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MAY | PAGE 26 | 2015 sold out every show every month since we started," O'Banion says. Her tremendous likeability, stunning looks and an effective product are what sell, Deutsch says. "When I first saw Jamie on HSN, I thought about that famous scene in When Harry Met Sally when the woman is watching Meg Ryan in the deli and says, 'I'll have what she's having.' When viewers see Jamie on TV, what they are really saying to themselves is, 'I'll have what she's having.'" O 'Banion grew up in Preston Hollow in a devout Mormon family of six children. Her oldest brother, Garrett, has suffered from cerebral palsy since birth and is still being cared for at home by her mother, Dorris James. "We never thought he'd live past 22, but he just celebrated 40 with a huge party," O'Banion says. "When you have a sibling who has a physical or mental disability, it changes your heart and changes your priorities. I root for the underdog. A part of me always believes anything is possible." She credits Hockaday, where she was a straight-A student, for "instilling a lot of personal ambition to go out and contribute to the world." Her passion for science — chemistry was her favorite subject — emerged at age 12, when her father, a cardiac anesthesiologist, purchased a top local research laboratory that develops products for the medical market, such as plastic surgeons and dermatologists. In 2003, the lab began researching new raw materials privately for some of the top luxury cosmetics brands in the country — and still does, she says. When her father began investing in research facilities in Europe, she often traveled with him. "From a very young age, I just fell in love with beauty and this idea you could use a certain tool or product and change how you looked," she says. At Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah, she met and married Melbourne O'Banion III, who now manages a holding company with a portfolio that includes Beauty Bioscience. The marketing and PR degree she earned there, combined with years sitting "side by side with my father in the lab," proved to be a dynamic combination. "I grew up in a world where there was a lot of scientific jargon flying around," she says. "I can decipher the science behind our products and help customers understand it." She joins the ranks of other models who have launched their own beauty companies — Tyra Banks, Gisele — but with a key difference. "I spend hours in the lab fine-tuning and tweaking products," O'Banion says. "To me, chemistry is exciting — the magic of being able to see something react to produce something completely out of the box: Two plus two equals five, or equals circle," she says. "There is always that mentality of pushing the limit, to get you into uncharted territory." RetinoSyn-45 was that uncharted territory. Its genesis was in retinoic acid, or Retin-A. Developed in 1969, Retin-A's original application was for acne; as a side effect, it reduced wrinkles. In 40 years, nothing else has proven as effective, but it requires a prescription and has harsh side effects, O'Banion says. "The brilliance of RetinoSyn-45 is a proprietary molecule we developed that acts like retinoic acid in the skin but does not have the traditional side effects associated with retinoic acid, such as dry, flaky and red skin. So it's truly a breakthrough for the industry." Picking up where Retin-A leaves off, Beauty Bioscience's proprietary compound claims "an unprecedented 49.5 percent reduction in wrinkles. In the industry, a 10-20 percent reduction is considered huge. In clinical trials, this was confirmed by third-party computer analysis of the subjects' skin, not just what people saw." O 'Banion lives in a two story house in Highland Park, a half block from the Dallas Country Club golf course, with Melbourne and their three children: Benton, 9; Aubrey, 5; and Gracie, 2. Its rooms, which interior designer Janet Rosell Rice of Janet Rice Interiors helped her with, are glamorous in an old Hollywood way — black-and-white tile floors in the entry, vintage white leather sofas, a white baby grand piano, which O'Banion plays. On an afternoon in March, a photo shoot is underway, and the Aubrey and Gracie O'Banion. Benton O'Banion Jamie wears Preen dress, at Shop Canary. Tome V-neck stripe shirt dress, and Gabriel Artigas collar, both at TenOverSix.