Apeer

Apeer is a Danish skincare brand based in Kolding, built around products developed by skin specialists and sold under the tagline "Developed by Danish dermatologists." The company positions itself as accessible, effective dermocosmetics, and is best known for RetinART, a plant-derived retinol alternative it features across its range. Apeer is an active brand, with live Danish and UK webshops and distribution through several Danish retailers.

The brand presents itself as founded by two Danish skin specialists: Dr. Emil Henningsen, described as a dermatologist, and Victoria Burles Piihl, a dermatological and cosmetic nurse [2]. The pair also operate a separate skin clinic, Cutis Clinic. The corporate picture is recorded slightly differently: the Danish business registry lists Frank Foged Birkegaard as the company's director and owner, holding it through a holding company [7]. The two accounts are not contradictory — the dermatologists are the public, clinical founders, while the registry reflects corporate ownership.

According to the company, Apeer grew out of clinical practice. Both named co-founders work at Cutis Clinic, which operates multiple treatment facilities in Denmark, and the brand frames its products as an extension of that dermatological background [2]. The stated premise is simple: that how a person looks is closely tied to how they feel. Apeer describes its aim as helping people gain confidence in their appearance through skincare that is straightforward and effective, and says its founders bring more than 15 years of experience to the formulations.

The company structures its identity around four values it calls caring, knowledge, results and transparency, the last of which it ties to openness about research, ingredients and certifications [2].

Apeer markets itself as professional-grade skincare with a mission of accessibility and simplicity. Rather than a large catalogue of one-off products, the range is organised around skin concerns — cleansing, serums, face creams, masks and body care — with a recurring emphasis on documented active ingredients used at what the brand calls effective concentrations. One differentiator the company highlights is its use of real, unretouched people in its marketing.

The brand also offers an AI-based skin analysis tool intended to guide customers toward suitable products. A review of an AI-powered facial linked to Apeer was published by the UK title Stylist [10].

Apeer's signature line is the Lift series, marketed for mature skin and described by the company as developed by Danish dermatologists. It comprises a Lift Serum, a Lift Complex Cream, a Lift Day Cream and a Lift Night Cream [8]. The wider range spans cleansers, a spread of targeted serums, day and night creams, eye care, masks and body products including hand cream, body lotion and tanning drops.

Across the line the brand leans on a familiar set of dermocosmetic actives — hyaluronic acid, niacinamide, ceramides, squalane, hexapeptide-11 and exfoliating acids such as salicylic and lactic acid. Its most distinctive ingredient is RetinART, a trademarked compound the company describes as a retinol alternative derived from the microalga Chlorella vulgaris. Apeer presents it as a bio-retinol that delivers the benefits of retinol — improved firmness, reduced pigmentation and softened fine lines — without the irritation often associated with conventional retinol [4][9]. The company says its products are dermatologically tested with visible results, though it does not publish detailed clinical trial data.

Apeer frames sustainability as part of its product philosophy, stating that "Beautiful skin begins with care – and so does care for our planet" and aligning its practices with three UN Sustainable Development Goals covering health, responsible consumption and ocean life. The company says all of its products are developed in Denmark and manufactured in Europe [3].

On packaging, the brand reports using post-consumer recycled plastic, offering glass alternatives and using FSC mix-certified materials at its warehouse. It formulates without silicones, citing their slow environmental breakdown, and uses plant-derived squalane in place of shark-derived squalene. Apeer also offers vegan-friendly and fragrance-free options and states that select items carry an allergy certification [3].

Apeer is stocked by Matas, described as Denmark's largest beauty and health retail chain, which features the brand in a retailer story as an innovative Danish skincare label centred on its RetinART ingredient [6]. Press coverage is otherwise limited; the Stylist review of an AI-powered facial is the main editorial mention recorded [10].

Apeer is an active, multi-region brand. It operates direct webshops in Denmark and the United Kingdom, is carried by Danish retailers including Matas, Salling and Webapoteket, and maintains current blog and social-media activity centred on RetinART and its product range [1][5].