Share your background.
My ethnic background is Indian. I was born in Mumbai, India and my family emigrated to New York when I was quite young, so I grew up here in New York City. My professional background is in fashion design. I went to F.I.T in New York City where I was raised and went onto work in the design field for many years before I took a sabbatical to backpack through South America. I of course never did return to fashion, but, it remains near and dear to my heart and now my design catharsis is through the packaging design of my skincare products!
When did you discover the love for fashion design?
I’ve always been good at academics so my parents were always encouraging me to become a doctor, but, I knew my heart was elsewhere from quite a young age. I enjoyed math and science too, but I always had an innate sense for what I looked for visually in garments and I was always begging my parents for art supplies so I could sketch and draw, and as I got older, I saw that this could be something to study as well, so I went for it.
Share your soul-searching journey in South America. What did you discover about yourself at that time?
I don’t know if it was the immigration experience of my childhood that planted this seed or just a growing sense of who I was that comes with adulthood and taking shape in the world, but I discovered that you can make your life what you want. I was at a crossroads where I could keep on going in a still young, but solid trajectory in the design industry, and live a reasonably good life as far as I could tell. But I was discovering that by participating in my life in a different way, I could make it my own so that it felt less like something that was happening to me, and more like something I was co-creating. I wanted more exploration, more adventure, more self-discovery. I discovered on that trip that I was on a much larger journey and backpacking was just the beginning.
How has your culture led you to develop, M.S. Skincare?
I was raised with Ayurvedic principles at home due to my Indian background. I remember my parents telling me things like I should stop eating so many mangoes as they were a warming food and my body, would get too hot and it would exacerbate my temper and make my teenage acne flare-up. Of course, as a teenager, I just rolled my eyes at them and couldn’t believe that a mango could affect me beyond my palate. As I got older, of course, I started to see that breadth and wealth of knowledge that they had in fact been lovingly imparting to me my whole life and for the first time, I started to understand. I knew after I studied to become a licensed esthetician that I would want to incorporate my Ayurvedic knowledge into the products so that I could share this magnificent rich history with the world.
What is unique about your products?
There are no other companies that I know of, owned fully by a woman of color who has a background in Ayurveda, is a certified yoga teacher, herbalist & aesthetician. All of this knowledge is distilled into my formulas as I’m the formulator behind everything we make.
How do you create balance as a successful Entrepreneur in New York City?
This is very, very tough and something I’ve been vocal about struggling with. I try to keep my yoga practice alive and well and it saves me every time from going too hard for too long on overdrive. Like anything else, it gets away from me from time to time, but it’s the thing I always return to because it works for me.
Share some of your challenges when launching your company.
Time management and leading a small team are challenges that go hand in hand. Again, you want to do everything and not miss a single opportunity while also keeping the daily operations running smoothly. Learning what to delegate and what to turn down so that everything doesn’t suffer as a result of everyone trying to do everything is a real challenge we had to address quite early on.
What is the best piece of advice that you have received?
To step back from the day to day grind of it all and focus on the larger vision for the company. I was told that the company will only go as far as I can see, and if I’m involved in the minutiae then I’ll lose sight of the big picture and I’ve found that to be very helpful.
“There are no other companies that I know of, owned fully by a woman of color who has a background in Ayurveda, is a certified yoga teacher, herbalist & aesthetician.”
Who do you admire?
My mom. When we moved to this country, she went from being a stay at home mom, with a relatively comfortable life, to having to work and learn to drive a car, all while raising three children all under the age of ten. She was grace under fire and as I’ve grown into a woman myself, I truly see how impressive she is. To date, she’s my biggest inspiration and biggest supporter.
How important is collaboration? Which women’s organizations are you part of?
Support from a community of women is invaluable. I’m a part of Facebook group called Dreamers and Doers and I belong to The Wing, a female co-working collective. I also try and go to as many events as I can where I can meet other women in either the beauty industry or to listen to women lecture who are masters of their respective industry. The point is building a community of women who are on the pulse of life in a way that specifically creators, makers & disruptors are. In a group of women like these, I feel less crazy and like anything is possible.
You can find M.S Skincare on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/msskincare.co/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/msskincare.co/
