Our Story | SHAZ & KIKS

SHAZ & KIKS IS A BEAUTY BRAND FOUNDED BY TWO SISTERS WHO HAVE AN IMMEASURABLE BOND THAT IS BUILT ON ENCOURAGEMENT, CARE AND LAUGHTER.

Beauty rituals have always been a bonding experience among the women in our family. Our fondest memories of childhood summers spent in India were looking on while our grandmother mixed and matched natural ingredients from her kitchen and garden to create a spectrum of beauty concoctions rooted in old Indian Ayurvedic practices. These ingredients are highly nutritious and also have scientific studies backing up their efficacy and benefits. These beauty products and rituals have been passed down through generations of Indian women and they’ve played an important role in women collectively taking care of one another. And now we are excited to share these nourishing products with you all and create our own community.

A LITTLE ABOUT SHAZ

I’m supposed to be the older, wiser sister – but growing up - when it came to all things hair and skin care, I used to always look down on it – chalked it up to too much vanity. I would be the one who very begrudgingly allowed our grandma to apply her handmade creations on me as a teen — I was fine the way I was! Now that I have actually become older and wiser, I’ve come to realize that taking good care of your outer self is as important as your inner self and has nothing to do with being vain. I wish I could turn back the clock and tell my grandma how much I appreciated her efforts — and how I fell in love with the idea of starting SHAZ & KIKS.

Although my career for the last 20 years has been technical — first in chemical engineering and then corporate business strategy, my real passion has always been in creativity and a love of beautiful things. Anything from soaking in the art and architecture of faraway places to making a volcano cake for my daughter's science party to spending hours with Kiku on our packaging!

A LITTLE ABOUT KIKU

I've always been THAT beauty 'junkie' person...let’s just say I was first in line when our grandma would sit down in her garden and call all the ladies in the family to come to get their hair massaged with her handmade oil mix. Obsessively learning how to take care of yourself, especially with plant-based ingredients, has been something I've been doing since I can remember. I was definitely the teacher's pet with my grandma taught me all their nutritious benefits of the herbs and flowers she would pick from her garden to create beauty products.

I loved learning about Indian culture so much I majored in it in college — where I studied politics, history, and women's studies focused on the South Asian region. Afterward, I took my love for studying people and behaviors and dove into the world of digital marketing in NYC where I worked at various digital agencies, and then joined the largest publishing company and my dream job at Condé Nast, leading digital strategy for brands such as Vogue and GQ. But now I have the dreamiest job, creating SHAZ & KIKS with my sister!