When it comes to beauty potions, The Timekeeper by Rasula is known to correct dark spots and hydrate dry, itchy skin, and reduce scars and fine lines, and it could be the answer to myriad beauty woes.
An elixir for ageless skin is a panacea most seek. When Roshni Laura George chanced upon a special musk rose shrub studying in England, and turned ardent user of the oil, she was inspired. The bright perky red berry of the Himalayan musk rose is made into Rosehip oil which is revered for its anti-ageing virtues. Mostly seen in colder climates of Europe and Chile, Roshni chanced upon a similar looking bloom in the Kashmir Valley painted across a white snowy expanse on a drive to a temple in Srinagar on her honeymoon. Not a shrub indigenous to India, she was enthused. Thus began her endeavour to create a highly potent, first of its kind Rosehip oil in India which she called The Timekeeper by Rasula.
Four years delving into the anti-ageing qualities, researching and exploring, she was in and out of Indian Council of Medical Research and Indian Institute of Integrative Medicine offices, meeting key scientists.
A Keralite, she grew up with natural and Ayurvedic remedies and had an unfulfilled desire to create her own line. Rosehip fit perfectly. Roshni and her sisters, Rachel and Susan set about working on what could be the answer to beauty woes – unblemished ageless skin. It was tough, exhaustive and ardurous, since surprisingly no one in India knew of this anti-aging antidote or that it grew here. After much research, the wild crafted Timekeeper by Rasula launched in December 2020 (https://rasulastory.com/). A course in organic skincare formulation with Formula Botanica (UK) helped guide Roshni as did IIIM scientists, to bring the unassuming wild rose to India’s natural beauty market.
“Rosehip Tea and products are well-known in England as it grows well in colder regions. It is a historically important plant that became famous during World War II due to its high Vitamin C content. The British made a syrup of fresh berries to combat Scurvy, and other ailments. But astonishingly, in our R and D, we found that the oil does not contain Vitamin C – the fresh flower does, the seed does not. It’s a powerhouse with ingredients packed with vitamins, antioxidants, EFA’s, vitamin F and beta-carotene. It is natural skincare for photo-aged skin, promotes cell-regeneration, prevents photo-ageing, lines, dryness, redness, discolouring, uneven skin-tone, loss of smoothness, structure, pigmentation, etc. When I quit my job (at Peroni), I began this dream project. Discovering the elusive, Asiatic Rosehip, it was the inspiration for my first product. Those red ruby coloured berries sprawling across undulating white snow were waiting to be discovered and appreciated,” says Roshni.
Rasula, she says, translates to a divine manifestation of feminine energy or the symbolic representation of the power of the Trinity and Prakriti, and is the acronym if its founders’ names Roshni, Rachel and Susan.
For the first time, produced in India, one can now get the pure Rosehip oil unlike the more ordinary cold pressed imported from China. “We are the most unique and potent Rosehip oil brand in the market. Rasula’s ethical sourcing of wild grown organic rosehips is the first and most important step in ensuring highest quality. There are more than 120 species of roses worldwide. In India, 10 documented species are found in the wild. For the Timekeeper, we use Rosa Brunanii, Rosa Moschata and Rosa Multiflora – all hand-picked by the local women in the Kashmir Valley. The oil is 100 per cent organic, natural and wild,” explains Roshni of this seasonal winter harvested berry that flowers only two to three months a year through a tedious process and the oil is extracted using state-of-the-art technology – supercritical CO2 extraction.
What makes it different from the other rosehip oils? Roshni says that it is not cold pressed where seeds are crushed using a solvent or chemical. For Rasula, the oil is extracted from the seeds and skin by flushing supercritical CO2 under high pressure which gently removes the oil in an environmentally friendly process, it extracts beneficial bio-active compounds producing a concentrated, cleaner and superior oil. “When I first discovered the Rosehips in Kashmir, I was thrilled. All Rosehip oil sold in India was from China thus there were no vendors. I attended trade-fairs and workshops hosted by CSIR, and was shocked to learn that none of the scientists or planters/farmers community had heard of the plant and its potential. In desperation, I wrote to the director of IIIM, Jammu as a last resort. He replied. It was an Amen moment. He got an entire team to research the veritable Rosehip, and was pleasantly surprised at its properties. The chief researcher and I took two years to identify the right extraction techniques, and even today, I continue to work with them for ingredient procurement and development,” Roshni pipes excitedly.
She hopes her initiative will evolve into a Rosehip Cultivation project in J&K and sustainable employment for local women. Rosehip is already creating ripples in the beauty sector, and she is overwhelmed and humbled by the response, most recently being featured in Vogue.
“Those who are natural product connoisseurs love the brand, and those with pigmentation issues have taken a strong liking. An extraordinary amount of effort goes into sourcing. We work with women coop groups, ensuring not just authenticity and freshness, but also that our planet and the well-being of our farmers is considered,” Roshni adds.
When it comes to beauty potions, The Timekeeper by Rasula is known to correct dark spots and hydrate dry, itchy skin, and reduce scars and fine lines. “Rosehip has a recorded medicinal history that dates back to over 1,500 years. But it’s qualities in modern era were discovered in 1984 when a Chilean university conducted the first research and study on the plant. It is one of the most preferred anti-ageing oils since,” says the former model who was spotted at 15.
In the beauty industry, many potions expound agelessness. For veracity, Roshni who has been using it for years adds, “Ageing causes the skin’s collagen fibres to fragment, or break down. Essential fatty acids play a key role in the maintenance and regeneration of collagen and elastin fibres, which in Rosehip oil are readily absorbed by the skin, and slow the breakdown. With its neutral pH balance and anti-inflammatory properties, it keeps skin balanced and healthy, protects against cell degeneration caused by bacteria and oxidants. It is rich in linoleic acid and provitamin A.”
Celebrities like Miranda Kerr and Victoria Beckham use it, and now her goal is that this first Indian potent rosehip oil gets more takers. “Lakshmi Rana, Sonalika Sahay, Rachel Bayros, and many actors, models, designers, teachers and home-makers love the product,” the 5’7” lissome lass adds. The price at Rs 4,500 is steep. The beauty entrepreneur explains that the red oil is extracted in a costly process, and is the answer to skin woes and ageless skin. A one-step timeless elixir, indeed.