Moonwake Skincare
founder: Aakriti Jalan
course: Diploma in Organic Skincare Formulation
Graduation year: 2021
location: Nepal
Hero product: Matcha Detox Face Mask + After Shower Body Oil + Rosemary Hair Oil + Lip Butters
Brand overview
Moonwake Skincare was born from a personal passion for creating skincare using natural ingredients and traditional knowledge. What began as experimenting with DIY formulations at home soon grew into something more purposeful when the founder realised the potential of turning this passion into a brand. Encouraged by family, and motivated by early success replicating natural skincare products using ingredients at hand, Moonwake Skincare officially took shape.
The brand launched with five carefully developed products and initially sold to friends and family, receiving overwhelmingly positive feedback. A local expo soon followed, where Moonwake Skincare sold out entirely, marking a pivotal moment and confirming that there was genuine demand for the brand’s approach. Since then, Moonwake Skincare has continued to grow and is now available nationwide.
Rooted in a deep respect for nature, Moonwake Skincare’s mission is to create effective products using natural ingredients that nurture both the skin and the environment. Ingredients sit at the heart of every formulation and are selected not only for performance, but also for their environmental impact, ensuring they remain safe even when discarded. Drawing inspiration from Nepal’s rich biodiversity and its reputation as a land of herbs, the brand actively seeks to incorporate local and indigenous ingredients wherever possible. Moonwake Skincare’s vision extends beyond skincare alone, aiming to redefine self-care as circular, waste-free, and deeply connected to nature.
The founder credits Formula Botanica as a defining turning point in her journey from home-based DIY skincare to professional formulation. Before enrolling, her approach was rooted in traditional practices passed down through her family. As she explains, “I was merely DIYing from what I had known my mother and grandmother do with kitchen ingredients all their lives.”
Through Formula Botanica, she came to understand that creating skincare for sale requires far more than good intentions or inherited knowledge. “I realised that formulating skincare was far from DIYing,” she says, recognising that without the right skills and scientific understanding, it would not be possible to create products that were both credible and safe to sell.
She attributes her entire formulation foundation to Formula Botanica’s education, from learning how to research and understand ingredients, to developing, upgrading, stabilising, and troubleshooting formulations correctly. Equally important was gaining a clear understanding of product safety and shelf life, which she describes as “the most monumental part of creating the brand.” She adds that she “couldn’t have been selling successfully without the help of the Formula Botanica course.”
After operating for more than two years, Moonwake Skincare’s formulations were submitted for third-party stability and microbial testing, successfully passing all required assessments. This milestone brought a new level of confidence and supported the brand’s continued expansion across the country. In July 2025, Moonwake Skincare reached another significant milestone by securing funding during the first season of Shark Tank Nepal, marking an exciting new chapter in the brand’s journey.
