At a young age, Simran “Simi” Khadka moved to the U.S. from her home in Kathmandu, Nepal, a city settled at the base of the Himalayas and surrounded by Chinese and Indian culture. As a young adult, she chose to study social work at Virginia Commonwealth University. Although she loves her professional field of study, she finds pleasure in other practices such as beauty and skincare. After watching her aunts operate thriving skincare spas in Nepal, she was inspired to purge herself of all make-up and oily hair care products in efforts to reveal her natural, glowing and beautiful brown skin. In addition to limiting heavy beauty products, she limited certain dietary supplements such as dairy and sugary drinks. She now makes vibrant, clear skin seem effortless despite the fact that she devotes quite the amount of time and energy into maintaining that glow.
Simi began treating her combination-type skin to a simple routine, which she faithfully performs twice daily. She begins by massaging her face with Johnson’s Baby Soap using a warm washcloth, followed by the application of Dickinson’s witch hazel toner. Lastly, she uses Trader Joe’s oil free antioxidant to moisturize her skin.
Once a week, Simi applies a mask composed of Aztec secret bentonite clay and apple cider vinegar. She also applies more natural products each week such as egg whites, avocado and honey.
Her most beloved product that promotes eloquent, luminous skin is water. She found that taking care of her skin from the inside-out is much more beneficial than subjecting her skin to many different beauty products that could potentially irritate her skin.
In addition to skincare, Simi is also interested in make-up. She uses her aunts as her muses while referring to Youtube tutorials for instruction to help her create a natural, unblemished look. Her goal is to produce a light and airy look in a reasonable amount of time. Daily, Simi uses Milani cream to powder bronzer in the shade Pecan, followed by Milani baked blush in the shade luminoso. She makes finishing touches with lash sensational mascara by Maybelline and MAC prep and prime fix setting spray.
“This is something I do for my specific skin type and for my own pleasure,” Khadka said. “What may work for me might not work for everyone else.”
All photos by Chelsea Schmidt