Pritika Swarup, mannequin and founding father of Prakti Magnificence.
Photograph: Courtesy of Prakti Magnificence
The method of utilizing PritiPolish, a mild rice powder exfoliator and Prakti Magnificence’s staple product, feels ritualistic in itself. To scoop the suitable quantity of powder into your hand, you have to use the supplied golden souvenir spoon. And, when you apply a splash of water to arrange the scrub for software, you may discover that it “magically” transforms from white to lavender. “These particulars have been all considered once we have been first creating PritiPolish,” Prakti Magnificence Founder Pritika Swarup tells Fashionista. “All these little elements are part of Prakti’s hybrid positioning within the magnificence market. It feels each unique and thrilling.”
By means of Pratki Magnificence, which Swarup launched late final 12 months, she sought to fill in a spot she observed within the magnificence business in her years as a mannequin posing for manufacturers like MAC, Clinique and Fenty Magnificence and for publications like Attract, Vogue, Elle, Harper’s Bazaar and L’Officiel India. Swarup is of Indian heritage and was born and raised in Virginia Seaside, Virginia. And whereas she knew from her circle of relatives’s traditions that Indian tradition is rife with wealthy wellness, magnificence and skin-care practices, she did not see herself represented within the merchandise that existed within the magnificence house. Magnificence merchandise and types that drew on Indian tradition have been extraordinarily uncommon in the USA, and those who have been out there felt largely out of date to Swarup.
“From the messaging to the packaging, I felt that there wasn’t a lot of an area for Indian magnificence merchandise within the Western mainstream as a result of the merchandise that I noticed on the cabinets have been typically coming from an outdated perspective,” Swarup says. “They merely weren’t as accessible to the fashionable Indian girl, or any girl who would possibly discover curiosity in them.”
Thus, Prakti Magnificence was born. Up to now, its streamlined product curation contains solely two merchandise: MahaMask, a creamy hydrating therapy masks and the aforementioned PritiPolish (although a 3rd is on the best way quickly). With these choices, the model has sought to include Ayurvedic practices, Indian magnificence rituals and a splash of Western innovation for the fashionable client.
Rice and turmeric, staples in lots of Indian recipes, are additionally key components in Prakti’s skin-care formulation. The cylindrical form of the model’s packaging displays these present in Hindi tradition, and even the graphics used all through the branding are direct nods to Indian girls.
Prakti Magnificence’s PritiPolish and MohoMask.
Photograph: Courtesy of Prakti Magnificence
Swarup, who studied Monetary Economics at Columbia College whereas concurrently pursuing her modeling profession, additionally serves as a worldwide ambassador for Operation Smile, a company that gives free surgical care to youngsters born with craniofacial circumstances comparable to cleft lips and palates.
Prakti first received concerned with the group as a scholar volunteer in eighth grade, and has expanded her function within the years since to incorporate talking at press conferences, main world fundraising initiatives and even collaborating within the group’s medical missions all over the world. She additionally selected Operation Smile as a philanthropic accomplice of Prakti Magnificence from its launch, utilizing the sweetness model as a platform to assist enhance consciousness concerning the group.
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Swarup says envisioned Prakti as greater than “only a magnificence model” from fruition, noting that “there’s a whole lot of symmetry” between the corporate and Operation Smile. Social and group impression are pillars of Prakti, and along with partnering with Operation Smile, the corporate has additionally developed the “Suman Saroj Initiative,” which Swarup named after her grandmothers.
By means of the Suman Saroj initiative, the corporate employs native craftswomen in and round Swarup’s grandmothers’ hometown of Lucknow to create hand-crafted accent gadgets that can “complement our skin-care providing and spotlight the standard artisanship of the native tradition.”
The objectives of this initiative are to have fun and shield the Indian custom of Chikankari stitching and to afford native craftswomen within the area the chance to create a sustainable revenue to supply for his or her households.
“Not solely does it put Indian tradition on the market, however craftswomen are sometimes severely ignored,” says Swarup. “We need to present the abilities of being financially impartial with out counting on males.”
Indian girls, particularly her grandmothers and mom, have at all times performed a significant function in Swarup’s life and have closely influenced the model ethos. “The largest life lesson [my mom] taught me is ‘satnam,‘ which suggests, ‘reality, I’m,'” Swarup says. “She’ll name me earlier than, say, a photoshoot or interview and say, ‘bear in mind: satnam,’ and it brings me consolation each single time.”
With Prakti Magnificence, Swarup hopes to deliver skincare and philanthropy collectively as one whereas celebrating her Indian heritage. “Indian magnificence is rarely nearly one’s bodily look,” Swarup says. “It’s at all times a mix of physique and soul.”
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