Beauty in Progress

260 days ago By Omorovicza

Beauty in Progress is a new monthly dinner series hosted by founders Margaret and Stephen at the Omorovicza Institutes in Mayfair and Budapest.

These gatherings bring together curious minds across beauty and wellbeing for thoughtful, evidence-led conversations that cut through the noise.

This evolving blog will house Margaret’s updates, insights and learnings from each dinner in the series, offering a candid look at how Beauty in Progress continues to shape our understanding of how we live, how we feel, and how we build beauty over time.

September 2026, New York

The launch of our new Gold Oleo Serum, created to rebuild strength and structure in the skin, got us thinking about strength in all its forms.

Continuing our relationship with New York City Ballet, which began almost a decade ago, we gathered an extraordinary group around the table to explore this question from some fascinatingly different perspectives.

Strength? What makes us stronger?

We tend to think of strength as power, endurance or the ability to withstand pressure. But what if strength is also what gives us the freedom to move, adapt and evolve?

The marvellous Jennifer Homans, dance critic, Balanchine biographer and founder of the Center for Ballet and the Arts at NYU, which we had the pleasure of visiting earlier that day, helped us think about strength through Balanchine's eyes. What looks so effortless on stage - the lightness, grace and freedom of movement - is only possible because of extraordinary underlying strength and structure.

Neuroscientist and former professional dancer Dr Constantina Theofanopoulou introduced another fascinating dimension: what happens inside our brains when we dance. She shared research exploring the effects of dance on the brain, including its potential benefits for people living with Parkinson's and other neurological conditions. We were intrigued by the idea that movement is not simply an expression of strength, but may also help us maintain it in ways we are only beginning to understand.

What stayed with us was a different way of thinking about strength.

Perhaps strength isn't about resisting change. Perhaps it is what gives us the freedom to keep moving, adapting and making progress.

May 2026, Budapest

"May's Beauty in Progress dinner at the Omorovicza Institute in Budapest explored reactive, sensitive skin - from the inside out. Together with board-certified nutritionist Réka Nagy, we discussed why skin becomes reactive, the role nutrition and inflammation can play, and the small, practical changes that can help improve skin vitality and create visible progress over time.

The evening was accompanied by delicious, dishes and tablescaping curated by me (which I was very proud of), designed to reflect the spirit of Beauty in Progress: nourishment, connection and living beautifully."

April 2026, New York

The latest instalment of our monthly series took founders Stephen and Margaret to New York for an intimate dinner at Blue Hill. Celebrating the launch of Acid Milk with a menu to match, Margaret looks back on an unforgettable evening.

Acid, Minerality & Vitality.

"Stephen and I hosted a lovely and festive dinner at Blue Hill to launch Acid Milk - and it felt like the perfect place to do it.

Twenty-six years ago, a few months before Blue Hill opened, I was so captivated by Dan Barber’s vision that I asked if I could work for him for free. What inspired me then - and what has made him one of the most innovative chefs in the world - is his belief that exceptional things begin at the source. That science should serve nature, not replace it."

"When I moved to Budapest, I found that same passion and artistry in Stephen. The same curiosity about what the earth contains and how biotechnology can unlock it - in our case, the mineral-rich thermal waters beneath the city that have been healing skin for centuries.

At the event we shared that story over extraordinary food and wine - a conversation about acids, minerality, and what they unlock in the glass, on the plate, and on your skin.

The dinner was supposed to last 3 hours. It lasted 5. Beauty in Progress - crafting vitality through curiosity, expertise and joy."

Just One Change: Acid Milk

"A resurfacing essence clinically proven to boost radiance by 71% after just one use.

What makes it so special is not simply its potency, but its balance. Stephen has brought together four of the most effective acids in skincare: glycolic, salicylic, lactic and azelaic. While many resurfacing formulas can feel aggressive at this level of efficacy, Acid Milk was designed to deliver visible results without irritation."

"In our clinical trial, zero participants reported irritation.

That is thanks to Stephen and our incredible team, who paired these powerful actives with our patented, clinically proven Healing Concentrate™ and other nourishing ingredients, so skin feels not just smoother and brighter, but calm, supported and more alive."

March 2026, Mayfair

Last month, founders Margaret and Stephen hosted the latest instalment of our Beauty in Progress events at the Omorovicza Institute in Mayfair together with Dr Tamsin Lewis. Margaret talks us through her key learnings and what inspires her about this series.

"Dear wonderful friends,
We have been thinking a great deal about what makes certain people feel almost ageless. Not because they appear untouched by time, but because they seem increasingly alive within it.

The most compelling women are rarely those who look perfectly preserved. They are the ones whose vitality cannot be measured by a number. The ones who seem curious, energised, engaged. More themselves, not less, as the years go on."

"This is what Stephen and I are genuinely fascinated by, inspired by people we love and admire, but also, in complete honesty, by what we hope for ourselves: to live better, for longer; to remain vital.
That belief sits at the heart of these dinners. That our best beauty is not behind us, but still unfolding: shaped by how we live, what we learn, and the choices we make each day.

And perhaps that is what Beauty in Progress really means. At our most recent dinner, Dr Tamsin Lewis brought us closer to understanding how."

THE EXPERT

"Dr. Tamsin Lewis is a doctor who has spent more than twenty years exploring what allows people to stay genuinely well as they age — not simply free of illness, but full of energy, resilience and life. Trained in psychiatry, sports medicine and functional health, and a former GB elite triathlete, she sees the body not in parts, but as one interconnected system.

Her BioHarmony approach begins with a question traditional medicine too rarely asks: not simply what is wrong? but what would allow everything to work better? Her answer, in essence, is this: when the nervous system is settled, inflammation is calm, hormones are supported and sleep is protected, it shows. In how we feel. In how we move. And, inevitably, in how we look.

The skin is not separate from this story. It is where the story surfaces. And what we put on our skin is part of that picture too: the right formulations can support the skin’s own ability to repair, protect and regenerate. Inside and outside, working together. That is, and has always been, our belief at Omorovicza."

WHAT WE LEARNED

"Your body is always choosing between doing and repairing. Most of us spend too much of life in “doing” mode, not necessarily in obvious stress, but simply never fully at rest. When that becomes the norm, the body quietly deprioritises repair. Sleep becomes lighter. Skin loses radiance. Energy begins to flatten. The answer is not always more effort, but creating the conditions in which recovery can truly happen. Everything else follows from that.

Inflammation is the quiet fire we often do not feel, but can absolutely influence. Some inflammation is normal and necessary. But when it lingers in the background, driven by poor sleep, processed food, chronic stress or overload, it begins to accelerate ageing in both body and skin. What was so striking is how much agency we actually have: in what we eat, how we move, how we rest, and even in the people we surround ourselves with. These are not small choices. They matter profoundly.

Hormones are delicate messengers — and easily disrupted. Oestrogen and cortisol are in constant conversation. When cortisol remains too high for too long — through stress, poor sleep or simply too much pressure — oestrogen is affected. Skin can thin, energy can dip, resilience can weaken. Simply understanding what disturbs this balance, and what helps protect it, feels like deeply useful knowledge for any woman."

"Sleep is not passive rest. It is active repair. At night, the body rebuilds tissue, clears cellular waste and helps regulate hormones. The skin’s regenerative activity also peaks while we sleep. This is not poetic language; it is measurable biology. Protecting sleep may be the highest-return habit we have and yet it is often the one most casually sacrificed.

Connection and purpose are not luxuries. They are part of our biology. Loneliness raises cortisol and is associated with faster cellular ageing. A sense of purpose is linked to lower inflammation and longer life. These are not vague or sentimental ideas, but serious findings from science. How we feel about our lives shapes, in very real ways, how we age.

What stayed with me most from the evening was how empowering this all felt. Not because it offered some perfect formula, but because it reminded us that vitality is not accidental. It is shaped, quietly, by rhythms and choices that are far more within our reach than we sometimes imagine."

"Perhaps that is the most hopeful idea of all: that ageing well is not about resisting time, but about supporting life. About creating the conditions in which we can continue to feel energised, connected and fully ourselves.

Progress, as ever, is personal. But it is still progress."

With love,
Margaret

February 2026, Budapest

This gathering brought together a small circle of guests in Budapest for an evening centred on the rhythms that govern regeneration.

From the science of sleep and cellular repair to the small, disciplined habits that support longevity, the conversation moved between research and lived experience with an honesty that felt grounding. It was a chance to pause, reflect and consider how aligning with our natural cycles can quietly transform both wellbeing and complexion over time. Margaret shares her thoughts...