It’s no secret we’ve been learning a lot from our Scandinavian friends over the past decade. They’ve taught us to cosy up with hygge, take more coffee and cake breaks with Fika and to pare back our cluttered homes with a more ‘lagom’ way of living. So what about Scandinavian skincare?
Well now, it’s time to adopt their simplistic style of skincare. Expect clean, holistic products that incorporate natural but hard-working ingredients designed to drench your skin with moisture, nourish and calm it, and prep it ready to brave the winter chill.
Here are six of the best Scandi skincare lines available in the UK now.
LUONKOS
Handmade with love from Finland, Luonkos deliver zero waste vegan cosmetics. The range includes facial oil cleaning cakes, body oil cakes and facial powder cleansers. A key ingredient in their skincare is the Reconnecting Nature ™ microbial extract developed by Finnish scientists and said to support and strengthen the body’s immune system. From £17, mybeautyworld.net.
DR ANKERSTJERNE
Formulated by Norwegian doctors, this clean skincare line features day and night creams, a serum and cleanser. Designed to strengthen and repair the skin – especially the polluted complexions of city dwellers – the products contain high concentrations of vitamins, antioxidants and essential fatty acids Studies show a reduction in wrinkles, increased moisture content and skin elasticity after use. From £19, mybeautyworld.net
NORDIC ROOTS
From the founder of Green People, Nordic Roots is skincare that stems from nature. It draws on Charlotte Vøhtz’s Danish upbringing and her Nordic heritage. Aiming to deliver purity, simplicity and functionality, the scent-free range uses sustainably sourced plant actives from Atlantic Seaweed to boost collagen production and Hop Flowers to target hyperpigmentation. We love the fact that it also uses by-products from the food industry that would otherwise be wasted; there’s hydrating amino acid betaine isolated from sugar beets during sugar production, plus apple cellular water – proven to boost skin elasticity – and a by- product from the production of apple chips. There’s a serum, micellar foam cleanser, moisturiser and facial oil in the range. From £19, greenpeople.co.uk
ECOOKING
This fast-growing Danish brand’s name is a merging of ‘e’ for ‘eco-friendly’ , with ‘cooking’ to give a nod to the fact that this skincare line was initially created in the founder’s kitchen when she (Tina) was looking for a troubleshooting product when a crisis in her life resulted in her skin ‘collapsing’ and looking tired and grey. Since that, her brand (and skin) have bloomed and it’s lately launched a 50+ series (including a cleansing foam , wake up cream, goodnight cream, face oil and serums) to nourish and calm menopausal and peri-menopausal skin with ingredients including olive tree stem cells, hyaluronic acid aloe vera and CBD from citrus peel. From £23, ecooking.com.
VERSO
A sleek Stockholm skincare line which comes in minimalist white black and grey packaging, Verso came into existence after developing Retinol 8, an unique vitamin A complex said to be eight times as effective as regular retinol but half as irritating. Other products followed, all with the aim of providing skin with excellent long-term hydration and containing functional effective ingredients, such as Niacinamide, Turmeric, Oats, Hydrolyzed Yeast Extract, and Ceramides. They’ve also now branched out into body care – which apart from being effective smells super too. Just saying. From versoskincare.com and cultbeauty.co.uk.
LUMENE
Long-standing beauty brand Lumene source their natural ingredients in Finland including ‘Nordic superwaters’ sourced from pure Arctic spring water and nordic birch sap. Products are also bursting with antioxidants from Nordic berries (including wild cloudberry, bilberry and lingonberry) plus new Finnish innovations Nordic oat xylitol and post biotic fermented Nordic oat which help reinforce the skin’s moisture barrier for a plumped up complexion. From lumene.com and feelunique.com.
