From Science Lab to Artisan Skincare: The Personal Journey Behind Taboodoir

Many people have asked how Taboodoir came to be and what led me from my early days of scientific research to artisan skincare formulation. The answer is not a straight line. It is part science, part reinvention, part love story, and very much a journey back to where I started.

The Scientific Roots Behind Taboodoir

Long before there was Taboodoir, there was a research lab.

Growing up, I was completely immersed in scientific discovery. I spent years working on an agricultural research project studying the toxicity of orange oil on termites, investigating which compounds in citrus peel extract were responsible for the effect and how they worked. This wasn’t simply a school project. It became groundbreaking environmental research exploring whether compounds in orange oil could offer a safer, more sustainable approach to termite control.

It was not glamorous research, but I loved every minute of it.

I spent evenings, weekends, and summers in the lab, learning how to ask better questions, test assumptions, document results, and follow the evidence wherever it led. That work eventually took me far beyond the lab itself. I represented the United States at the London International Youth Science Forum, was interviewed on BBC Radio, earned first-place honors in several international competitions, and was selected as a Westinghouse Science Talent Search Finalist.

Somewhere along the way, I even met President Clinton while wearing what would later become a very familiar Taboodoir shade of magenta. Apparently the branding instincts were already there. 😆

Science was where I felt most at home.
And yet, life had other plans.

Instead of continuing in research, I spent roughly 15 years working in Human Resources and Workforce Management software sales. It was a completely different world, but the habits I developed in the lab never really left me: curiosity, precision, research, problem-solving, and a tendency to dig far deeper into a subject than most people probably consider reasonable.

Finding My Way Back to the Lab

In 2020, the pandemic brought that chapter of my career to an abrupt stop.

With two children suddenly home for virtual school and the structure of everyday life turned upside down, I found myself asking a very familiar question:

What now?

That question eventually led me back to formulation, experimentation, and the kind of hands-on work I had loved years earlier.

And that is where David, my late husband, partner, and co-founder, enters the story. He had a wonderfully playful way of encouraging the earliest version of the brand. One of his favorite lines was:

“Put some taboo on you!!”

That spirit became part of Taboodoir from the beginning.

Losing him just before launch changed everything, but it also gave the brand a meaning far beyond the products themselves. Returning to the lab became deeply therapeutic for me. Formulation gave me a place to focus, create, question, test, adjust, and keep moving forward.

In many ways, Taboodoir brought me full circle.

Where Science Meets Sensuality

Today, my approach to formulation looks very different from the simplistic idea that “natural” is automatically better.

I am far more interested in thoughtful formulation.

That means understanding what an ingredient does, why it belongs in a formula, how it interacts with the skin, how it contributes to texture and performance, and whether there is meaningful evidence behind the claims surrounding it.

Taboodoir products are created with a blend of nature-derived ingredients, modern cosmetic science, sensorial textures, and purposeful actives. I approach formulation with the same mindset I brought to research years ago: question everything, understand the mechanism, and never add something simply because it sounds impressive on a label.

Science matters.
But experience matters, too.

Because skincare should do more than perform well on paper. It should feel exquisite in your hands, invite you to slow down, and turn something ordinary into something worth noticing.

That intersection between evidence and experience is where Taboodoir lives.

More Than a Career Change

Taboodoir is often described as a business born during the pandemic, and technically that is true.

But the deeper story began much earlier.

It began in a research lab, with a fascination for ingredients and mechanisms. It continued through an unexpected career detour, a devastating loss, and the rediscovery of a part of myself I thought I had left behind.

Today, I get to bring all of those pieces together: science, formulation, creativity, sensuality, storytelling, and the memory of the person whose act of love first brought Taboodoir to life. (Read more about that spark here.)

That is what makes Taboodoir personal.
And that is why every formula begins with more than a product idea. It begins with curiosity and a desire to create something sensorial, something that performs beautifully, stays with you, and is unmistakably Taboodoir.

That is my unwavering commitment to Taboodoir, and I remain grateful to have you as part of its ongoing story.

Indulgently yours,

Nanette
Founder and Pleasure Curator, Taboodoir