Page 207 - Vogue - India (January 2020)

Uma Beauty
Boosting Day Face
Oil and Ultimate
Brightening Face Oil

THE WARRIOR: RAISA MIRZA, FOUNDER
OF RELLA BEAUTY
THE MISSION: EMPOWERMENT

Makeup is empowering and everyone should have the option of using it as a
tool to express themselves. “Rella Beauty follows a buy-one-give-one model
where for every unit purchased, we give one to a woman in need, across the
world. We are partnering with a number of organisations to reach women from
all walks of life, including those trying to find jobs, below the poverty line, at-risk
women and teens,” says Amsterdam-based Mirza. The brand has launched three
lipsticks and is trying to follow all the tenets of sustainability the best way it can,
like sending out its lipsticks in reusable packaging. However, the actual product
is hard to recycle—lipstick parts are so small that the machines in the recycling
plants cannot recognise and sort them. What gives? “Unlike other lipsticks
in the market, we have filled our units with good intent. Most lipsticks have a
recommended use of about 12 months, but women often don’t finish a lipstick
within that time frame and wind up discarding it. So, we chose to have a slightly
smaller, thinner fill in our products, which makes application easy. You are much
more likely to finish this within its recommended shelf life, minimising waste.”

WE LOVE: CONFIDANT, DARLING, AND SOUL SISTER

Rella Beauty’s
Confidant,
Darling and Soul
Sister lipsticks HOLECEK, FOUNDER OF UMA
THE WARRIOR: SHRANKHLA

THE MISSION: GREEN FARMING
Holecek’s family has been creating
organically farmed, processed and
administered oils in Chhattisgarh for several
centuries. Her farm-to-bottle line Uma
is a newer take on ancient formulas that
were passed down over generations. Since
essential and cold-pressed oils are distilled
from plants using steam or pressure, the
quality of the botanical is directly related to
the purity and efficacy of the end product.
“We respect plant seasonality and adhere
closely to practices that enrich the earth’s
natural fertility and try to minimise our
dependence on artificial irrigation—all in
accordance with the belief systems
that natural energy thrives when its
functions are least disturbed,” she says.
The essential oil distillery is self-sustaining
because of its innovative machinery, which
converts waste product back to reusable
fuel. “This allows us to operate with
minimal dependence on outside energy
resources, while leaving behind the smallest
of footprints,” Holecek says. “We don’t
like wasting anything. In fact, even the
fragrant leftovers of flowers and plants after
extraction are converted into incense.”

WE LOVE: ABSOLUTE ANTI
AGING BODY OIL, BEAUTY
BOOSTING DAY FACE OIL

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