Loretta Miraglia is not the typical geek that the phrase "female scientist" might bring to mind. She does not wear a white lab coat or talk in jargon.

The glamorous blonde woman wears an exaggerated white jacket with giant buttons, and a short navy blue skirt, when meeting with media in Beijing.

She is corporate senior vice-president of global brand product development and innovation for the skin-care label La Mer. Her job? Not that fancy. Miraglia deals with different kinds of chemical materials, beakers, test tubes and alcohol burners.