With the weather forecast giving us bad news every single day with regard to the heat in Chennai, our self-care list just seems to be never-ending. From sunscreen lotions to essential oils, from lemonade to coconut water, you can never get enough chill-ware. As much as we do everything we can to keep our cool, one thing that we run out of when you need it the most is perfume and deodorant.
In the age of the globalised teen, 14-year-old Khushi Lalwani and her new perfume brand URA — which specialises in fragrances for teens — could hold the key to getting lucky. And staying odour-free.
Just before I met the school-going owner of this cosmetic line, I marvelled at how teens today take to entrepreneurship like fish learn to swim and are taught self-sustenance. Greeted by a sweet voice that personifies her name, Khushi, this GSS Jain Vidyalaya student goes on to explain what made her create her own line of perfumes when others her age were content to just wear them, "It all started when I was pondering over what to give a certain friend of mine as a birthday present. As I was strolling through the mall, I walked into a perfume shop but sadly didn't find anything to suit her particular need. That was when I decided to make something for all the teens out there, who deserve just as much as an adult," she says.
'Humble beginnings' is a phrase that most entrepreneurs use often and it's no different with Khushi. Her brand URA, which is derived from the chat speak version of 'you are a' (get it?), is then suffixed with a noun like 'star'. Talk about knowing her target audience. "I started off with a DIY kit and I was very keen on making vegan, non-alcoholic, skin-friendly perfumes. Vegan is a trend among teenagers these days and it is less harmful to the environment. After a lot of research, I began making samples. These perfumes were then sent to Italy to get vegan-certified," she explains of her initial foray. After that came the sales grind, for which there are always good neighbours, "I sold 20 bottles to the people in our apartment and I was more than happy with the feedback. I am so grateful to my mom and dad who helped with the finances that I needed."
When asked about her choice of fragrances, she goes on to say, "As of now I have three different fragrances available and they are chocolate, blueberry and aqua." But is that it? She answers, "I am looking to launch a vanilla flavoured perfume as well. I'm working on setting up the URA website in such a way that people can customise their perfumes to suit their particular need."
How about that? Custom-perfume hits, anyone?
