Sundari: What’s in a neem?

In Sanskrit, it means "beautiful woman." Which is exactly what Sundari does – make you beautiful inside out. Simply put, Sundari believes in the beauty of being well. Its collection of Ayurvedic-inspired luxury skincare products and treatments was created to help women discover truly healthy skin and encourage them to find their individual sense of well-being.

Now, there’s another word for you: Ayurveda. The Indian science of life that goes as far back as 5,000 years ago, Ayurveda teaches that the balance of mind, body, and spirit will ultimately lead to peace, harmony, and lasting beauty. But the mind, emotions, lifestyle, and the environment affect the condition of the skin; thus, the health and appearance of the complexion are an actual expression of one’s total well-being.

According to Ayurveda, the elements – air, space, water, fire, and earth – combine to create three forces, called doshas. By balancing the three doshas – vata (air), pitta (fire), and kapha (earth) – within ourselves, we achieve a natural equilibrium.

Truth is, Sundari skin care was created by three women who share a passion for holistic skin care and a devotion to yoga: Christy Turlington, Ayla Hussain, and Cavan Mahony.

For the vata/dry skin, Sundari recommends cleansing, replenishing, and moisturizing with: Comfrey Cleanser for Vata Skin with chamomile extract to slough off dead skin cells; Essential Oil for Vata Skin with a blend of the purest rose oil and orange oil; and Lavender Moisturizer for Vata Skin with protein-rich soybean oil.

If you have pitta/normal or combination skin, cleanse, replenish, moisturize with: Sandalwood Cleanser for Pitta Skin with sandalwood oil and calming cucumber extract; Essential Oil for Pitta Skin, a stimulating blend of the purest jasmine oil and ylang ylang oil for smooth, radiant skin; Elder Flower Moisturizer for Pitta Skin with chamomile oil.

If you have kapha/oily skin, cleanse, replenish, moisturize with: Lemon Cleanser for Kapha Skin with willow bark extract; Essential Oil for Kapha Skin, a blend of stimulating peppermint oil and astringent rosemary oil; Cornflower Oil-Free Hydrator for Kapha Skin with rosemary extract and oil-absorbing horse chestnut bark extract.

Sundari taps the powerful regenerative properties of plants, a lot of which have their roots in the Himalayan region. These amazing botanicals have natural antibacterial, antiseptic, antifungal, and preservative properties. Its skincare products use essential oils, which are the most concentrated form of a plant and thus, the most effective at nourishing and rejuvenating the skin. These essential oils are extracted from aromatic herbs, trees, bushes, shrubs, flowers, and seeds from all over the world. They’re 100 percent natural, therapeutic grade, and harvested with clockwork precision. And where possible, they are organically grown – that is, without the use of pesticides.

And now, Sundari draws from the many wonders of the neem tree for its neem collection. But much more on that a bit later.

What’s in a neem? This evergreen, robust tree (Azadirachta indica A. Juss.) is inextricably linked to the Indian way of life. It’s looked up to as the symbol of health. More, it’s a friend and protector of the Indian villager. Thus, it’s no surprise to find villagers in the Indian countryside named after the neem tree: Neem-ka-Thana, Neemrana, Neemuch, and many more.

The neem has been popularly used in Indian traditional medicine for various therapeutic purposes for the past many centuries. Scientific studies show that neem has antibacterial, antifungal, antiviral, and anti-fertility properties.

Sundari’s neem line includes: Neem and Burdock Balancing Cream-Gel Cleanser (for normal/combination skin) to prevent wrinkles and loss of skin tone; Neem and Avocado Balancing Moisturizer (for normal/combination skin), clinically proven to increase hydration by 111 percent for healthier-looking skin; Neem and Tamanu Corrective Moisturizer (for dry/mature skin) to improve the texture and water-retention capacity of the skin; Neem Night Cream (for all skin types), clinically proven to moisturize the skin by 108 percent without leaving an oily residue; Neem Eye Cream (for all skin types) to improve skin elasticity and reduce puffiness in the eye area.

Then there are the Sundari travel sets for skincare-on-the-go: Hydrating Travel Set (for dry/mature skin) consisting of Comfrey Cleanser, Essential Oil for Vata Skin, and Neem and Tamanu Corrective Moisturizer; Neem Healing Travel Set (for normal/combination skin), which includes Neem and Burdock Cream/Gel Cleanser, Essential Oil for Pitta Skin, and Neem and Avocado Balancing Moisturizer.

Neem it, Sundari probably has it!

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The Sundari skincare collection is available at Rustan’s Essenses.