With brand values focused on affordable luxury and elevated essentials, MASIC the brainchild of Malvika Sitlani and Veronica Bahl beckons you to prioritise ‘me time’ and indulge in some self-care. From scented candles to body oils— each product is curated for you to experience simplicity with a touch of luxury. With MASIC now launching on Myntra, leading fashion, beauty and lifestyle destination, the brand is poised to tap into the wide pan-India base of fashion-forward consumers of Myntra, making the products more accessible and take the initial success to a whole new level. We sat down with the best friend duo and Rahul Sachdev, Senior Director – Beauty and Personal Care, Myntra, to talk about all things self-care and beauty:
ELLE: What do beauty and self-care mean to you? What are your personal self-care routines like?
Malvika Sitlani: I feel like ever since I started focusing more on self-care and speaking about it on my platforms, I’ve realised that even if you’re wearing a full face of makeup, you just won’t really feel good unless you feel good on the inside. Taking time out for yourself is essential. When it comes to my daily routine, I wake up at 7:30 am and take out one hour just for me— I’ll have a cup of tea, I’ll sit with my journaling book and write a gratitude list every day just so that I can look for blessings in the day. It is essential to carve out the things that make you happy and bring you joy. I also have to be in front of the camera and film every single day which means I put on a full face of makeup every day, and honestly, I feel fantastic— my skincare and makeup routine give me pure joy. When you take care of yourself, inside and outside, it’s like an instant confidence boost.
Veronica Bahl: As an extension of what Malvika said, I think self-care also requires a lot of discipline. In addition to skincare routines — it’s also about showing up and doing the work. My form of self-love is going to the gym every day and making sure I get my daily dose of movement, and that requires discipline. I think discipline always supersedes motivation. So even on the days that you’re not motivated, I think it’s important to show up for yourself.
ELLE: Can you tell us a little about MASICs founding journey? What are some of your favourite products that we can expect to see on Myntra?
Veronica Bahl: Our founding journey is quite interesting because when the pandemic hit in 2020 and the world shut down, Malvika and I decided we wanted to start our own brand at that absurd overall timing. It is an amalgamation and result of a lot of Zoom calls, if I’m being honest because I couldn’t go see her. The seed was planted by our third co-founder, Akhil, Malvika’s husband. Every Saturday at 6 p.m. for about 8 months, we have gotten on calls to discuss what this brand should be and both of us would have homework from Monday to Saturday to do. I took charge of the operations side, she took over the product side, and whenever we needed some help on important business decisions, Akhil helped us manoeuvre through that. To think that one year later, we are launching on Myntra, one of India’s biggest e-commerce platforms is surreal.
Malvika Sitlani: If I had to choose a favourite product from the range it would have to be the body oil. It’s such a magical invention. It’s one of our best sellers and I’m so happy that people are incorporating body oils into their routines. It’s no longer seen as a product to save for a self-care weekend, but as an everyday essential now. Our perfumes are cult favourites too. Most people are obsessed with mini perfumes, they’re especially popular with college girls. It’s a great product to have in your college/office bag. These two are our star products that you must look out for on Myntra.
ELLE: How would you say Myntra and MASIC’s values align?
Rahul Sachdev: I think both Malvika and the brand MASIC talk to a certain kind of woman who is aspiring to take care of herself. And Myntra of course caters toa huge cross-section of those consumers. So I think first, it’s a very good marriage based on the kind of consumers that both of us resonate with.. Secondly, I think there is a growing inclination to look at beauty as not just external but also at a deeper (physiological) level, and that’s the big trend we have been witnessing on the platform in the way consumers are shopping. There is more importance on self-care and that’s the type of beauty consumer that Myntra is also talking to. Our job is to make people look good, and feel good by providing the right access— that’s always been Myntra’s philosophy. That’s where I think our values really come together.
ELLE: What is your vision for MASIC?
Malvika Sitlani: I just want MASIC to be in everyone’s home. That’s my vision. And I think with the help of Myntra, we shall be able to reach out to people pan-India. I think this partnership happened at the right time. We were building our brand awareness and Myntra came in and helped us reach new consumers from biggest to the smallest cities. I think Veronica and I both have the vision to bring out unique products into the market that people have not heard of in terms of formulation, usage, design, or anything else and make it an essential item in your daily routine. We want to make sure that when you think of self-care, you think of MASIC. Storytelling is really important for me, that’s how I’m able to build a loyal connection with my audience. So apart from all the numbers in the business aspect, I want the brand to connect to the heart.
ELLE: How does Myntra support newer, growing brands like MASIC?
Rahul Sachdev: First and foremost, we look at creating the perfect fitment between the right consumers with the best brands. Secondly, most brands are trying to tell a story and I think Myntra really allows for that story to be told, in a very meaningful and engaging way on the app itself through our social commerce integrations. The brand can build itself and connect with its consumers firsthand, build communities and I think as a platform we really allow that bond to thrive. Third, and I think most importantly, it’s about enabling access— it’s about democratising the brand for a larger audience and coupling that with unmatched delivery speed, cutting edge tech, and industry first innovations..
ELLE: Myntra is synonymous with fashion. How are you pivoting towards a more beauty-focused approach?
Rahul Sachdev: While we are pivoting, we aren’t moving away from our strengths. I think that’s where we are borrowing from as we scale this business. The first step is to bring together the right kind of products, the right kind of brands for our consumers across the various needs that they indulge in, in their daily routines. The second is a whole social commerce endeavour consisting of M-lives, Myntra Studio and our army of amazing influencers, which I think is a very important way for us to be able to sell beauty. And hence, there is a big thrust on that from our side, because that is the future of how beauty will be sold in the coming years.
There is also a lot of work happening on our side in terms of developing the right technology as we evolve to become a more holistic platform with an emphasis on beauty and lifestyle in addition to fashion. Whether it’s through virtual try-ons, skin analyzers, or product finders, we’re looking at pretty much replacing your entire offline experience and making it seamless to buy products online. There’s continuous work happening in that space, to make that experience richer. So that’s the way we are really manoeuvring this journey with the right intent to serve the consumer well. At Myntra our vision is to democratise the space and make people look good and feel good, and beauty is an extension to that vision.
ELLE: Who is the MASIC Beauty consumer?
Veronica Bahl : I think when we were defining this for MASIC in the early stages, we went back to the community Malvika has built today. And the most popular responses that we would get every time Malvika endorsed a luxury brand was something like, “You know Mals, we understand that you love this, but do you have affordable options that you can tell us about”, and that’s why we’ve really tried hard to create affordable and accessible alternatives. We wanted to give Malvika something to recommend to her audience. Our consumer is someone who wants the experience of a premium luxury product at a fraction of the cost with great packaging and a good formula that’s vegan and cruelty-free.
Malvika Sitlani: Blending premium experience at a budget-friendly price is tough behind the scenes, but we’ve always gone the extra mile to give only the best to our consumers. With the right partners, such as Myntra,we will be able to do that even more, now. It’s shocking for me to even talk about it because I can’t believe it’s only been one year. Starting a business was something like, “Yeah, I’ll do it when I’m 30 or 35, but I’m just at 29.” I have an audience for an instant feedback loop— that’s the best part of my job on the creator front. So anything that’s missing, anything that I think they want, like instant changes, we incorporate them immediately. I feel that’s the power of a creator led brand and that’s why people are responding because they now feel more connected to the brand.
ELLE: What are some beauty consumption trends that you’ve been witnessing on Myntra?
Rahul Sachdev: I think through the COVID period, skincare became very important and that is here to stay. We’re seeing it as a big trend on the platform as well. There are a lot of newer formulas and categories coming in — for example, the MASIC body oil is one such stunner. Lip scrubs and scalp scrubs are also picking up on Myntra.There is also a very strong focus on ingredients, whether it is your traditional homegrown concoctions or your science-backed beauty, there is a lot of focus on ingredients becoming the hero of the brand.
ELLE: What is the next level of growth for MASIC Beauty looking like?
Veronica Bahl: We definitely want to expand the current product line. As a young bootstrap brand, I believe that having a seasoned partner like Myntra allows us to finally not have to choose between restocking and launching a new product. That’s a constant battle for a young brand. But since we have them as partners today, it helps us make bolder decisions. We really want to expand on the bath and body line a little more and have more products that can cater to varied skin types which will broaden our reach as well. So that’s our next step in terms of growth.
Malvika Sitlani: I think makeup is one of the most anticipated categories in our brand today. It’s also what we’re working really hard on for next year. We’re very particular about the formulations of the products we put out, and matching the budget-friendly price is something that I’ll have to nail through and through, so it’s taking a little bit of time. But, once again, I guarantee that whatever we do will be beautiful. Looking forward to that next year!
MASIC will be a part of Myntra’s flagship End of Reason Sale that is being held from 10th December – 17 December.
