There was rain, then sunshine, then rain, then sunshine in London on Thursday, when PaperCity had a virtual sit down with rock star beauty industry force Sue Y. Nabi, founder of the all-pure, vegan skincare line Orveda. Our interest in Nabi, who led both LOral and Lancme as CEO in her storied career, and the line that she has created rests on the fact that The Houstonians Solaya Spa is the only spa in the country to carry her coveted brand.

Let us begin by saying that Nabi is not your typical beauty brand entrepreneur for she knows as much about the chemistry of the products as she does about the marketing. The brilliant Algerian, who has a degree in biochemistry and an MBA in luxury marketing, called Paris home for the two decades that she scaled the career ladder in the beauty industry. Now, rainy London is her home base with co-founder Nicolas Vu . This is where the duo oversees every aspect of her skincare line.

Nabi admits that her education employed both the right and left sides of her brain and with good reason that she excelled in both sides.

My father was an engineer and my mother was an artist, so I grew both sides of my brain at the same time, she tells PaperCity. I am comfortable about science, business and creative things.

As CEO of the two biggest brands in the world, Nabi notes, It was an amazing position to see what was happening worldwide . . . there was a thinking that there was a space for a high-class skin care line that was the best of the best in terms of formulation, efficacy, stability, safety and most of all ethical production . . .It had to be vegan.

Think the vegan version of La Mer. Its pricey and it, nevertheless, has its devotees.

While already launched in Europe, Orveda had had little introduction into the states other than being carried by Saks Fifth Avenue. Last summer, after reading a Wall Street Journalstory about the line, Renea Cassman, GM of the Trellis Spa and Solaya Spa & Salon by The Houstonian, reached out to Nabi. A team flew to London to investigate the products. A bit later, Nabi was invited to Houston to check out The Houstonians plans for the ongoing remodeling of the highly-regarded Trellis Spa. While in Houston, Nabi visited Solaya, the satellite location in Highland Village.

We spent the day with Renea and the team and observed the Trellis plans and those for Soraya. We were super excited on both sides, Nabi says. This is the way we decided that Solaya would be the first and only spa at the moment to have the Orveda line.

Dont miss the full video of Shelbys interview with Nabi above this story.

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Rock Star Beauty Guru Brings Her Skincare Chemistry to Houston Sue Y. Nabi Reveals the Secrets of Merging Science and Business - PaperCity Magazine