November 18, 2025
I wake up in 2023 in a hotel room in Paris. The alarm is set for 6:30, barely silenced. The night before I fell asleep, or rather that morning, at 1 a.m. My eyes are puffy, my hair a mess. I need to pull myself together quickly because I have a full schedule ahead of me on yet another press trip in a long string of them. The job is glamorous, but the pace can be relentless. Sometimes it comes with too little sleep and it shows on the body, especially under the eyes. Only two days earlier I had landed back home, and by the following week I was already preparing for another trip, one I would thankfully be able to take by train.
Somehow I have learned to function on six hours of sleep or less and to use a few key concealer tricks to look more rested than I really am. My hair is slicked back in a low bun, my usual choice when I need to at least look like everything is under control. On that 2023 press trip in Paris I met one of today’s most influential fashion creators, and by profession a master of pharmacy, Tamara Kalinić. She looked flawless, the exact opposite of me. Perfect makeup, a smooth blowout. Everything in place. By coincidence our paths kept crossing several times a year at events where our jobs overlap.
Back then, when I asked her how she always managed to look polished, rested and free of dark circles even early in the morning, she could not yet reveal that she had been working on a supplement of her own. Luckily, now in 2025, she decided to tell me exclusively about her well-being brand by NOA with Hair and Slim supplements as its first products, a project five years in the making. And the inspiration? That also started in Paris.
“In June 2020 I walked into Sephora on the Champs Élysées. It was the middle of the pandemic, I was browsing different self care products and looking for a good beauty supplement. I wondered why we have so many things we can put on our skin, yet not enough comprehensive beauty supplements. I wanted something I could take from within. Walking home, I called my sister and told her, ‘I think we should start our own supplement brand and create the best possible supplement with the best possible ingredients.’ I knew I had the idea and I knew what I wanted, and I also knew my sister was very thorough and would do everything necessary. She contacted our university in Brighton because they have an alumni service that helps former students who want to start a business,” Tamara tells me with passion as she describes the very beginning, which involved nutritionists, and the final formula was developed in England.
Still, as a member of a family full of pharmacists, of course the development could not go ahead without recommendations and opinions from others. “Since both our mom and dad are pharmacists, we included them consciously or unconsciously. I am not sure I would advise everyone to involve their parents in their business, but in the end it turned out great,” Tamara says with a smile as I flip through the list of ingredients that impress me with their thoughtful completeness.
Knowing from my own experience that a product concept often does not end up the way it was first imagined, I wanted to know whether there were any ingredients she had to remove from the formula. I am glad I asked, because besides anecdotes about having to drop turmeric and probiotics from the Slim supplement for technical reasons, Tamara unexpectedly tells me what else we can soon expect. “This is something I have not shared yet, but I will tell you. We have two more products. We started with four ideas. Two are already registered and moving into production. One of the upcoming products contains an ingredient that falls into the category of novel food. It is not a supplement, not a vitamin, not a mineral, it is something entirely new. It requires far stricter approvals from the ministry and other institutions. That part takes more time, but we managed to register it.” I immediately asked whether I should expect adaptogens, and Tamara replied, “Something similar. You are very close. I think you will like it.”
As we talk, I realize that by launching by NOA, Tamara has in a way returned to her pharmaceutical roots, and that she has rediscovered her passion for this field of science in adulthood. In addition to the required independent testing, she reveals that a proper scientific study is underway and that they plan to publish a scientific paper to demonstrate the full scope of the effects of the Hair and Slim supplements. Although this is not necessary for launching a supplement brand, she clearly cannot resist the scientific process. And she also seems aware that there will always be a certain degree of skepticism.
This brand is not only far from being a white label project, where someone simply buys a ready made formula, but was created from Tamara’s desire to give her community something real and tangible. “I would love this to be a brand that responds to different concerns. I want people to feel good in their own skin. The next product we will launch is a beauty product, but the other one is something I have never seen before. Something that helps people become the best version of themselves.” This motivation is reflected in the choice of the brand’s name, which “can mean silence and calm, it can also mean a new beginning, just like our new beginning in pharmacy. We registered it as by NOA because the NOA domain was of course not available, but by NOA was. The word Noa also has a spiritual element that I find beautiful. From every angle I looked at it, I liked what it represents,” Tamara explains, naturally, with perfectly blow dried hair.
Now that we are speaking in person, I felt this was the perfect moment to ask her for at least a few of her hair tips and routines. Her answer was thorough and complete in the best pharmaceutical way. “I think, and it is really important to me that this message reaches people, that taking supplements alone is not enough. There is probably not a single piece of advice that works as a one thing only solution. I think people understand that by now. It is not enough to use just a hair mask or a single scalp oil. For hair care it is important to pay attention to every growth cycle, because hair grows in cycles. Take a supplement, take care of your hair, use heat styling less often, check your blood work, maybe you are low on iron or ferritin, maybe there is another cause behind the condition of your hair. A supplement is, as the name suggests, an addition. It is not a treatment, it is not minoxidil that you apply and get a very specific effect, it is not a hormonal treatment. It is important to check iron levels, see whether there is an issue, and then use the supplement as support. Especially biotin, we know how it affects hair growth. That is why we wanted the Hair supplement to work holistically. It nourishes the scalp with bamboo extract, we added ingredients known to support hair structure such as biotin and antioxidants from quince that protect the hair, as well as minerals for pigmentation such as zinc and copper, which together can have a stronger effect. But it is equally important to look at other things happening in the body.” Remembering that she herself had stress induced alopecia during her student years, her main advice is simple. “I think we should all be a little kinder to ourselves.”
Courtesy of ‘by NOA’
One of the main ways she practices this, besides beauty routines she genuinely enjoys, is journaling. “It is important for me to be aware of my thoughts. Sometimes everything happens so quickly that we are not aware of what weighs on us. What brings us joy, what troubles us, and we do not even know why. That is why keeping a journal and taking care of myself matters to me. Sleep is also very important. It does not matter how many time zones I have crossed, I always try to maintain a regular sleep schedule and make sure I am rested. At least eight hours. Of course sometimes it ends up being four when I have an early flight, but then I sleep on the plane. I manage.”
As an additional form of self care, she has included the Slim supplement in her well being routine, which offers excellent support for the metabolism. Metabolism often suffers because of stress, and any changes can affect the entire body. This is not just about appearance, but about how we feel in our own skin. As someone who struggles with IBS, Tamara is very aware of this.
Slim, which she takes in the morning with breakfast, helps her do something good for her metabolism despite a lifestyle where stress is an everyday companion. The secret of its effect lies in the way its ingredients work together. “It contains ingredients like black pepper, cayenne pepper, ginger and cinnamon. These are substances that warm you from within, which is why it is good to take it with a meal. It is filled with amazing ingredients and superfoods that support metabolism. You know how our grandparents used to say you should add pepper to speed up your metabolism. That was the idea, that you do not have to spice your food if you do not like spicy food, but instead take the Slim supplement which supports the metabolism of macronutrients and carbohydrates and helps regulate blood glucose levels. It also contributes to maintaining body weight. Altogether it works as a complete story. Just like Hair. It tackles the issue from several angles. What I have personally noticed is that it helps with bloating. I do not know if it is a placebo effect, but my stomach is flatter when I take it. I will know for sure once the testing is complete.”
Courtesy of ‘by NOA’
After we talked in detail about the ingredients, I had to ask about caution as well. Supplement use has become increasingly popular. It has even become a kind of trend. I wondered how careful I personally needed to be. Slim, for example, contains green tea extract, and I drink green tea several times a week and often choose a matcha latte instead of coffee. Do I need to cut something out of my diet?
“We were very careful about that. Especially with large amounts of green tea and green coffee, which can be more toxic than beneficial. That is the main principle in pharmacy. Everything is a poison and everything is a cure, it depends on the dose. We made sure the daily dose was low but that the cumulative effect, when you take it every day with a meal, is meaningful. I take Slim with coffee or tea that contains caffeine, and it does not have negative effects. But if you feel it gives you a stronger boost than usual, it is better to pause. It is like coffee, some people feel a strong boost, some do not. It is very personal. Our team includes a doctor of science in the field of supplementation, and safety was our priority. We wanted people who drink coffee or matcha to be able to keep their routines unchanged. Of course, it is always important to listen to your body,” Tamara concludes as our conversation slowly comes to an end.
I am about to start my own dose of the new by NOA supplements and I hope that the next time I meet Tamara, I will have much fuller hair and a much better metabolism.
