10 min read

Interview with Marie Nadeau of Marie Veronique

Written By: Angela Gembrin

I had the pleasure of visiting with the women of Marie Veronique last weekend; I left feeling like "everything I was taught was wrong." Not only are these words to live by, but also the mantra of Marie Veronique, a leader in natural Skin Health.  It was inspiring to sit and speak with her – she is the WonderWoman of Skincare, an amazing woman who is constantly evolving, learning and educating herself as well as her clients.  She has changed the way we treat our skin as well as our perception of it, how it is important to not only nourish the body from the inside, but to balance the skin’s natural microbiome on the outside.

Marie, would you please tell us a little about yourself, and your chemistry background?

I majored in math at the University of Hawaii, and minored in chemistry.  I taught high school chemistry, and that sowed the seeds for starting my own business.  I always encouraged my students to learn first-hand, from our greatest teacher, Mother Nature herself.  She’s always available to answer questions.  As a teacher, the greatest gift you can give a student is to train them in the habit of inquisitiveness.  I believe it was Einstein who said, "The important thing is never stop questioning."

It has been 14 years since you started your company in your kitchen; what led you to create a skincare line, or more importantly, a skin health line?

My own skin was misbehaving, and always had; I had acne as a teenager, and rosacea as an adult.  Both were mortifying, and had a huge impact on my self-esteem.  Then along came the sagging and the wrinkles!  It seemed like there was no end to the insults, so I decided to do what I could to fight back.  A clear healthy skin should be everyone’s birthright, but unfortunately nature’s healthy skin blueprint can go awry for some of us, especially when hormones enter the picture, and we end with acne and/or some other skin ailment like rosacea.

Did you or do you have any mentors?

I first became interested in health and nutrition via Adelle Davis’s books, and as far as I am concerned they are still the seminal works.  Interestingly, her information about B vitamin deficiencies and the value of Vitamin C are still newsworthy.  Like Edward Devere (the real Shakespeare) she is still way ahead of her time.

It appears that your company is growing in popularity; what are the attributing factors that led you to this success?

Good products that work. 

How would you describe a typical workweek?

Every workweek is different, and as we grow there are soooo many different balls to keep juggling in the air.  Mondays are the day I set aside to work on new projects though.

From what we learned on our visit, it seems that you are constantly seeking new information and data; do you find yourself reworking some of your recipes, or does this new information and research pique your interest to formulate new products?

It’s a little of both.  I always follow up on the research that intrigues me, but at the end of the day it seems like we always come back to where we started with retinol (Vitamin A) and Vitamin C being the heavy hitters with respect to aging skin, and Vitamin B and C being determinative in skin conditions.   We always end up back at the A,B,C’s, kind of interesting.

You are a pioneer for using pro- biotics in your skincare line; this is something many skin care lines have yet to address. What is the importance of this, and why?  Do you see this as the future of skincare?

It’s definitely the future of skin care.  Medicine has made advances in terms of the importance of gut microbiome health—now it’s the skin microbiome’s turn.  Our skin microbiome is made up of about  a trillion microorganisms of about a thousand different species.  Most of them are commensal, meaning they work to keep skin healthy in a variety of ways, including keeping pathogens in check.  Using too many moisturizers with antimcrobials and harsh cleansers is the equivalent of taking course after course of antibiotics.  You create a condition called microbial dysbiosis, which can lead to health problems—or in the case of skin, inflammatory conditions like acne, rosacea, and eczema.  There’s a reason allergies of all sorts are on the rise, and much of it has to do with microbiome imbalances.

It appears that formulation is all done on site; how important is it to blend small batches at a time?

Freshness is very important, whether you’re cooking or formulating.  Back to maintaining healthy microfloral communities, the less you need to preserve your products, the better they are, and the better they are for your skin.

As a chemist you understand the molecular structure of Essential Oils; how important is this knowledge in your product line? What additional value does this give to a product? 

Well, it’s all about molecular structure at the end of the day.  A Vitamin E mix of tocitrienol and tocopherol isomers  has greater antioxidant power than using single isomers (which most people don’t know).  I don’t know as much about the chemistry of essential oils as I should to do them justice—I tend to stick to the ones I know and like, such as helichrysum.

Have you or are you interested in aromatherapy?  Was it your love of Essential Oils that led you to your chemistry background or was it the chemist that led you to using Essential Oils?

It’s all about the chemistry, and essential oil chemistry is incredibly complex.  I just keep it to knowing which essential oils I want to use based on the properties they deliver which is of course dependent on which functional family a particular compound belongs to.

You mention on your webpage that you only use Essential Oils that are non-sensitizing; are your oils chosen based on the chemical constituents that make up each said oil? 

It’s more that we use certain oils that have certain properties, for instance helichrysum.

Why have you chosen to stay away from synthetic fragrances, since they are so commonly used in skincare?

I don’t think scent has a place in formulating products designed to improve skin, it’s irrelevant.  By not worrying about scent I avoid using ingredients that may be potentially irritating to skin, so it’s win-win.

We applaud you for creating ethical products, made from all organic ingredients when available and sourcing from local companies.  Do you find this business model one that is easy to emulate?

Well, it’s getting easier because more people are paying attention.

What do you find most rewarding about your job?

When someone calls up or comes in and says, "Your products saved my skin."  It’s very gratifying to hear that.

Can we expect any new additions to your line in the near future?

Yes, probably in September we will have some exciting new additions to the line.