Face Formula

Face Formula is a Norwegian skincare brand based in Oslo, built around clinically tested, active-ingredient formulas for concerns such as acne, rosacea and sensitised skin. It trades today under a name adopted in 2025, having spent most of its life as Elixir Cosmeceuticals [6]. The company describes its approach as skincare "shaped by function, not by age", and sums up its positioning in the tagline "Rooted in Norway. Guided by biology."

The brand sells through its own site and a network it puts at more than 350 resellers across Scandinavia, alongside partner clinics that offer in-person guidance. That clinic-and-reseller model, rather than mass retail, has shaped both how it distributes and how it talks about itself.

The company traces its start to Oslo in 2008, when it launched as Elixir Cosmeceuticals [3]. By its own account it was among the first Norwegian brands to bring active-ingredient skincare to market, in an era when "cosmeceuticals" — products positioned between cosmetics and pharmaceuticals — promised high concentrations of actives and fast, visible results.

Face Formula names Kristine Borge and Marianne Fjørtoft as its founders [3]. The brand's telling is that Borge, then struggling with her own skin, tried advanced formulations and was impressed enough to develop them commercially with Fjørtoft, a trained skin therapist. Editorial coverage from the brand's Elixir years adds a layer the company itself does not foreground: that the underlying formulations originated with two dermatologists, Kjetil Guldbakke and Ole Martin Rørdam, with Borge and Fjørtoft building the business around their work [8].

The founding date is recorded slightly differently across sources. The brand's own history page and Lyko's editorial both give 2008 [3]; a 2021 interview in MinMote framed the company as roughly twelve years old, placing it closer to 2009 [7]. The 2008 date is consistent with the brand's later claim of "18 years of clinical expertise."

Through the 2010s the company grew quickly under the Elixir name. Lyko's beauty magazine described it as "Norway's fastest-growing beauty company" [8], and reported revenue rising from 24 million NOK in 2015 to 46.5 million NOK in 2019 [7].

In 2025 the company rebranded from Elixir Cosmeceuticals to Face Formula [6]. According to the brand, the older name no longer reflected where its thinking had moved — from a cosmeceutical focus on intensity toward what it calls skin "longevity", or supporting the skin's long-term health rather than chasing quick results. Co-founder Marianne Fjørtoft framed the change as continuity rather than reinvention: "We're not changing who we are — we're evolving to reflect who we've become." Packaging was refreshed in a Scandinavian-minimalist style, with formulations updated across 2022–2023.

Face Formula positions its products as "clean, clinically proven skincare based on skin biology, not trends." The company's stated view is that the skin is an intelligent, self-repairing system, and that formulas should support that system rather than overcorrect it — a stance it ties to a Norwegian "mindset" of honesty, resilience and balance. Fjørtoft, described as a skin therapist of some three decades, is the public voice of this philosophy.

A defining trait of the brand under its Elixir name was its rejection of paid influencer marketing. In the MinMote interview, Fjørtoft stated plainly, "Vi betaler ikke influencere" — "We do not pay influencers" — and described relying instead on word of mouth, customer testimonials and direct clinic relationships [7]. The brand presented this honesty in communication as central to how it operates.

The current range spans cleansers, exfoliants, serums, eye care, masks, moisturisers and sun protection, organised into collections such as Essential, Clear, Pro Age, Sensitive and Nova. Listed bestsellers include the Essential Formula moisturiser, the Probiotic Cleansing Mousse, the Pink Serum and the Advanced Vitamin A Serum. The formulas lean on familiar actives — niacinamide, retinol, sulfur and probiotics among them.

From the Elixir era, the gel-cream Niactil 4%, built around 4% niacinamide, was the line's bestseller, while the sulfur-based Sulfactil targeted acne, rosacea and related conditions. The company says it avoids relying on single "hero" ingredients in favour of balanced complexes, and describes "Smart Delivery" methods such as lipid-compatible carriers and next-generation encapsulation. It states that its clinical trials typically run nine to twelve months.

On ethics, the brand describes its products as cruelty-free and clinically tested [2]; no third-party certifications are listed. In its Elixir-era coverage it also pointed to environmental measures such as using a phytocomplex derived from recycled grape skins [9].

Face Formula is active. It is the same operating entity as Elixir Cosmeceuticals — a rename rather than a sale — and as of its 2025 rebrand it runs a live e-commerce site with a current catalogue, ships across much of Europe, and lists more than 350 Scandinavian resellers. Professional and wholesale orders are handled in association with Cosmedica.