EMITÉ MAKE UP

EMITÉ MAKE UP is a Swedish makeup brand based in Stockholm, founded by makeup artist Maria Nyström, who also serves as its chief executive [2]. Stylised as EMITÉ and also trading as Emite Cosmetics, the company makes colour cosmetics and nail products that it positions as professional-grade and Scandinavian in character. From the outset it built its identity around vegan, cruelty-free formulation, describing this as a defining principle rather than a passing trend.

The brand remains active. It runs a flagship concept store in Stockholm, sells through dozens of Swedish stockists and a Swiss distributor, and operates a professional-membership programme for makeup artists. Because its primary website does not publish a founding date, the year the brand began is reported only by affiliated and registry sources, and the two do not fully agree.

EMITÉ grew out of the work of Maria Nyström, described across the brand's own pages and several retailer listings as a Swedish makeup artist, painter, mother and chief executive of Emite Cosmetics [2]. Her account places the idea for a professional makeup line in 2002 and the start of product development in 2003, a process the company says took seven years to complete [11]. By that timeline the brand reached market around 2010.

That 2010 launch date is not stated on EMITÉ's own primary site, which omits a founding year entirely. It appears instead on the about page of the brand's Swiss distributor. A separate and later date is recorded in the Swedish business registry: the limited company Emité Make Up AB was registered on 14 April 2016, with Maria Nyström as managing director [17]. The registry date most likely reflects the formal incorporation of the company rather than the brand's first sales, leaving the launch-year claim resting chiefly on the distributor's account.

The timeline is internally consistent in one respect: Nyström is also associated with the founding of a Stockholm makeup and hair school in the same early-2000s period, around the time the EMITÉ concept took shape [16].

EMITÉ frames itself as a Scandinavian take on professional cosmetics. The company says it is "driven by our passion and commitment to using cutting edge formulas to reinvent luxury cosmetics with that Scandinavian touch," and presents quality and longevity as central goals.

Ethics sit at the centre of that positioning. The brand states that being vegan and cruelty-free "was never a trend for us it was a rite of passage," and describes itself as one of Sweden's first cruelty-free cosmetic brands to launch products without animal testing [2]. Swedish retailers echo the same language, summarising the line as "ethical beauty without compromises" [15]. The brand's stated audience spans both working makeup artists and general consumers.

The range covers complexion, cheeks, eyes, lips and nails, alongside tools and brushes, organised into collections such as Diamond Heart, Millesis and EMU. Among its named products are the Diamond Heart Base Primer, the DAMS 38° Artist Lashes Mascara, the Long Lash Waterproof Mascara, the 101 Active Eye Light and the Pure Lipstick.

On the formulation side, the brand emphasises micronised pigments, which an industry directory describes as giving "a superior finish suitable for both studio work and personal use." According to the Swiss distributor, EMITÉ works with the Swiss pigment processor Micro-Macinazione, a firm it says has refined pigments since the 1970s [11]. Its nail lacquers are described as vegan and formaldehyde-free with a patented formula [14]. Retailer and directory listings also point to recyclable packaging and the avoidance of common irritants such as added perfume and parabens.

EMITÉ's Diamond Heart Base Primer is repeatedly described as award-winning, though no specific award or year is named publicly by the brand or its distributor [13]. The company has also featured in editorial coverage, including an interview with the Swedish magazine Damernas Värld [20].

The brand is active as of 2026. It maintains a Stockholm flagship store, lists more than 80 Swedish retailers, and supplies a Swiss distributor [5]. Its EMITE PRO programme continues to accept applications from makeup artists, hair stylists, cosmetologists and other beauty professionals, offering trade discounts to qualified members [4]. The company remains present on social media and offers worldwide shipping, with Sweden as its core market and distribution extending into parts of Europe.