The Beauty Products Kulfi Founder Priyanka Ganjoo Uses to the Last Drop
Priyanka Ganjoo, 38, didn’t wear makeup regularly until her 20s. Before then, the product she was most familiar with was kajal — traditional South Asian eyeliner often made by gathering soot from a burnt almond and mixing it with ghee. “I have baby photos of me wearing black kajal because traditionally, it’s supposed to ward off the evil eye,” she says. “That’s my earliest memory with makeup.” And in 2021, when Ganjoo launched her own shade-inclusive, South Asia–inspired beauty brand after stints at Estée Lauder and Ipsy, her first product was the Underlined Kajal Eyeliner.
Ganjoo also named the company after something else that had been prevalent throughout her childhood: Kulfi, a traditional Indian frozen dessert. To her, this captures the essence of the brand. “It’s about making our relationship with beauty joyful,” she says. Kulfi has launched everyday staples like concealer and brow gel, yes, but some of its most celebrated products are its colorful eye products. “What we’ve heard continuously from our community, too, is that they never thought they could wear blue eye shadow or blue eyeliner, but we’ve made it feel approachable, and we’ve created colors and undertones that are flattering for them, which they didn’t have before.”
Below, Ganjoo details her daily skin-care essentials, the Le Labo scent that wins her the most compliments, and why monthly Thai massages are a nonnegotiable for her.
A.M. Routine
I’m not a morning person. A lot of these interviews, I read them, and everyone’s waking up at 5 a.m. and has their life all together. Most days, I struggle to wake up at 8 a.m., but 8 a.m. is my cut off. I typically go to the gym and try to do strength training at least twice a week. I’ll do that for 45 minutes, and then I’ll come back. I have an Activia yogurt drink, which is a recent development. I want to get guts in a better place. I feel like that’s been an important part of getting older. Then, I’ll make myself coffee, and then I’ll make myself some sort of breakfast, like eggs or oatmeal. And then I shower and get ready, and my work usually starts at 10 a.m.
In my shower, I use Salt & Stone’s Santal & Vetiver Body Wash. I love their fragrances. And then, for shampoo and conditioner, I rotate between a few. But the ones that I love are the Shaz & Kiks Ultra Hydrating Turmeric Shampoo and Nourishing Naram Conditioner — it’s an Ayurvedic brand. The shampoo, which has turmeric in it, is very hydrating. I have dry hair, so having a hydrating shampoo is important for me. One of the important steps is to use a body moisturizer after, so I love Ouai Body Crème in the St. Barts scent. For a facial cleanser, I’ve rediscovered the CeraVe Hydrating Facial Cleanser. I’ve tried all the price points of cleansers, but the CeraVe one is, like, so gentle and so good at, like, just kind of in the morning, especially when you don’t want too harsh of a facial cleanse.
For my skin care, I will typically start by using some sort of hydrating mist. One of the ones that I love is the d’Alba White Truffle First Spray Serum. I have a couple of others that I rotate through, including the Tatcha Luminous Dewy Skin Mist. I usually have Tatcha on my desk because it has a finer mister to spray on top of makeup as a refresh, but the d’Alba is a part of my skin-care routine. If I’m feeling like I’m going to get breakouts, I’ll try to use the Sofie Pavitt Face Mandelic Clearing Serum or the Biologique Recherche Lotion P50 toner. Those are my two exfoliation pieces that I do to start off. I’ve been using the SkinCeuticals C E Ferulic serum for a decade. I use the Medik8 Liquid Peptides serum, and I’ve seen a difference in my skin with it. Then, I will use the Dieux Instant Angel Moisturizer. For SPF, I have a few in rotation. I use a lot of Korean sunscreens. I love the RoundLab Birch Juice Moisturizing UVLock Sunscreen the most. For non-Korean, the EltaMD UV Clear Broad-Spectrum SPF 46 sits nicely under makeup. If I want to use a tinted sunscreen, I’ll use the Innbeauty Project Mineral Sun Glow SPF.
If I’m trying to embrace my curls, in the shower, I’ll use the SheaMoisture Intensive Hydration Hair Masque instead of conditioner so I have a lot more hydration in my hair. I’ll also brush my hair in the shower. Once I come out, I’ll use the Kinky-Curly Knot Today Leave-In Detangler, do some scrunching with my fingers, and then let it air-dry. But if I want to blow-dry my hair, I’ll use the Oribe Supershine Moisturizing Hair Cream.
P.M. Routine
At night, I will double cleanse. I love the Then I Met You Living Cleansing Balm, and then I’ll use the Tatcha The Rice Wash Soft Cream Cleanser as my second cleanser. It’s slightly exfoliating. I’ll shower at night, too. It depends on the day, but I like taking a shower. It helps me wind down as part of my wellness routine. Sometimes, I light a candle, which also helps me wind down.
The rest of my face and body routine is very similar to the morning. I will do retinol. So I use the Iope Retinol Expert 0.1%, which is the only retinol that I’ve been able to consistently use without my skin getting too flaky or dry. I’ll use that on my neck, because I do get tech neck. Then, I’ve been using the new Kulfi Double Life Primer, which is amazing. It helps your makeup last long and gives you a blurred finish without any silicones. But it also has an active level of skin-care ingredients, including niacinamide, which helps with hyperpigmentation. So I’ll use that primer as a serum at night, and in the day, I’ll use it under my makeup. Typically, I’ll just do the Dieux Instant Angel Moisturizer again, and that’s it.
On makeup essentials
My essentials include the Kulfi Free The Brow Volumizing Flexible Hold Brow Gel, for sure. It’s not crunchy, and it doesn’t flake. I use it at night, too, as a brow serum, and it gives my brows some nice definition. And then the Kulfi Badi Lash Mascara. If I want some coverage, I’ll go in with the Kulfi Main Match Concealer and call it a day.
But when I’m doing a full face, I also use Charlotte Tilbury’s Airbrush Flawless Setting Spray and Airbrush Flawless Finish Setting Powder. I like the Yummy Skin Soothing Serum Skin Tint Foundation a lot, and I’ll use the Merit Bronze Balm.
On fragrance
The fragrance that I get complimented on the most is Le Labo’s The Noir 29, but I have been loving the Henry Rose fragrances. I love Flora Carnivora — it reminds me of going on holiday to the beach. They have a gourmand one called Torn, and I love that one too. And then I love the Maison Margiela Replica By The Fireplace Eau De Toilette. It’s technically my husband’s, but I use it often because I like the woody scent.
On home scents
I like the Le Labo Santal 26 Classic Candle for the bedroom and the Nest three-wick candles, which do well in larger open spaces, for the living room. I’m currently burning Nest’s Rose Noir & Oud 3-Wick Candle in the living room, but my favorite is the holiday one that comes out around Christmas. I also burn incense daily in the evening. It’s a practice from childhood, as incense is a big part of Indian households. I’m currently into the Nippon Kodo Oedo-Koh Chrysanthemum Incense, and I also like the Commune Sandalwood Incense as a classic sandalwood scent.
On beauty tools
I use gua sha with the Lanshin Intro Gua Sha tool when I remember to do it. I met Sandra Chiu, the founder of the brand, and her whole line is amazing. I always turn to her YouTube videos to remind myself how to do all the steps properly. I don’t use any other microcurrent or LED devices, as I find that whenever I buy devices, they just collect dust.
Lanshin Intro Gua Sha Tool - Jade
On hair oiling
I use the Fable & Mane HoliRoots Hair Oil. That’s my go-to for hair oiling, and I’ll use that from root to tip, typically at night before sleeping. I let it absorb overnight, and then I wash it out in the morning. I do that typically every Sunday. It’s nice to give yourself a head massage while you do it. That’s something that my mom reminds me about on the phone. She thinks it’s the cure for everything. If I’m like, “I have so much stress,” she’s like, “Are you doing your head massages?”
Sometimes, my hair gets very unmanageable. Because I have dry hair, it does get tangled, and sometimes, it’ll start matting a little bit. I’ll use a lighter hair oil like the Gisou Honey Infused Hair Oil to add a little bit more slip to it.
Fable & Mane HoliRoots Pre-wash Hair Treatment Oil
On beauty treatments
I’m not into injectables yet. I will get facials regularly, but I feel like the more important thing is to do regular skin care, because facials are nice for that moment, but ultimately, it’s what you do every day. I’ll do a facial at least once a quarter at Rescue Spa, which offers Biologique Recherche facials. I do a custom facial, but treatments will include microcurrent and oxygen. I love doing Korean body scrubs. I love a spa and sauna moment and taking half a day to do hot and cold therapy.
On wellness
I love getting a Thai massage, and I try to do it every month. It’s a nice complement to strength training, because you also get the deep tissue massage, but they’re also stretching you. I recently started doing Pilates. I’ve never done it before, but it’s been nice for posture correction. I spent a lot of time in front of my computer, which is not good. And seeing my therapist on a regular basis helps. I’ll do yoga occasionally. I also like cooking as a part of romanticizing your everyday life. I love cooking a lot of Asian food, whether it’s Indian or Thai or Korean or Japanese. I love the spices and fragrances and the garlic. Because when I’m cooking, I’m not looking at a computer or a phone. You’re putting your hands in.