​Meet Aziza, Founder of Ulta’s First Black- and Middle Eastern-Owned Brand

In mainstream beauty, the narrative around textured hair has historically suffered from a narrow lens. But for Aziza, (whose heritage spans a Caribbean mother, a Palestinian father, and a childhood in Suriname) beauty was always a rich, multi-dimensional mosaic that never quite fit the one-size-fits-all mold of traditional media.

​Long before building a beauty brand, CEO & Founder Aziza El Wanni was just a 12-year-old girl mixing natural ingredients in her kitchen, crafting personal "potions" to care for her curls. Years later, when a move to Amsterdam threw her hair into a completely new climate, she found herself back in the kitchen, formulating solutions that friends and family quickly began demanding for themselves.

That kitchen-crafted ingenuity laid the foundation for The Potion Studio, a climate-adaptive, clean hair care brand built for the "lazy natural;" someone who deeply loves their curls, coils, and waves, but has zero time for a grueling 12-step routine.

​A Historic Retail Milestone

​Now, that journey has reached a monumental new height. The Potion Studio has officially launched at Ulta Beauty, rolling out across 450+ stores and ulta.com. With this expansion, the brand achieves a historic first: becoming Ulta Beauty’s very first Black- and Middle Eastern-owned brand.

This partnership not only brings the brand's core climate-adaptive portfolio and its newly launched Control Potion Styling Gel to a massive new audience, but it also redefines what genuine inclusivity looks like on major retail shelves.

​"Textured hair isn’t defined by race, gender, or skin tone. It lives in all of us," Aziza shares of the brand's core philosophy.

​Clean Innovation Meets Everyday Realities

​What sets The Potion Studio apart is its commitment to high-performance, clean beauty that eliminates the guesswork. Every vegan, cruelty-free formula is intentionally crafted without sulfates, parabens, silicones, or artificial fragrances, prioritizing powerful natural hydrators like rose water, coconut oil, mango butter, and aloe vera.

​Crucially, the products are engineered to perform across changing environments; thriving in both humid and dry climates to deliver flexible hold and lasting control without crunch, flakes, or sticky residue.

​By securing its spot on Ulta Beauty’s shelves and the Black Owned & Founded Featured Products page online (alongside its presence at Nordstrom and thepotionstudio.com), The Potion Studio proves that authentic storytelling and intentional formulation can shatter industry barriers. Aziza’s path from kitchen chemist to trailblazing founder is a powerful reminder that when diverse heritage meets real consumer needs, the beauty industry changes for the better.