7 Secrets of Beauty & Wellbeing: Dr. Maryam Zamani
Meet Dr. Maryam Zamani, oculoplastic surgeon and facial aesthetics doctor with a portfolio of qualifications from the UK and US, articles published in peer reviewed journals and her own successful practice in Chelsea, London where she’s one of the first doctors to offer both surgical and non-surgical treatments.
Perhaps surprisingly given her American training, Dr Zamani’s signature approach is super subtle. She advocates doing very little (as she says below), likening what she does to a ‘no make-up make-up look. There’s no one thing that’s the magic bullet,’ she says. ‘The answer is almost always a combination of tiny tweaks rather than one big thing.’ As she says, ‘ultimately what we all want is to look like we’re really well – or that we have very good genes!’
As well as being a leading clinician, Dr. Zamani launched her own MZ Skin brand. She is celebrating International Women’s Day by launching a luxurious MZ Skin Beauty Box Collection with 5% of the proceeds going to The Prince’s Trust #ChangeAGirlsLife campaign.
Collaborators on the Beauty Box Collection include Amanda Harrington, The White Company, Sana Jardin and Ruuby. All, as you might notice, brands launched by female founders. The gorgeous illustrated box was designed by April Sharman, a graduate of Bath School of Art & Design.
‘As the daughter of a fierce mother who shattered many glass ceilings, I am thrilled to celebrate women's successes,’ says Dr Zamani. ‘I applaud the next generation of even stronger women to bring greater equality and strength.’
The Beauty Box Collection will be launched on MZSkin.com on 8th March 2002. It’s a real luxury purchase at £195 but the contents are valued at £320… Now where’s that beauty piggy bank?!
And here are Dr Maryam Zamani’s own secrets of beauty and wellbeing:
1. Look to role models in your own sphere. There are many women I admire for different reasons, particularly here in London with so many successful female entrepreneurs. I admire Charlotte Tilbury for disrupting the make-up industry by changing the way we wear and use make up. Estée Lauder was a genius in her determination and marketing during a time when the glass ceilings for women were low. As her son Leonard Lauder recounts in his book ‘The Company We Keep’, Estée was the grandmother of sampling and gifting - she introduced the ‘gift with purchase’ concept in order to help her customers feel, see and smell her products.
2. Taking care of yourself is not selfish. Making time to do what makes you happy and healthy will in turn help you to feel, live and look well. It is all interconnected. I love to exercise whether it’s cardio, muscle toning, Pilates or a long walk: they all help to reconnect and balance me.
3. Enhance your best feature. I often focus on my patient’s best quality and help them ENHANCE what they naturally have rather than look to change things. My best beauty tip is that smiling makes you look AND feel better - try it!
4. Take well-chosen daily supplements. I take calcium (Depuravita Strong Bite Chocolate Calcium – 1,000mg) and vitamin D3 (Solgar Vitamin D3 - 400iu daily). These support general health and also help to maintain bone density for the future.
5. Adopt the qualities you admire in others. The quality I rate most in others is integrity. Integrity usually comes with loyalty, honesty and reliability - my other favourite qualities.
6. Find a way to switch off. I sleep! But first I like to complete my to-dos for that day before getting to my winding down ritual. Generally, that starts with going to Kx Health and Fitness Club (near where I live) where I might read the papers or a glossy magazine while I do a light cardio session. Back home I take a long shower or bath, do some stretching and then get under my cosy duvet. I also try to compartmentalise my work and home life so that when I have time with my family or my friends, I am present with them in that moment.
7. My hero products from my own brand. I love every product I have launched but I absolutely adore our hero and best seller, MZ Skin Soothe & Smooth Eye Complex, to help decrease dark circles, promote collagen production and detoxify the delicate under eye area. Also, I absolutely cannot achieve soft, hydrated and plump skin without our Rest & Revive Night Serum.
