Forget Harry Potter, this is the wand I needed
Kama Ayurveda’s Amarrupa range is a triple threat to wrinkles and skin laxity
As a 31-year-old with a rather regrettable sunscreen track record, premature signs of ageing have appeared, and my once pride-and-joy skin was beginning to betray me (though I’d done enough to deserve it). Slight skin sagging and dullness were taking over, and a ‘brightening’ concealer could only do so much. I needed a serious skincare intervention. Enter Kama Ayurveda’s new Amarrupa range – the Contour-defining & Firming Cream (₹625 – ₹2,995), Wrinkle Repair & Firming Facial Oil (₹945 – ₹3,495) and what intrigued me the most, the Kansa wand (₹4,500).
The trio promised a youth-sculpting ritual, and while I may not have wrinkles, I could use some of the ‘firming’ and was ready to put Kama Ayurveda to the test.
The Kansa wand: a traditional touch
If, like me, your social media algorithm is dotted with beauty content, then you’ve come across at least one video of someone doing a facial massage on themselves, espousing the many benefits of lymphatic drainage, facial sculpting, and muscle relaxation.
The Kansa wand features a wooden handle and a dome-shaped metal top made from a blend of copper and tin (known as bell metal or bronze). Kama Ayurveda says that according to 5000-year-old Ayurvedic texts, this metal is sacred and imbued with healing properties. It is believed that the metal has health benefits ranging from reducing inflammation in the body to increasing immunity.
When used in a facial massage, the Kansa wand delivers slow, firm strokes from the centre of the face to outwards, stimulating, lifting, and toning the skin, especially when paired with the facial oil to prevent skin pulling. This natural face-lifting action boosts circulation, plumps the skin, aids lymphatic drainage to reduce puffiness, and temporarily sculpts areas like the cheekbones.
The massage ritual
Before I get to the massage, we need to talk about the Amarrupa Facial Oil. At first sniff, you can tell this is a luxurious blend of herbs and berries. Formulated to hydrate, nourish, and rejuvenate the skin, its key ingredients include Indian pennywort, also known as gotu kola or centella asiatica, carrot seed oil, and Indian gooseberry or amla—a potent trio rich in antioxidants along with pro-vitamin A which enhances skin’s resilience protecting you from external oxidative stress to bring vitality back to your skin.
Step 1: I do a double cleanse to remove my makeup and any dirt and grime residue.
Step 2: I then apply a few drops of the Amarrupa Facial Oil to serve as my massage base and facilitator. The amount of oil you need will depend on your face size and skin type. With combination-dry skin, I used about 2-3 drops.
Step 3: Now, the exciting part. The massage itself. At first, it felt clumsy and took a lot longer than I anticipated, glancing over at my screen to ensure I was following the steps in the video tutorial correctly. But, like stumbling through your suhaag raat, you’ll start to get a hang of things by the second or third try. The metal feels cooling to the skin and glides easily across the face with just the right pressure.
Step 4: Seal in the oil’s goodness by massaging the Amarrupa Contour-defining Cream (felt like I got a bit of an arm workout, too). This cream is a powerhouse of 14 Ayurvedic botanicals, including centella asiatica and Indian gooseberry, just like the oil.
The cream’s plant-based hyaluronic acid helps retain moisture, plump the skin, and smooth out wrinkles. Their clinical trials boast some impressive stats: a 31% increase in skin replenishment and a 20% increase in skin firmness over 28 days*. The cream’s velvety texture is a joy to apply, leaving my skin feeling soft and replenished without any stickiness or heaviness.
The results
Have I managed to massage away 10 years of mistakes from my face? No, it’s only been a few days since I started my new anti-ageing routine, but I can say that this will stick.
Even if temporary, the face massage with the Kansa wand has a lifting effect that I primarily noticed around my cheekbones. Add to that the combination of the face cream and oil, and there’s a noticeable glow to my skin, a vibrancy that was missing before. This trio may not wipe away my years of mistreatment, but those 10 minutes at night that I do the Kansa wand massage have become my favourite part of the day, a brief moment of self-care in a chaotic world.
I’m always wary of brands with big promises. Kama Ayurveda is claiming a lot with ‘immortal beauty’ emblazoned on its packaging. However, in traditional Chinese medicine, gotu kola is referred to as the fountain of life. And if legends are to be believed, one herbalist who ate the plant daily lived to be over 200 years old. So, perhaps there’s a chance my new regimen will turn me into a freshly made gulab jamun – smooth, glistening, and plump.
Get your hands on Kama Ayurveda’s Amarrupa Contour-Defining & Firming Cream (₹625 – ₹2,995), Wrinkle Repair & Firming Facial Oil (₹945 – ₹3,495) and Kansa wand (₹4,500) at www.kamaayurveda.in or a Kama Ayurveda store near you.
*Use test on 18 volunteers after four weeks.