Payot Paris

Russian born Nadia Payot dismissed the norm of her times by entering into medical school instead of becoming a housewife. In 1913, she graduated from Switzerland's Lausanne School of Medicine as one of the first women to receive a medical doctor degree. After her graduation, Payot and her husband Edmond traveled to Argentina, where she used her medical training to alleviate the health problems of the poverty-stricken and disease-ridden population. In 1917, she and her husband visited New York, where she met famous dancer Anna Pavlova. Payot noted that while Pavlova's face showed her age, her well-conditioned body remained youthful-looking. This fateful meeting inspired Payot to develop her signature beauty regimen which consisted of specialized skin care products and highly targeted facial exercises.

In 1920, Payot created her first skincare line in her Paris home kitchen. In 1925, she opened her first beauty institute in the city, which she moved to a larger location in 1937 due to her growing customer base. In 1947, she anchored her reputation in the cosmetology industry by opening her first beauty therapy school, where she taught others how to apply her skincare and facial exercise principles. During this era, she penned 'Physical Culture for the Neck and Face', which detailed four facial exercises and eight facial massage techniques. Nadia Payot passed away in 1966. As of 2014, the Puig Group owns and operates PAYOT PARIS, which has a license for its 1977 release, Pavlova, a perfume for women.