In 2017 when Nandeeta Manchandaa launched her organic skincare brand Enn’s Closet, her thoughts echoed the sentiment of actress Gwyneth Paltrow who in an interview had said, “The idea that you’re exercising and trying to eat well and then slathering yourself with chemicals, parabens, and silicones — it’s not great.”
Though the 30-year-old had never planned on entering the cosmetic market segment, the brand became a personal crusade to educate consumers about the need for organic skin care products after her friend was diagnosed with cancer. “The organic trend has found its way into our kitchens with people taking precautions about the food they eat. But, what about what we put on our skin? It takes only 30 seconds for what we put onto our skin to enter our bloodstream.” Having started off offering just 24 shades of lipsticks and face masks, the year-old brand now includes a range of face care products — from mists to serums, lip balms and scrubs and eye balms and magnetic eyelashes.
How green is your lipstick?
“We talk about natural, home remedies every day. Like for example how tomato juice clears acne. But in reality, it is about understanding proportions and learning how much of what will actually yield results,” shares Nandeeta. Working on their products for an extensive period of four months including trials and testing variations, we learn that while the formulations are created by the brand, the products are manufactured by partners of Enn’s Closet, most of whom possess an Eco-Cert. Celebrating their first anniversary with a range of new chemical and paraben-free products, the brand recently unveiled a non-nano zinc sunscreen that uses aloe vera and pomegranate extracts, along with essential peach oil, a chlorophyll cleanser made with Clary Sage and an eyelash and brow butter which contains castor and coconut oil, shea butter, and vitamin E.
Talk isn’t cheap
One of the two organic cosmetic brands in the market, Enn’s Closet credits their ever-growing customer base and 45.4K followers on Instagram to the weekly interaction sessions that they carry out. “We try to have a Q&A session every week. We also take up customer suggestions and work on formulating new products to tackle gaps in the market,” she says, adding that the brand’s newest release, an anti-pigmentation cream, was created based on customer requests. Currently, working on a ghee-based emulsion as a winter release, Enn’s Closet attempts at staying true to its desi roots, sourcing most of their raw material from within the country. “Except for some ingredients like the different types of French clay that is found in our face masks.”
Products start at Rs 500 onwards.