Laila Bagge Beauty

Laila Bagge Beauty is a Swedish vegan hair, skin and body care line based in Täby, north of Stockholm. It began life under the name KOLAI, launched in December 2019 by the media personality Laila Bagge and her then-partner Korosh Kananian [10]. The brand name was a blend of the founders' first names — KOrosh and LAIla — and the range built itself around argan oil, accessible pricing and formulations aimed at Scandinavian hair.

In August 2025 the company renamed the brand to Laila Bagge Beauty, and KOLAI now continues only as a sub-collection within the wider line [17]. The standalone KOLAI brand has therefore been folded into its parent, Laila Bagge Beauty AB, rather than discontinued: KOLAI-labelled products remain on sale through the company's web shop and several Swedish retailers.

The idea grew out of a personal frustration. Laila Bagge has said she suffered hair damage in January 2018 and felt there was a shortage of styling products that also nourished the hair [10]. She and Korosh Kananian, partners at the time, had long wanted to build something together that, in her words, "felt completely right." The result was a vegan hair-care series enriched with argan oil, which the company describes as a "miracle oil" sourced from Morocco.

Bagge is a familiar figure in Swedish media. A singer and talent scout who worked for Motown and Sony BMG in the 1990s and early 2000s, she became widely known as a judge on the Swedish version of Idol from 2008 and as a Let's Dance finalist in 2009 [9]. That public profile gave the brand a recognisable face from the outset.

Sources differ slightly on the start date. The launch was covered by the magazine MåBra in an article dated December 2019, which the packet treats as the primary record [10]; one later account instead places the founding across 2019–2020, reflecting the early rollout period [16].

KOLAI launched in December 2019 with a hair-care range that included shampoo, conditioner, hairspray, a hair serum and a shimmer oil, distributed through pharmacies and the brand's own site at kolai.se [10]. In July 2021 it expanded into skincare, adding a clay mask, a face scrub and a leave-in conditioner spray [18].

The brand's most difficult period came in 2024. A warehouse in Norrköping burned down in the spring, causing significant losses [17]. In April that year the founders separated after nine years together, describing the split as amicable, but continued to run the business jointly [16]. During the same period Bagge introduced a separate budget hair-care line under her own name, priced at around 99 kronor per product [17].

In August 2025 the company confirmed to the press that it had changed the brand's name to Laila Bagge Beauty, a move reported as Bagge wanting to distance the business from her former partner [17].

The brand is owned by Laila Bagge Beauty AB, registered in Täby, Sweden (organisation number 559194-0415). The company operates two lines under that umbrella: the main Laila Bagge range and the KOLAI sub-collection. The former kolai.se domain now redirects to lailabaggebeauty.se, reflecting the consolidation of the two identities.

From the start the brand was pitched as affordable quality. Bagge has said she wanted "high-end content specifically for Scandinavian hair, but at a good price" [10], and the company frames its products as giving "a feeling of high-end at a good price." Its stated mission, as carried by the pharmacy retailer Apoteket, is that all women should be able to afford the range.

The company positions itself within clean and vegan beauty. According to Laila Bagge Beauty, every product is 100% vegan and not tested on animals, and the range is dermatologically tested. Bagge has described wanting to "create products that feel luxurious and do good — for the body, hair and environment."

Argan oil is the line's signature ingredient, supported by aloe vera, olive oil, minerals, proteins and vitamins. The hair range is the brand's core: products such as the Repair & Care Shampoo, aimed at treated, dry and damaged hair, and the Volume Shampoo for everyday use. A standalone KOLAI Argan Oil, marketed as 100% vegan, sits alongside styling items including a dry shampoo, a heat-protection spray and a hairspray.

Later additions widened the offering. The skincare side includes an Anti-Age range — a day cream with SPF, a night cream and a Protect & Restore serum — plus a lip tint, while the body line covers a body splash and a deodorant. On sustainability, the company says its bottles are partly made from recycled plastic.

Independent reviews have been mixed. A 2020 blog review of the Volume Shampoo and conditioner rated the pair 4.5 out of 5, praising softness and lasting freshness. The Swedish review site Daisy Beauty gave the Repair & Care Shampoo 3 out of 5 in 2021, singling out the packaging as the strongest point while finding the moisturising performance lacking. The launch and subsequent product news were covered by Swedish lifestyle titles including MåBra, GALA and Hänt.

KOLAI no longer exists as a standalone brand. Following the August 2025 rename, it survives as a sub-collection within Laila Bagge Beauty, whose products continue to be sold in Sweden through the company's web shop and retailers including Lyko, Apoteket, Apotek Hjärtat and the grocery chains ICA, Coop and Hemköp. Distribution remains limited to Sweden.