Chemistry alumna finds her passion creating solutions with Dazzle Dry
After a year and more than 300 samples, Vivian Valenty succeeded in creating the world’s first ultraviolet nail topcoat and began the process of founding her own company, VB Cosmetics, Inc. A Penn State Eberly College of Science alumna, Valenty graduated in 1971 with a doctoral degree in chemistry and worked in various industries including agriculture, textiles, graphic arts, and microelectronics before eventually ending up in cosmetics. Valenty found her calling in this industry, and now, 55 years later, she is celebrating almost 20 years of her award-winning nail polish brand — Dazzle Dry.
When Valenty graduated from Penn State, she was prepared to work in any industry, with the goal of doing her best no matter where the job was. So, she took the first job she was offered four years out of graduate school, and, as she puts it, rolled up her sleeves, and did the work. She held different positions early in her career, including an assistant professor, research scientist, and a product development chemist, a technical product leader, and finally found herself in the cosmetics industry. Despite not originally being drawn to cosmetics, she quickly embraced the work.
“Once I got into cosmetics, I became passionate in it because there are so many problems I can solve,” Valenty said. “Back then, everybody incorrectly thought that cosmetics were just hope in a bottle. In the nail coating business, technology is required. I had to use my knowledge of chemistry and properties of materials to be able to create an invention.”
During the first 15 years of VB Cosmetics, Valenty sold her UV topcoat patent and created cosmetics products for other companies through private label manufacturing before she branched out to build her own brand, Dazzle Dry within VB Cosmetics. This happened about five years after Valenty created the first UV nail topcoat, when the U.S. Food and Drug Administration released a statement on the dangers of UV-A light. This caused Valenty to pivot, and she spent the next 10 years creating Dazzle Dry, a nail polish system that dries in five minutes without UV light, stays chip-free on natural nails for seven or more days, and removes like a traditional nail polish. She began with the topcoat, where she used cellulose acetate butyrate, which does not turn nails yellow, and has quick drying capabilities.
But that was only one of several scientific hurdles she faced in perfecting the polish system. As she moved onto creating the nail polish colors, her biggest challenge was developing a polish that wouldn’t turn the nail yellow, which was caused by nitrocellulose, the primary film former used in traditional nail polish. Another challenge she faced was the chipping of the nail polish. To avoid this, Valenty used her prior knowledge from the electronics industry to create a base coat made of polyurethane — a rubbery material that would act as a stress-release agent in between the nail surface and color polish.
She credits her understanding of chemistry in solving these problems and creating the Dazzle Dry system that has been around now for almost 20 years.
Valenty’s knowledge of chemistry can be connected back to her time as a graduate student at Penn State. She noted that the hands-on research she did in the Eberly College of Science’s Department of Chemistry was crucial for learning the skills to create Dazzle Dry’s line of products.
“The project I chose at Penn State required utilizing 10-step reactions,” Valenty said. “I used existing classical chemical reactions to make the product. I got to learn different techniques on synthesis, isolation, and purification of molecules.”
Years later, what stood out to Valenty, who came to Penn State from the Philippines, about her graduate school experience were the people who helped her. One of those individuals was the first person who befriended her during international student orientation and helped her study to get an A in a subject she was struggling with. The other person who stood out to Valenty was another graduate student in chemistry who motivated her to go straight to a doctoral degree instead of first pursuing a master’s degree.
Over the years, Valenty’s experience wasn’t always easy. She noted that being a woman in science at that time came with its own set of challenges.
Looking back, she shared her own piece of advice for women pursuing science that she learned from her journey: “You have to know how to navigate difficult situations and not let your goals be impacted,” Valenty said. “Learn how to pivot.”
Valenty’s love for Penn State now comes in the form of an officially licensed partnership between her alma mater and Dazzle Dry — three colors based on Penn State’s signature blue and white, made with the chemistry she learned on campus, and which she has successfully registered as a trademark of VB Cosmetics Inc. Valenty sees it as a way to stay more involved with Penn State and give back, noting that she considers herself blessed because of Dazzle Dry and this emerging partnership.
“I’m proud that other people are recognizing my achievements; it’s very humbling,” she said. “I think I have found my calling now, in that I’m creating products that help others. It helps women feel good about themselves, while saving money and time.”
In the past few years, Valenty has been recognized by Penn State’s J. Jeffery and Ann Marie Fox Graduate School with its Lifetime Achievement Award and by the Asian American Business Development Center as one of its 50 Outstanding Asian American Business Leaders for 2025. This year, she was named one of Phoenix Business Journal’s 2026 Outstanding Women in Business. And earlier this month, she was named to the 2026 Inc. Female Founders 500 list.
Valenty shared some of the qualities that she believes led to her success: “Curiosity, imagination, and relentlessness.” she said. “I’m a curious person; I want to know how and why things happen. And what I mean when I say ‘imaginative’ is that I see in terms of pictures, not words.”
March 21 campus launch party
Penn State undergraduate students, graduate students, and postdoctoral scholars are invited to join Valenty on Saturday, March 21, from 10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at the Verne M. Willaman Gateway to the Sciences on the Penn State University Park campus for a launch party celebrating the new collaboration between Penn State and Dazzle Dry. Attendees will have the opportunity to meet Valenty, take a master class with a Dazzle Dry educator to learn how to paint their nails with Dazzle Dry products, and receive their own nail kit. The event will also include light refreshments and other fun activities.
Students and postdocs who would like to take a master class can sign up in advance for one of three sessions online at the following links:
- Master Class Session 1 (10:30 a.m.)
- Master Class Session 2 (11:30 a.m.)
- Master Class Session 3 (12:30 p.m.)
The three master class sessions are available on a first-come, first-served basis.
All are welcome to attend the other launch event activities with no sign-up needed, including meeting and hearing from Vivian, light refreshments, and other Penn State-themed activities. There will also be a few master class walk-in spots available for each of the three sessions.