,?but found the pay scales to be really low. Soon my senior from industry, Archana Prasad offered me a job at a better pay scale in a start up she was working for. There was a point when I was second-guessing my return to India, but then within eight months, I was a part of a chain of Aesthetic clinics which gave me a chance to head their Product development and working on marketing, product designs, sales and ensuring that the product targets of all their clinics in the chain are achieved. It was a real learning for me because down the line I now knew everything from Market Research, product, packaging, designs, and costing to launch and training.

My Stint with Consulting

Finally, after 3 years, I left that organisation and started working as a consultant. God was kind enough to give me multiple brands at a time and decent exposure. In the next 3 years, I worked with 5 new brands and launched almost 120 SKUs (Stock Keeping Unit).?

In 2016, I got a call from a friend who was working with Aesthetic Clinics. She asked me if I can provide her with the products as I had the knowledge about products that can be used in skin treatments. This inspired me to start A.S Group - combining International Education and Industry Experience in the Field of Cosmetics and Fragrances, infused with Modern and Traditional Ingredients. There’s a specific solution we come up with, for diverse personal care needs.?

At Aesthetic, we started a range of products with around 7-8 products. We were sending them to 3-4 clinics and storing the products in our house itself.

Where next?

I invested in almost no self-promotion or marketing of any kind, as I was working as a full-time consultant and wanted my work to speak for me. Years passed by, and with word of mouth the orders picked up.

Cut to today, now we are supplying our professional range of products to around 100 clinics/ dermatologists.?

I have got the opportunity to work alongside brands like USTRAA, Perenne Cosmetics, Alive and well, Ciel- Clinic Dermatech, Rejuva plus, Prezerve, Men's XP Mud - the list goes on. My most recent stint was with Sirona Hygiene, a part of the Good Glamm Group, heading their Research and Development (R&D) division for five months.

We launched a range of products in partnership with Rejuva Plus, who I have also been working with for brand development. Our products are available at 35 Dermatologists within a span of 6 months. Now I am completely involved in the marketing of their products, and entering the consumer space at a faster pace.

I am also a proud owner of Be U Salon in Sector 90, Gurgaon. I am still continuing with the consultancy work. In fact, one of my Client “ Prezerve” is launching their brand this month and now I am a stakeholder and Co-founder of the brand!

With my experience, I aim to revolutionise the cosmetic industry in India for good, combining the age-old techniques with new-age expertise.

This is me and my journey, you can reach out to me at [email protected] to share your experience and we may kickstart your beauty brand’s trajectory, today!

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