NYKR Natural Skincare

The beauty industry is increasingly embedding technology into their products, feeding into a narrative of flawlessness and homogenisation. At the same time, and in parallel with the body acceptance movement, niche innovator brands are connecting with a contrasting consumer desire for natural and inclusive beauty through organic formulas.

Nykr is an all-natural, gender-neutral handmade skincare brand from Oslo, founded by the scent artist Cecilie Egeberg. Cecilie’s attraction to the duality of light and dark and the good and bad in the Nykr, is emblematic of the honesty which mirrors the slow beauty and natural skincare philosophy.

The name is a Norse word for Nøkken; a shape-shifting water spirit in Scandinavian folklore who was believed to hide in lakes and waters, luring children and women below the surface by playing enchanted songs on the violin or assuming beautiful and alluring shapes – most commonly in the form of a "brook horse". At the end of the 19th century, many Norwegian artists looked back in time to rediscover their old myths and legends. The myths of Nøkken inspired the paintings of Theodor Kittelsen, the poetry of Henrik Ibsen and the music of Edvard Grieg.

The formulas of Nykr are popular with the actors at the National Theatre in Oslo, and for the redesign of the brand we were inspired by how the theatre is constantly interpreting classics. Through the contemporary and fluid illustration style of Magnus Voll Mathiassen, we reinterpreted motifs, myths and superstitions connected to Nykr.

Every illustration is dedicated to a category. The Face Oil is represented by water lilies, which was believed to hide the Nykr below the water. The Hair Oil is inspired by an iconic Kittelsen painting of the Nykr in the shape of a horse. The Body Oil represents superstition and protection. By shouting the name of the Nykr out loud, it was believed he would vanish. The lip balms are named after three of Ibsens female characters: Hedda, Nora and Fanny.

As many niche cosmetic products are black and white, we also wanted colour to play a larger role. The bottles are staple vessels, but the spray coating and the silkscreened illustrations contributes to elevating each product. The concept of duality is also manifested in the two different sides of the bottles – the scientific, typographical side and the magical, illustrated side portraying the legends of the Nykr. Each glass bottle is spray lacquered and silk screened with organic ink in three different colours.