Love'n Layer

Love'n Layer is a Swedish indie nail-care brand built around Layers, a self-adhesive gel nail polish supplied in a pre-set, pre-cut solid form rather than a bottle. It was founded by Ida Thern and launched commercially in October 2021 [6]. Since 2024 the brand has been wholly owned by Lyko Group AB, which acquired it in two steps between 2022 and 2024 through the holding company Loveli Beauty AB [7]. It remains in operation under that ownership.

The brand is a single-market venture rooted in Sweden, selling chiefly through its own website and through its parent company's retail channel. Its founding coincided with the pandemic-era surge in at-home beauty, and its central pitch is speed: a manicure applied in minutes without liquid polish, mess or drying time.

According to Scan Magazine, founder Ida Thern conceived the product while heavily pregnant with her second child during the 2020 pandemic, when she was advised to stay home and could no longer keep her regular nail-salon appointments. Returning to ordinary bottled polish, she concluded that the nail-polish category had stagnated and relied on chemicals she considered harmful. She described the gap in her own words: "While we go vegan and organic and create sustainable solutions in every other market, the nail-polish world has remained full of toxic, carcinogenic chemicals." Thern says she then spent about two years developing the product that became Layers.

Sources differ on which year to assign as the brand's founding. The company's own English about page carries the header "Founded: 2020," reflecting the year the idea took shape and development began [1]. Both Scan Magazine and the later Lyko corporate press release date the founding to 2021, the year of commercial launch in October [6][7]. The 2020 date describes conception and research; 2021 marks the company's market launch.

Love'n Layer launched in October 2021 and, by the founder's account reported in Scan Magazine, sold products worth 7,000 euros within the first twenty minutes [6]. In its launch year the brand was named "Innovation of the Year 2021" at Stockholm Beauty Week and "Nail Product of the Year" by the beauty desk of the Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet [6].

Roughly four months after launch, the Swedish beauty retailer Lyko took a minority stake; the partnership was made public in June 2022 [6]. The relationship deepened over the following two years and culminated in a full takeover.

The brand is owned by Lyko Group AB through Loveli Beauty AB, the legal entity that holds Love'n Layer. Lyko acquired the first 40 percent in June 2022 and bought the remaining 60 percent in a transaction announced on 19 April 2024, completing the acquisition [7]. In the press release marking the deal, Lyko chief executive Rickard Lyko said he was "enormously impressed" by what Thern had built from idea to product development and launch, while Thern framed the sale as handing a foundation she had built to a partner that could "take it to the next level" [7].

The company positions Love'n Layer as a corrective to a category it views as static. Its stated ambition, per the brand site, is "to create a product that revolutionizes a stagnant industry, where appealing colors and patterns meet functionality" — pairing design with convenience while removing ingredients it regards as toxic [1]. The brand markets itself on vegan, cruelty-free and biodegradable credentials: it says all ingredients are "100% vegan," that no animal testing takes place, and that it uses biodegradable bio-products [1]. It also describes the product as scent-free once the packaging is opened, and states that it is developed in line with the Swedish Medical Products Agency's legislation for cosmetic products.

The signature product, Layers, is a solid, pre-cut adhesive gel polish applied directly to the nail and cured under a UV LED lamp, which the company says takes only a few minutes and avoids the mess and drying time of liquid polish. The brand states results last around three weeks, and its FAQ notes wear of up to four weeks before most users replace them; the polish is removed by peeling rather than soaking. Around the core product the brand sells supporting tools, including a wireless, pocket-format UV LED lamp it says is made from recycled plastic. Distribution is primarily direct-to-consumer through the brand's own site.

Beyond its two 2021 launch-year awards, the brand reports being recommended by Elle and has been profiled by Scan Magazine in an editorial on its founding and Lyko partnership. According to Scan Magazine, Layers has appeared on Swedish television, adorning the nails of Idol contestants, Nobel Prize presenters and Melodifestivalen winners [6]. An independent review on the blog Chasing Cait, written by a self-described "busy mum," reported that the polish applied without mess or drying time and lasted more than two weeks in the reviewer's own use [8] — pointing to the time-constrained, at-home audience the brand targets.

Love'n Layer is active but corporately owned. Following Lyko Group's full acquisition, announced on 19 April 2024, the brand continues to trade under Lyko ownership through its own website and its parent's retail channel, with operations centred on Sweden and the wider Nordic market [7].