Brilliant, Blonde, Beautiful

OPULUS Beauty Labs’ Brand Ambassador, Dr. Marnie Nussbaum, FAAD, is a renowned dermatologist with offices in Manhattan and the Hamptons. We asked her how she got to where she is today and what skin care innovations she’s most excited about.

I grew up in a small town outside of New York City. We were a small family and very close. I went to Cornell University as an undergraduate and medical school at the Weill Cornell Medical College in Manhattan. I completed my internship training in Internal Medicine at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and my residency in Dermatology at Weill Cornell-New York Presbyterian Hospital where I was the Chief Resident in Dermatology. 

Without question, my mom. She was, and is, one of the smartest people I know. I can’t say enough wonderful things about her. She taught me to believe I can do anything and everything with hard work and perseverance. As a kid I’d say I wanted to be a ballerina or a doctor and she’d say, “You can be both!” When I got into medical school, it was the proudest day of her life.

About 70% of what we do are related to cosmetic procedures—primarily injections, laser/light/ultrasound/radiofrequency resurfacing and peels—with the rest being regular medical dermatology. I am adept at treating acne because I had quite serious problems with it growing up and I don’t like seeing anyone having to go through the self-esteem challenges that come with acne. It’s important to emphasize too that even with aesthetics patients, I always do a thorough skin check for skin cancer and the like. People may come in because they want to be beautiful, but as a medical professional, I’m in business to see that they walk out of here healthy.

A combination of loving both the science and the social aspect (listening, being supportive) that a successful cosmetic medical practice demands.

I love interacting with people and being able to impact their lives in such a positive way. From a patient’s perspective as well as my own, there’s increased optimism as to what we can achieve and achieve non-invasively. So much about the skin is negotiable now.

1) FRESH OUT OF THE BOX: OPULUS Beauty Labs has ‘broken the bottle’ with its Opoule™ Treatment + OPULUS Activator™ system, blending and delivering the retinol and other key ingredients at their peak potency to make every ingredient more efficacious.

2) OPOULE TREATMENT ELEGANCE: The compact Opoule Treatment design and overall user experience delivers a truly luxurious experience along with the warmed blending that is enjoyable rather than a chore.

3) ONE & DONE: The simplification of it all. Retinol can be confusing to navigate, and many people have a hard time knowing what concentration and how much retinol they should apply and how often. The precisely calibrated Retinol Ramp-Up Regimens take the guesswork out of those application variables, which will likely lead to increased compliance and better results in the long-term.

I believe it’s up to companies to constantly push the boundaries of conventional thinking to truly innovate in any space, sustain momentum and remain relevant. OPULUS Beauty Labs has achieved just that with their OPULUS Treatment System. I think it will galvanize the skincare industry to rise to that challenge to keep innovating and find novel solutions to problems based on real consumer needs.

Every five years or so, your skin changes a lot. This doesn’t mean it has to get worse, but it does mean that as you get older, you’re going to want to approach it in new ways. Society sends the wrong messages around aging; menopause is NOT a dead end when it comes to beauty. The industry—in technology, in messaging, in formulation—just has to approach it differently.

It’s a myth that retinol causes sunburn or photo-sensitivity. The redness, flaking and dryness you experience is an initial reaction to the retinol itself that with repeated use will pass as your skin becomes accustomed to it. That said, a good daily sun screen is an essential part of a good skin care routine.

When I realized that even during the darkest times in my life, I was always happy to go to work every day. I love that I can put smiles on people’s faces.

My parents took the shirts off their backs to send me to medical school. So, after I got my first few paychecks, I bought my mom her first Chanel bag.

A Christian Lacroix butterfly-print chaise longue.

I’ve always loved and related to the movie Legally Blonde. I know that even through medical school, some people didn’t take me seriously because of the way I looked and dressed (which didn’t stop me from graduating first in my class by the way). A couple of years later, my boyfriend at the time took me to the Legally Blonde Broadway show even though it was most definitely not his taste. He’d even got us backstage passes for a tour afterwards. And right there on the empty stage, that’s where he proposed.

The truffle pasta at this little hole in the wall restaurant in Florence; I don’t remember the name, but I know I could find it again. That was on our honeymoon.

Paris for my mom’s 50th birthday because she had waited her whole life to go. And we were all there as a family.

I’ll always love luxury but as time goes by it’s true what they say . . . that experiences start to mean a lot more than things. So, what I would love to do is to take my entire family on a trip to Africa.

Wardrobe. My two favorites right now are Le Labo AnOther 13 and Baccarat Rouge 540.