A former lawyer who walked away at her lowest point, Shamika Haldipurkar chose uncertainty over expectation. From courtrooms to formulation labs in Korea, her journey has been driven by instinct, rigour and resilience, not industry playbooks. In a market driven by speed and noise, Shamika Haldipurkar is building d’you with formulation, intention, and clarity – creating products that respect the intelligence of skin rather than override it. Her approach signals a shift in Indian skincare: from fixing to understanding.

FL: When did you realise your taste didn’t fit neatly into what already existed?

SH: Probably the moment I started looking at Indian skincare as a consumer and felt like I was being spoken to as someone who needed fixing.

FL: What do you reject in your industry, even if it sells or trends?

SH: Fear as a marketing tool. I also reject the idea of “me-too” copy-paste products. If there are a hundred similar products – how are you adding value by launching the same thing?

FL: How has your idea of ‘good skincare’ evolved over time?
SH: It used to be about potency directly proportional to efficacy. Now it’s about holistic formulation, not individual active specific. Good skincare, to me, is skincare that respects the intelligence of your own skin. Skin is the most intelligent organ of your body, and it should not be overwhelmed into submission with high dosing of actives.

FL: What does success look like to you now?

SH: Being able to take time off when I need to, used to be a rarity for the first 5 years of being a founder.

FL: As a founder and formulator, what are you currently unlearning?

SH: The idea that moving fast is the only way to build a successful brand, I’m unlearning that.

FL: When someone uses d’you, what do you want them to feel about their skin?

SH: Immediately – ease. The quiet confidence of knowing your skin has what it needs because the team behind the product has done the hard work enough for you to relax and trust.

FL: How has the Indian skincare market changed the way people understand their skin – for better or worse?

SH: For better: people are genuinely reading labels now. They know what niacinamide is. They’re asking questions. That’s real progress and it happened fast. For worse: the content cycle has created a kind of ingredient anxiety – there’s always a new hero, always a villain, always an upgrade you’re apparently missing. The bar for “informed consumer” has risen, but so has the noise. We’ve given people vocabulary without always giving them context, and that’s a problem the industry hasn’t fully reckoned with.

FL: What’s next for you?

SH: Building the team that lets d’you grow without losing the soul. Getting more comfortable with being visible, on my own terms. And honestly – learning to trust that the pace I’ve chosen is the right one, even when everything around me is moving faster.

The Tastemaker Code

A ritual you’re obsessed with right now

Strength training, genuinely. Building muscles in my mid-30s is my big flex for the year, and honestly it’s been life changing to see how capable your body is at adapting.

A rule you’re happy to break

That you have to have it all figured out before you’re allowed to call yourself an expert. I’ve learned more by building in public than I ever did by waiting until I felt ready.

Currently watching/reading

INFLUENCE -The Psychology of Persuasion by Robert Cialdini.

What people get wrong about your work

That being detail-obsessed means being slow. I think in systems, the detail is what makes the system fast.

One decision that changed everything

Leaving my legal career to start d’you. Nothing has been the same since, and I wouldn’t change a thing!