Vancouver beauty maven launches Ambari collaboration with Kourtney Kardashian

Simplicity is at the core of  Ambari Beauty‘s philosophy.

Founder Nisha Grewal’s at-home spa concept has become Instagram’s latest buzzy product, thanks to an assist from reality star Kourtney Kardashian.

“We gifted Kourtney [our first two] products last March and she fell in love with it,” Nisha explained about how the partnership came about. “That’s what really started the conversation with Poosh.”

The Vancouver native launched Ambari Beauty during the COVID-19 pandemic with a conservative two products: the PM Active12® Serum, and the Gold Profection22™ Mask.

Nisha recently added a third product to Ambari’s repetoire — the Complex4 Hydrator Cream — which debuted Kourtney’s Calabasas home as part of her Poosh platform (the eldest Kardashian sister oversees the popular online magazine, where she shares her favourite recipes, workout routines, relationship advice and, of course, clean beauty products).

Posts from the Poolside With Poosh bash looked seriously dreamy, including plenty from the recently engaged reality star (to Travis Barker, btw) and her close-knit group of friends.

At the swanky daytime event, guests — which included Kourt’s sister Kim Kardashian — indulged in a variety of treatments, including customized facials using Ambari’s products.

“They tailored our facials with lymphatic drainage massages on the guests,” Nisha added, explaining that the soirée — planned by event extraordinare Sharon Sacks — is the kick-off to a four-month partnership.

“We’ve got a whole bunch of social stuff that we’re doing with them as well as the holiday mailer that she does school in December…there’ll be a lot of a lot of content and amazing stuff to see from there,” the 28-year-old teased.

It’s no surprise Kourtney fell in love with Nisha’s at-home facial concept, which prides itself on being results driven.

“There’s so many brands that tell you — ‘if you use this product for 30 days, you’ll see a result on day 31’ — but you have to use 10 other steps along with it,” Nisha explained to Daily Hive via Google Meet.

“I would be doing that, but by day 10, I would all off the wagon and would never complete [the 30 days],” the busy mom of two shares — surely a relatable tale for many trying to commit to a confusing, multi-step routine.

The 28-year-old finally began seeing visible results after a visit to her dermatologist and aesthetician — and began to ponder if the same result was possible with at-home products.

In come Ambari Beauty.

 

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“I was always very much so interested in the beauty arena,” Nisha shares, confessing she had a “love affair” with medi spas that inspired the Ambari concept.

“It was because I found instant results…and I didn’t have to follow a regimen that took forever for me to see that,” she pointedly notes. “[Through that] I found the most impactful way for someone to purchase a skincare product was to see a result and be like, ‘Okay, this is working’ — you’re more encouraged to keep that regimen going,” she explains.

Nisha had two mandates when it came to developing the products: they’d be safe to administer at home without a skincare pro, and, most importantly, that they delivered on their promise.

“What is written on our products is what you will receive,” she laughs. “Less is more..I want this brand to focus on skin minimalism. I’m not one to have 20 different moisturizers because that’s not what I’m trying to what I’m trying to portray,” she says.

Nisha’s Indian background also played a pivotal influence in inspiring Ambari’s beauty regime.

“My mom used to rub turmeric paste on my skin — just like they do traditionally do on brides before Indian ceremonies,” the Surrey, BC native shared, referencing the Haldi ceremony.

The ancient ritual of mixing the bright yellow spice with cream, flour, sandalwood and oil dates back over 4000 years to the Ayurvedic era, and guarantees a golden glow (more technically, it’s believed to remove dead skin cells, creating a refreshed, vibrant look).

“Growing up, my mom was very much so into natural remedies — anything that was provided to us by the earth, she felt that was the most powerful thing to put on our skin,” the entrepreneur explains. “We were very young [at the time], and she didn’t want to play with too many different ingredients,” Nisha adds.

Ambari’s name is also a nod to her South Asian heritage: the word loosely translates to hemp in English, or more specifically, the hibiscus cannabinus plant — which ties into the use of CBD oil in her products.

Following her graduation from Panorama Ridge Secondary, the raven-haired beauty developed a further interest in beauty and skincare — but stayed focused on her psychology studies at the University of British Columbia.

After earning her degree, she began studying for the Level 1 exam to become a Chartered Financial Analyst — all during a pregnancy with her first son, now five.

While her professional studies and career path were focused on everything but beauty, skincare was still a personal interest for her — especially as someone with sensitive skin.

“I had a lot of friends who were putting on a lot of retinol — I wasn’t able to use it as it was very strong on my skin,” Nisha explained.

A chemical derivative of Vitamin A, retinol can reduce fine lines and wrinkles, as well as lighten dark spots by promoting the shedding of dead cells — but skincare experts warn to be cautious with the product and use plenty of sunscreen.

After doing some digging, she learned ingredient bakuchiol acted as a natural alternative — but that some of them were difficult to get into the country due to Health Canada’s strict rules.

She began to wonder if there might be a better solution — one that she could create herself. A curious Nisha then connected with a team of talented dermatologists in the U.S. to explore her possibilities.

“I really wanted to make sure that the ingredients that we’re putting into a product were the finest and purest form,” she explains. “I wanted consumers to basically feel like they’ve walked out of a medi spa,” she shared of her budding vision.

A determined Nisha began to make her concept a reality, and quickly turned her attention to the financial side of things (“It was just friends and family that we had invested in the company to start,” she shared).

Creating the products was perhaps Nisha’s biggest challenge to bring Ambari Beauty to fruition — and ultimately, medicine cabinets around the world.

“I wanted [the line] to be be simple steps that gets you the results without you know over complicating things,” she says, confessing that it took “two and half years” to develop her initial two formulas.

“I love research,” Nisha, who holds an undergraduate degree in psychology, said — admitting there was a learning curve when it came to the “scientific” side of things.

“I was on multiple calls with the [chemists], sometimes three times a day…for me, it was very engaging to learn how it all really works.”

Both the serum and mask share the same ingredient story, which Ambari has dubbed “The Modern Blend”: clinical actives, smart adaptogens, and a broad-spectrum oil with CBD. The trio work effectively together, as the adaptogens first penetrate the skin to balance the pH, creating the perfect canvas for the active ingredients to do their job. Finally, the CBD oil works to hydrate and calm the skin, avoiding any awkward redness.

The mask and serum aren’t products to use every day, though.

“We recommended that people use the serum once or twice a week, and then build up as your skin climatizes,” Nisha suggests. This is partly due to the higher levels of AHA, which are at 12% in the serum and 22% in the mask.

Nisha confirmed she’s since grown the business with the support of an institutional bank.

“Being in certain retailers like Bergdorf Goodman and Neiman Marcus, getting the buzz that we’re getting — given that we only launched last February — intrigued investors,” Nisha shares, noting that she’s also caught the attention of males in the VC space.

Many of them didn’t have a vested interest in the skincare and beauty space, until they also tried Ambari’s effective trio of products.

“I made sure that the male investors tried the product, too. I was like, ‘you need to try this product… then message me and tell me how it’s working on your skin,'” she directed. “You’d be surprised how many men use our serum!” she laughed.

Nisha doesn’t plan to stop with just three products, teasing her future plans for her skincare brand. “I definitely want to build the line out, slowly,” she revealed, promising more from Ambari Beauty.