FACE Stockholm

FACE Stockholm is a Swedish makeup and skincare company founded in Stockholm in 1982 by Gun Nowak [5]. It began when Nowak, who ran fashion boutiques in the city in the early 1980s, could not find makeup in colours bold enough for the neon fashions of the time and decided to create her own line. Her daughter, Martina Arfwidson, joined the business in the early 1990s after a music career in New York, and the two have run the company together ever since [7].

The brand remains independently owned by Nowak and Arfwidson. It describes its makeup as "Swedish makeup & skin care as you want it; Natural, gorgeous and fun!" and frames cosmetics as a form of play and self-expression rather than a way to mask the face.

By her own account, Nowak did not set out to build a cosmetics company. "I didn't set out to do makeup, but I wanted every color and I couldn't find them anywhere," she told one interviewer [6]. Rather than wait for the market to catch up, she converted one of her Stockholm boutiques into the first FACE Stockholm shop in 1982 [5], offering a wider colour range than was common at the time.

Arfwidson, initially drawn to music and theatre, became the brand's second creative force after returning from New York. Scan Magazine describes the mother-daughter relationship as "a lifelong creative partnership – one rooted in shared curiosity, humour, and deep respect".

After establishing the brand in Sweden, the founders expanded to the United States, opening a flagship shop on Manhattan's Upper West Side, on 79th Street. Arfwidson has said the pair did not initially think of themselves as a brand and learned the basics of running a business in New York.

A defining feature of the early stores was their layout. Instead of the raised counters typical of department-store beauty halls, FACE Stockholm used tables so that staff could stand beside customers. "We didn't have counters, we had tables," Arfwidson recalled. "The idea of approaching the customer and being able to show makeup while standing next to the customer wasn't tried before" [7]. The founders framed this as an effort to make the shops "an open and welcoming space where anybody, from any walk of life, could touch, play, laugh, be inspired".

In 2022 the company marked 40 years in business, still run by its two founders and without outside venture capital [7].

FACE Stockholm has remained woman- and family-owned throughout its history. According to a 2022 founder profile, Nowak and Arfwidson have declined multiple corporate acquisition offers in order to keep the company independent [7].

The company positions makeup as an experience rather than a corrective tool. "Beauty is not something you perform – it is something you live," Arfwidson has said, with stores encouraging visitors to "touch, test, and explore". The brand states that its mission is "to embrace and celebrate everyone's unique beauty," and lists honesty, quality and inclusiveness among its core values [6].

Its products are described by the company and in editorial coverage as natural, colourful and clean, reflecting what one profile characterised as Swedish beauty ideals. The headquarters are in Stockholm, on Grev Turegatan.

FACE Stockholm sells both makeup — across face, eye and lip categories — and skincare. Among the items featured by the company are the Veil Lipstick Trio and the Perfect Pot. Beyond retail, the Stockholm stores offer a range of makeup services, from short application sessions to one-on-one lessons, group classes and bridal makeup.

On ethics, the brand carries PETA Approved cruelty-free certification, displayed on its site [1], and editorial coverage has described it as a "clean and cruelty-free cosmetics company" [6].

Accounts of the brand's retail footprint differ. Mood of Living, in an editorial profile, described FACE Stockholm as operating "over 100 family-run stores worldwide" [6]. Scan Magazine, in more recent coverage, reported that the brand scaled back from a peak of around 85 stores to a more focused model built on flagship locations in Stockholm and in Hudson, New York, with a greater emphasis on direct online sales alongside in-person experiences [5]. The company has said it is also exploring collaborations and a curated selection of lifestyle goods alongside new product lines.

FACE Stockholm is active. It maintains an EU e-commerce site with current promotions and a regularly updated blog, and recent editorial coverage describes the founders as still running the company and introducing new product lines. Today the brand operates across the Nordics and the United States rather than as a global mass-market label.