A Celebration of AAPI Beauty
May is the month of Asian and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage. Now more than ever, Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month celebrations are not relegated just to culturally-specific venues, but rather extend across the U.S. as a sign of honoring specific Asian cultures in our lives. We at Beautyologie are proud to be an open, virtual space in which Asian cultures are celebrated and honored everyday for their contribution to the world of clean and Fair Trade beauty.
As May comes to its end, let us give you a sneak peak into our incredible AAPI-founded brands.
700 Rivers
As a global, ethical, and sustainable lifestyle brand, 700 Rivers stands for kindness: to one another, to the planet, and ourselves. Handcrafted by Bangladeshi artisans who have escaped human trafficking and now have a steady job, every product is high-quality and eco-friendly. When you choose 700 Rivers, you are not only choosing top-notch quality; you are supporting safe working environments and equal opportunities for all, for a life of dignity and respect.
The Founder: Cathy Gomes
Cathy’s family is from Bangladesh, but she grew up in the USA. Here, Cathy and her sister were given a dignified life, because in Bangladesh, women are not considered equal and their education and career are not prioritized as they are for men. Longing for her origins, Cathy started thinking about the women in Bangladesh (and all over the world) who do not have the means to uproot their lives to a country of opportunity and what that means for their lives, their futures, and their children’s future. So she set out to create an opportunity. This is 700 Rivers for her.
Abhati Suisse
ABHATI Suisse envisions the future of beauty, blending product innovation with a commitment to benefiting the world. ABHATI is inspired by Founder’s Granny - or Naniji - who would create beauty potions in her kitchen and massage them into her hair and face. ABHATI is committed to passing on and cherishing this natural beauty through generations. In collaboration with Educate Girls, ABHATI Suisse is proud to be part of initiatives that promote the education of girls in rural India. To this day, ABHATI customer contributions have enabled 392,000 girls to access education, and this number continues to grow.
Founder: Anju Doerig
Anju is a lifelong social worker, environmental activist, and the founder of Abhati. She cherishes natural beauty every day by passing on the practices dear to her Granny and Mom. For her, ABHATI is much more than a beauty company: it’s a personal treasure, one behind which there is a passionate team of beauty experts, designers and entrepreneurs who are working hard to curate a beautiful collection of products that work for both people and planet.
Areesa Botanicals
AREESA translates to the word "mirror", in our founder's native place language Gujarati. Areesa Botanicals is driven by the principle of accepting your true self, in all your beauty. Their traditional solutions tap into the Indian roots of Areesa Botanicals founder Ikhlaas, who created her handcrafted collection using the secret powers of Ayurveda.
Founder: Ikhlaas Majid
Ikhlaas grew up in India and developed a strong interest in sharing and incorporating her own experiences with Ayurvedic ingredients into her company.
Love, Indus
Love Indus was born of personal discovery and rediscovery in between the brand’s founder Surbhee Grover’s two homes – India and New York. Love, Indus is an incredibly rich wellness brand driven by confluence – the confluence of two worlds, of tradition and modernity, of natural and clean ingredients. Love, Indus aims at combining the brilliance of avant-garde technology with the precious hyper-local and traditional ingredients from the Indian subcontinent.
Founder: Surbhee Grover
When Love, Indus founder Surbhee Grover took to New York from the valleys of India, she started her discovery journey in the world of wellness. After a master’s degree from NYU, she went on to be a global strategy consultant for major American and European personal-care and consumer companies, which is what led her to discover the breakthroughs that can come from re-imagining possibilities. She turned to basic customs and ingredients she had grown up with (coconut oil, turmeric, etc.), longing to blend Indian traditions with modern New York technology to create potent beauty potions.
Nazuk Beauty
Nazuk Beauty harnesses the power of Usma grass to create a unique eyebrow and hair care brand. Nazuk is all about transformation, tradition, and love - it was born from the desire to share precious traditional beauty secrets with the world. Nazuk Beauty aims to celebrate the beauty of being authentic, embracing heritage, and experiencing transformation, together.
Founder: Zulmira Litip
Founder Zulmira created the brand as an homage to her mother - Nazuk - who is the source of her strength and resilience. Zulmira's mission is to make anyone feel beautiful through these products.
Lhamour
Lhamour is Mongolian's first brand to offer natural, high-quality skincare products. Particularly suited to skin conditions such as eczema and dry skin, Lhamour’s vision is to make a change in the skincare industry through socially responsible business practices: they help give a sustainable future to their farmers and women producers while also raising the value of locally-sourced Mongolian ingredients by cherishing tradition every day.
Founder: Khulan Davaadorj
In 2012, Khulan moved back to Mongolia, where she began experiencing severe allergies and eczema due to air pollution, low water quality, and harsh climate. Khulan likes to say that it was after struggling with these conditions that her “own problem turned into a passion.” She then became a certified professional skin care product formulator and started making products for myself using local ingredients. Little by little this became Lhamour.
Mora Cosmetics
"Mora" is derived from the Farsi word for pearl. Much like a pearl, the women behind Mora Cosmetics aim at unmasking the beauty within all of us instead of concealing it. Mora Cosmetics is all about vegan and clean beauty. Say goodbye to complicated beauty routines; Mora simplifies your skin care by offering high-performance and multi-tasking beauty products.
Founders: Minara El-Rahman & Jasmine Dayal
After being told to avoid traditional cosmetics during her high-risk pregnancy in 2015, cofounder Minara El-Rahman sought natural alternatives for makeup. She started Mora Cosmetics for a halal, clean, vegan beauty line in line with the values of ethical working conditions, small-batches to ensure high-quality product, and sustainable practices.
Shortly after, Minara met Jasmine Dayal. Especially concerned with climate change, Jasmine felt it was especially important aid rather than hinder sustainability efforts. Together, they both wanted to create makeup that enhanced the beauty of each person; not mask it.
