This month, the French green bio-tech skincare brand, Orveda, opened its first standalone spa and wellness sanctuary on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. The prestigious Orveda Maison New York, where they offer signature facials like their Anti-Fatigue Skin Rehab, Glow Is The New Lift and Omni Solution, joins their global lineup of locations, with one in Shanghai and another soon-to-open in Paris.

Since its founding in 2014, the luxury vegan skincare brand has been available at retailers like Saks Fifth Avenue and offered treatments at chic destinations—like The Sinner Hotel in Paris, France. But in a world that often champions an aggressive approach to skincare when it comes to anti-aging, the expansion of this particular brand signals an alternative approach to skin-aging; namely, one that works without compromising the skin’s integrity.

The brand’s expansion is a testament the business-savviness and skincare savoir-faire of its co-founders. Yet what is perhaps the most fascinating element of the brand’s success lies in the ingenuity of its trend-forecasting prowess. From the beginning, Orveda’s co-founder Sue Nabi—a longtime beauty industry CEO and the former president of L’Oréal and Lancôme—predicted the rise of sensitized skin in reaction to the over-use of of harsh active ingredients. She and co-founder Nicholas Vu thus set out to differentiate the brand from the dermatological status quo.

The problem was not necessarily with the industry’s go-to ingredients per se; rather, how they were used. When their over-use depletes the skin of its natural oils and compromises the skin’s protective moisture barrier, it results in complexions that are prone to dehydration, reactivity and inflammation. Over time this can result in skin that is chronically prone to redness, textural irregularities and eruptions.

To remedy this, the co-founders worked with scientists and medical experts to formulate a line that prioritized skin barrier and microbiome health while still rigorously addressing aging. For inspiration, they looked to the cutting-edge of science to draw upon green biotech actives that cater to sensitive, or sensitized, skin. Their formulating philosophy represents an alliance between the natural world and science, incorporating holistic principles via a roster of science-backed, vegan ingredients.

Their foresight into skincare’s future trajectory was spot-on, as proven by the current skin trends addressing barrier and microbiome health. Many consumers began to experience firsthand the way that barrier-compromised skin lacks glow, hydration and vitality. This explains the rise of skin trends slugging and Dr. Whitney Bowe’s “skin cycling” technique. All the while, barrier-restorative active ingredients like ceramides, lipids and microbiome-loving pre- and probiotics have also surged.

When the skin is sensitized, complexions can become unable to use formerly suitable actives—including vitamin C, alpha and beta hydroxy acids and retinol. One beauty editor actually developed chronic dermatitis after a severely drying series of treatments of the AviClear laser, which degraded her skin barrier and caused such dryness that her microbiome fell into dysbiosis. All this to say that Nabi’s recognition of the sensitized skin trend absolutely came to pass.

Orveda’s emphasis on the skin barrier and microbiome all come down to the important defensive roles they play for the skin. Both play a role in hydration and moisture-retention while keeping pathogens and irritants out. From the beginning, Orveda’s gentle-yet-powerful formulations were designed to heal and soothe the skin, restoring the skin barrier and supporting a healthy and diverse microbiome. Their decadent Orveda Eye Unveiler Cream, $320, is one of their original creations, containing specific ratios of ceramides and bio-identical lipids to optimally support and reconstitute the skin barrier. The line also contains glow-inducing ingredients like biofermented forms of kombucha, marine enzymes and the potent bacteria found deep in the sea, Thermus Thermophilus—all of which provide tremendous antioxidant effect minus the potentially irritation of certain forms of vitamin C.

The brand has also evolved in fascinating ways that prove their commitment to innovation. Their most recent product to launch was the award-winning Omnipotent Concentrate, $520. This serum was one of the first luxury skincare products in beauty world to address a phenomenon called cellular senescence—one of the newest avenues for addressing skin aging.

Often referred to as “zombie cells,” senescence refers to a cellular state that is akin to a “cell purgatory” of sorts—the skin cell is not dead, but it no longer divides or performs its functions. Senescent cells are problematic because their cell signaling cues other cells to follow suit and become senescent. The perpetuation of this process contributes to the speed of aging, which is why it has come up in conversations around cellular longevity. True to form, Orveda was among the first brands to address it with a product launched to the luxury skincare community.

On that note, yes—there is a high price tag associated with their rigorously research-driven approach. That being said, data shows that research is one of the luxury skincare’s consumer’s top motivations when purchasing skincare products.

As Orveda unveils their global Maisons, their brand identity is being translated into physical spaces. Vu himself oversaw the minimalist design of the 3,840 square foot space in New York—the design of which intentionally juxtaposes old with new, minimalist with modern, in both its architectural design and decor. The brand’s green and black color schemes make a prominent statement throughout, as the choice of angular glass and earthy marble alludes to the brand’s multi-sensorial meeting points between nature and science.

Orveda’s concept was always inherently futuristic—forecasting the rise of sensitized skin and presenting a solution with a data-driven line—they just so happened to execute it ingeniously. After pre-dating the barrier and biome trends, they now continue to do so with emergent trends; avant-garde thinking is simply a part of their brand DNA.

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