“Food and coffee!” Nadia exclaims, on the topic of go-to indulgences. “I’ve always had an eye for food and I love to eat,” shares the youngest Nasimuddin daughter, who’s making it a mission to expand Naza’s homegrown lifestyle concepts. 

After successfully launching franchise-based brands like Morelli’s and Bubba Gump Shrimp Co, a light bulb went off in Nadia to start homegrown brands instead. Naza’s first original F&B brand, Dotty’s, was unveiled in January 2016, followed by BLVD House in the same year. To date, Dotty’s remains Nadia’s career highlight.

“The whole concept took about a year to formulate and a year of R&D. There was also a lot of eating and trial and error, which was probably the fun part,” she giggles.

With fun comes the long hours and resilience, challenges Nadia rises to. “Even when I’m working, it doesn’t really feel like work,” divulges the ostensible workaholic, who also recently co-founded e-beauty retail, MySmink, with her sister Diana. “When you have the drive and passion, you don’t mind,” says the lover of natural beauty.

Her flawless complexion and supple skin is a widely-admired feature she modestly attributes to her low-maintenance beauty approach. "I don't really use skincare products. If I had to pick, I suppose it's skin oil and SPF".

Her tight-knit family background reflects in her own family life, too. When she’s not working, it’s “all about your children, you put them ahead of everything”. To fit in quality time, Nadia has her schedule planned to balance work, family and the all-important me-time. 

“My down-time right now are those precious minutes in the office or on the way to work, going to the gym, and having a good cup of coffee,” she professes.

Nadia’s maturity is mirrored her style evolution, which she sums up as, “anything that brings me confidence.” In place of the bright, bold palette of her past, Nadia now gravitates to monochrome and neutral tones to reflect her wholesome, refined elegance that earned her the Woman on the Rise award at Malaysia Tatler’s recent 28th Anniversary Ball.

Photo credit: Shaffiq Farhan / Malaysia Tatler