Scandi Skincare from VERSO

3 min read

We all love everything Scandi, right? From Scandi Noir on the TV to hygge at home, we’ve fully embraced the trends from Scandinavia in recent times. So, why not embrace the beauty brands too? Well, one of them at least – VERSO from Sweden.

I was lucky enough to meet up with brand founder Lars Frederiksson in Space NK in Edinburgh last month, and have a good old chinwag about the brand and the products. I also learned that Restylane – the filler – was Swedish. Who knew?!

VERSO launched in to Space NK this year, but was established in Stockholm in 2013; created to simplify the beauty routine. The key thing about VERSO is the ingredient Retinol 8.

Retinol is a famous anti-ageing ingredient, which works, but can irritate the skin. Retinol 8 doesn’t. It offers all the collagen-stimulating anti-ageing properties of traditional retinol, but without the irritation that the ingredient has been plagued by. Retinol – or Vitamin A  – has collagen-boosting, wrinkle-plumping, and skin-rejuvenating benefits of vitamin A. By training cells to mimic the behaviour of younger skin, you will see a difference in your skin soon after using.

Retinol 8  is the result of our quest for an extra effective retinol complex. It’s more effective than standard retinol – eight times more, but in the same dosage. It stimulates the skin’s natural collagen production, essential for improving your skin quaity and texture  – Lars Fredericksson, VERSO founder.

The range has 15 products in total, 10 of them containing Retinol 8. There’s a Foaming Cleanser, a Day Cream, a Night Cream, a Super Facial Serum, Super Eye Serum, Dark Spot Fix, Super Facial Oil, Intense Facial Mask, Reviving Eye Mask, Lip Serum, and Hand Serum.

So far I’ve tried the Hydration Serum, which DOESN’T contains Retinol 8. There’s been a bit of a delay on samples, so I hope to try something with Retinol 8 in it soon!

But, the Hydration Serum, which contains Niacinamide and oat lipids and oils has worked brilliantly on my dry skin. It’s a light serum, you dont need loads, and it disappears into the skin.

I have also tried the Antioxidant Booster, which is another serum, again to be used morning and/or night, and it contains on-trend ingredient Tuermeric.

I am a big believer in turmeric, as the cream that has put my psoriasis into remission is based on it, so I have seen the benefits. It also contains Microalgae and has an instant and long-term antioxidant effect. I would suggest you could use both this and the Hydration Serum at the same time.

VERSO is a high-end range, but you are paying for the dermatological experience behind the brand. Lars Frederiksson’s background is stellar, having worked in the beauty industry for 25 years.

By clinically testing different concentrations of Retinol 8 under the supervision of doctors from Karolinska University Hospital in the early 2010s, Lars Fredriksson arrived at a formulation that proved to be eight times as effective and half as irritative as traditional Retino – and VERSO was born.

Prices start at £50 for the Hand Serum, and the most expensive is the Super Facial Oil at £150. The full range is available in store at Space NK now.