Make Up Store

Make Up Store is a Swedish makeup brand founded in Stockholm in 1996 [4]. It grew from a small shop attached to a makeup school into a chain that reached roughly 130 stores across 20 countries before the original company entered bankruptcy in 2021 [6][7]. The brand and its assets were acquired that year by the Swedish beauty retailer Lyko Group AB, which has continued to run Make Up Store as a standalone label [8].

The brand's status is best described as acquired: it operates today under Lyko rather than as an independent company.

The brand traces back to Mika Liias, a Swedish entrepreneur who in the 1980s ran a modeling agency and several nightclubs. Through that work he came into contact with makeup artists and concluded there was a gap in professional makeup training in Sweden. "Through the nightclub work I came into contact with make-up artists and quickly learned that there was a gap in supply and demand when it came to professional training," he told the trade publication Cosmetics Business [6].

The venture began at the International Makeup Center (IMC), a Stockholm makeup school, where a single store sold makeup and tools to students. A store for the general public opened in 1996 on Drottninggatan in central Stockholm, and Swedish Wikipedia records that the first day's takings were 89 kronor [4]. The brand's own site frames the same period as a makeup school that "quickly grew into" a globally recognized brand.

Sources are consistent that the company was founded in 1996 by Mika Liias. The spelling of the founder's name appears uniformly as "Mika Liias" across Wikipedia and Swedish business press; the variant "Mika Lias" appears in one trade report and is treated here as a transcription artifact [5].

Through the 2000s and 2010s the brand expanded internationally, and a Cosmetics Business profile described it operating around 130 stores in 20 countries [6]. In Sweden it ran shop-in-shop counters at the Åhléns department-store chain; Liias has said Make Up Store was the best-selling makeup brand at Åhléns for ten years [5]. Swedish Wikipedia reports company revenue of just over 86 million kronor in 2018.

After a roughly twelve-month corporate reconstruction, Make Up Store AB was placed into bankruptcy in March 2021, after the Swedish Tax Agency rejected the reconstruction plan [7]. At the end the company had about 13 stores and roughly 70 employees. Liias later disputed how the reconstruction had been handled, saying the company had lost control of its accounts during the process.

In April 2021, Lyko Group AB acquired the bankruptcy estate of Make Up Store AB and Make Up Shop Sweden AB for 11.1 million SEK, through its subsidiary B&B Borås [8]. The purchase covered inventory, equipment and intangible assets, including the brand itself, along with the right to negotiate continued leases for 13 stores. Lyko announced it would keep Make Up Store as a separate brand under the headline "Älskade Make Up Store förblir eget varumärke," signalling that the label would continue in its own right. The company retained three stores — in Gävle, Farsta Centrum and on Norrlandsgatan in Stockholm — and integrated the label into part of Lyko's own retail and e-commerce network, with products available on Makeupstorecosmetics.com and Lyko.com. Within the Lyko group, Make Up Store sits alongside other owned labels such as Rebecca Stella Beauty.

Make Up Store's founder did not continue with the brand after the acquisition. Liias subsequently launched a separate vegan cosmetics venture, Mili Cosmetiks [5].

Make Up Store presents itself as a Scandinavian makeup brand grounded in professional makeup expertise. On its site the company states that "since the beginning, our dedication has been to create high-quality products that last all day and enhance your unique beauty," and positions its range under taglines including "Scandinavian beauty since 1996" and "Forever Iconic." According to the brand, its products are "designed for everyone: easy and high-performing," and it lists quality, creativity and expertise as its core values.

The brand's catalogue covers face, cheeks, eyes and lips, along with brushes, tools and bags. Its named signature product is the Wonder Powder, a mineral face powder; the company describes it as "featherlight" with "a silky, creamy feel" [1]. The current product range is the result of a relaunch: Make Up Store says that since 2025 its collection has featured upgraded packaging and reformulated products.

Make Up Store is an acquired brand, operating under Lyko rather than as an independent company [8]. Following the 2021 acquisition it was relaunched, and as of 2026 it maintains an active e-commerce site (Makeupstorecosmetics.com) operated under the legal entity Make Up Store Int AB. The brand reports continued reformulation and repackaging of its range from 2025 onward.