Korea, Japan, Australia: they’ve all had their beauty moments – but Scandinavia could reign supreme in 2019
K-beauty, and the multi-step regime that goes with it, may finally be fading as a dominant beauty trend.
In late 2018, groups of women in Korea lent their voices to a movement called “escape the corset”, a campaign that rallied against the pressure women feel to comply with a rigid – and long-winded – beauty regime. They rejected their complicated beauty products in favour of a more simplified routine, focused on healthy, natural skin.
With women in Korea ditching the 10-step regime that propelled the country’s beauty industry to “cult” status, beauty fans across the world are looking north for inspiration.
Scandi beauty
While K-beauty was about routine, multi-layered rituals and enough products to make your beauty shelf buckle, Scandi beauty is natural and low-maintenance: it minimises excess, stripping your skincare regime back to the bare essentials.
Scandi nations including Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland and Iceland are ready to revamp our beauty routines with Scandi secrets and very special ingredients. The ethos is all about producing big results with minimal effort or steps required.
Inspired by nature, Scandi beauty (also known as “Lagom beauty”) is focused on ingredients that are pure, soothing and have antioxidant properties.
Ingredients rich in vitamins are favoured: cloud berries, for example, which are only found in the Northern hemisphere, are full of vitamins C and E, helping to promote radiant skin; sea algae is another Scandi pick, rich in vitamins and minerals, improving moisture levels in skin, exfoliating and providing an anti-inflammatory effect.
Alongside the natural, the Scandinavians also love cool tech. Their beauty rituals often harness LED light and heat.
Ingredients to look out for
Popular Scandinavian ingredients include algae, juniper, cloudberries, cranberry, Nordic birch sap, pine, Nordic mushrooms, hydrating oat lipids, omega-rich oils and Arctic or Nordic spring water.
If Scandi beauty appeals to you, you can also look out for plant-powered formulas, minimal packaging and hydrating natural ingredients with a cooling effect: you can also mimic the benefits of swimming in Scandinavia’s icy lagoons and lakes by splashing your face with ice-cold water first thing in the morning – it wakes up the mind, body and skin.
Inspired by Scandinavia
Start your Scandi beauty adventure without delay by trying these minimal, natural and powerful products at Beauty Flash:
Dermalogica Stress Positive Eye Lift- Dermalogica’s minimal packaging and plant-based formulas capture the ethos of Scandi beauty. Stress Positive Eye Lift contains seawater extract and Arctic algae to provide a toning action that helps combat puffiness, improves firmness under the eyes, smoothes fine lines and reduces the volume of sagging under-eye bags.
Balance Me Cleanse and Smooth Face Balm– a Scandi-fuelled product, suitable for all skin types, this oil-based cleanser contains Arctic cloudberry, the antioxidant-rich fruit that plumps, hydrates and protects against environmental damage, and oat powder to gently exfoliate, calm and soothe.
Dermalogica Ultrasmoothing Eye Serum try this powerful treatment fluid, with a fortifying blend of brown and red algae and golden chamomile, to help minimise puffiness. It also contains oat kernel extract to help soothe fragile skin.
Gatineau Aquamemory High Hydration Cream Mask – great for dehydrated skin, this moisturising mask brings immediate relief and long-lasting hydration with sea fennel and brown algae to stimulate the skin’s natural ability to retain moisture.
Medik8 Natural Clay Mask – expertly blended to nourish and care for the complexion, this silky clay formula uses extracts of cranberry to enhance skin texture and luminosity.
Balance Me Rose Otto Body Cream – this exquisitely fragranced body moisturiser is blended with antioxidant rich Arctic cloudberry and is free from parabens, petroleum, microbeads and artificial fragrances and colours.
Elemis Cellutox Active Body Oil – with a powerful synergy of sea buckthorn, sea fennel, lemon and juniper essential oils for the perfect body detox.
