Meet Aishwarya Sawarna Nir, Founder, Global Beauty Secrets, a modern-day brand that imbibes the collective wisdom of women from across the world by combining scientific knowledge with ancient rituals and beauty secrets. The brand pays homage to the lost beauty rituals of queens like Cleopatra, of Japanese women from the Nara period, to explore the hidden in Turkish Hammam or whispered by Turkish women in the Ottoman era, unearth the lost beauty legacies of Vedic rituals or experience Panchamrita re-imagined. Global Beauty Secrets (GBS) has recently launched its Japanese beauty secret called the Kyoto Range. The beauty line is inspired by Japan and has been curated in association with Junko Sophie Kakizaki, an artist and kimono expert, who lives her life as an expression of beauty. In conversation with TMM, Aishwarya talks about the brand’s philosophy, the latest product range, and her love for writing.
How did Global Beauty Secrets happen to you?
I was deeply inspired by my grandmother’s self-care recipes and as I travelled around the world I realized women around the world had these unique recipes which they took care of themselves with. It is this idea that inspired me to further travel this journey and discover for myself these unique beauty rituals and secrets across the world.
Throw some light on the USP and beauty philosophy of the brand.
In my opinion, it’s a celebration of the collective wisdom of women across the world and is also an ode to the global cultural legacy and story, from which the ingredient or ritual has been borrowed. As a brand, we are an heirloom blessed with the power of unique natural ingredients and are also the revival of mindful rituals with the alchemy of ancient wisdom and advanced science.
Tell us a bit about the latest collection of Global Beauty Secrets.
During the start of the pandemic, I was at my lowest energetically speaking, and that’s the time when I reached out to Kyoto-based artist and preserver of Kimono culture, Junko Sophie Kakizaki, who comes from a lineage of Samurai warriors. Her work and passion as an artist and an ambassador of Japanese culture resonated with me. When I was during the pandemic, a glimpse into her wondrous universe of ancient, authentic beauty traditions filled me with joy and hope.
Although I was adhering to travel restrictions and other quarantine norms which were being dictated by the pandemic, my spirit yearned to continue my journey of understanding multicultural perspectives on beauty, to unite us in our diversity, celebrate inclusivity and preserve intelligent cultural knowledge.
To me, that is the true vision of beauty- a collective evolution of our being, a space that challenges hate and division, a space that nurtures who we are and doesn’t ask of us to adhere to normative beauty standards. A space I strongly believe we should continue to cultivate as a civilization to 
encourage and share wisdom on spiritual, mental, and physical revitalization. Believing in my vision that beauty has a universal soul, she kindly agreed to collaborate with Global Beauty Secrets to create the beautiful Tashi-nami Beauty Box. Delving deep into her family’s history, we drew inspiration from Junko’s grandmother and her age-old beauty rituals, artifacts, and ingredients. We have recreated them by sourcing the very best for you from Japan and India. Our silk puffs are made from the silk of ancient kimonos imported from Japan. Our intensely hydrating hair and skin moisturizer, the Camellia oil blend is an incredible blend of high-performance ingredients. Finally, we end with the Beni nourishing lip balm with soothing safflower oil. The oil as well as the balm are enriched with ECOCERT compliant ingredients sourced from the most credible suppliers around the world.
As the beauty brand deals with local ingredients, which is your favorite ingredient?
I like ingredients that are multitasking, and I’m really inspired by exotic clays like Rhassoul from Turkey, Din Sor Pong from Thailand, Thanaka from Mayanmar, Multani Mitti, or Besan from India. These clays serve more than one purpose for beautification, beyond cleansing; they also help with various things like exfoliation, de-pigmentation, or tan protection.
If you have to pick one favorite out of 19 products, which one will you choose and why?
It’s a tough task to choose one because every GBS offering is heart-made and is equally special to me. I guess the soul and aroma of each product are so unique that once you get started using it, you get addicted. (smiles)
When it comes to marketing, the packaging of products plays a key role. Your majority of products are in glass and one in aluminum. Why so?
At GBS, we have been making a conscious effort to be a more environment-friendly brand and are taking baby steps for all our products. Even though certain choices have hit us as a business decision and incur more cost we have chosen to go ahead with only one thought in perspective- that we need to be more responsive to nature as a young brand and if we have the opportunity to shift and become more environmentally conscious, we take it regardless of how much we need to push our own limits. In this regard, we have taken few steps as well. Our all jars are 100% recyclable and comparatively less hostile to the environment than plastic tubes.
While we were shifting our product from jars to tubes, we kept it in our perspective that even though this would ease application, would it lead to any microbial contamination? Our products have been tested for efficacy to ensure microbial safety, and the preservatives are at safe permissible levels, sourced from trusted partners, and the final products have been approved by FDA. At GBS, all products are packaged in disposable and biodegradable boxes, gift wrapped with lots of love. This allows us to curate indulgent experiences for patrons without hampering the environment. We are constantly trying to enhance our products and brand experiences, however, we are very careful to subsidize and minimize environmental harm as much as possible.
As an individual, what is your beauty and skin routine like?
My skincare routine is rather simple. I stay hydrated, eat nourishing meals, and swear by GBS Ghrit Aarti Skin Salve or Japanese Camellia Illuminating Moisturizer, and Chandani Avahana Ubtan for daily skin cleansing.
I also use the Beni Lip Nourishing Seed whenever I have dry lips and face oil during extremely dry weather.
You also love to write and have published a book as well. Share a glimpse of it.
I wanted women to experience Junko’s life, culture, and family traditions in a pure, intimate, and truthful way that I felt honored to be privy to. This intention also led to the curation of a body of literature dedicated to unique Japanese rituals that can complement the offerings of the Tashi-nami Beauty Box. In the last year, I have been in constant touch with Junko for work, and our interactions led to an adventure of a lifetime. As I asked her questions to know more about the ingredients and their relevance in her culture, I stumbled upon some key truths to life and living. The Japanese concept of Zen and Wabi-Sabi is too vast to be explained in a nutshell, but I have taken a leap of faith and courage to attempt it.
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