The nicest thing about walking into an Open Sundaes specialty shop is that it doesn't knock you out with that bath-bomb store stench.

"I was conscious of that from the beginning," says OS president Mashiah Vaughn, during a tour of her Yaletown location (1056 Mainland Street). "I can't stand too much perfume. It makes me nauseous. I honestly can't be around a lot of smells."

So every dessert-inspired bath, body, and beauty product has the subtle smell of baked goods, cotton candy, or other confectionary delights. Ironically, Vaughn–who oversees every OS product on the market–doesn't even have a sweet tooth.

"I love the smell of cupcakes and cookies," says the model turned actor turned bath-bomb magnate. "But to be honest, I'm not crazy about sugar. My fiancé is."

In fact, her soon-to-be better half is behind some of the more decadent Body Frosting scents. These ultramoisturizing creams (small $9, large $25) come in a variety of tooth-decaying options including Caramel Sundae and Cookies n' Cream. And her 12-year-old son, Ayden, was the inspiration for OS's beautifying cereal spoofs, including Frooty Scoops and Cocoa Bombs. Each bag ($13) of these bite-size bath bombs comes with a little prize. But it was Vaughn who came up with some of the more innovative products. Many of her Lip Toppings ($15 a tube) are dual-purpose. Her Lemon Drop shade not only gives your mouth a nice sheer shimmer and a delicate citrus taste; according to Vaughn, it makes your smile a little brighter.

"I brought the yellow in because it makes your teeth whiter," she says. "That's a little trick I learned from my modelling days."

And then there's the Aqua Berry, a bluish tint meant to neutralize overly red lips. Rumour has it in makeup-artist circles that Angelina Jolie uses blues to tone down her kisser. It turns out a small minority has this problem, as the Aqua Berry isn't exactly flying off the shelves, but the rest of the flavours are selling like cupcakes.

"I wasn't sure what the reaction would be," says Vaughn. "But people love them. I mean, I should have gone into lip gloss a long time ago.…I am going to keep adding to it, just 'cause I do know a lot of secrets just from working in the film business."

These kinds of inventions have helped Vaughn's two-year-old business grow from a gift-delivery service to four thriving stores in the Lower Mainland (3742 West 10th Avenue, 982 Denman Street, and at Park Royal Mall in West Vancouver, in addition to the Yaletown location). As well, Open Sundaes supplies beauty products to spas and gift shops throughout Canada. And Vaughn's success hasn't gone unnoticed. Earlier this year, Business in Vancouver magazine featured her in its annual Forty Under 40 issue. So was this honour a big surprise for the retired Victoria's Secret model?

"Not really," she says with a shrug. "My company's been really successful and I succeed at everything I do–not to sound like a bragger. It's just that I never take something on that I can't handle. So everything I do, I pour myself into. I mean, I was really, really happy to be nominated and considered for that. But I just kind of knew it was coming."