Vivian B. Valenty, Ph.D. is the founder, president and executive chairwoman of VB Cosmetics, Inc., a Chandler, Arizona-based manufacturer of clean, science-driven beauty products. In 1990, Valenty invented the world's first UV-curable top coat, a breakthrough that dried freshly applied polish in as little as six minutes, versus the traditional 60-minute wait, and became a first-of-its-kind product for nail techs and their clients. She sold that patent and, in 1993, incorporated VB Cosmetics, initially manufacturing private-label nail products for emerging beauty brands. After learning that UVA exposure carried carcinogenic risk, Valenty redirected her R&D toward a light-free solution, culminating in the 2007 launch of Dazzle Dry®, a four-step nail lacquer system that air-dries in five minutes, provides 7 to 14 days of chip-free wear (two to three times longer than traditional polish), removes with regular polish removers without soaking, and without nitrocellulose, UV light, reactive chemicals, or animal by-products.
Readers of nail-industry trade press will recognize Valenty for her accolades, including the 2019 iSPA Innovator of the Year Award, the 2020 Arizona Manufacturers Council Excellence in Innovation Award, the 2025 Outstanding 50 Asian Americans in Business Award, the 2026 INC Female Founders 500 Award, the 2026 Phoenix Business Journal Outstanding Women in Business Award, along with lifetime honors from her alma maters, Mapua University and Penn State.