COSMETICS: Award-winning probiotic skincare

Norway's largest beauty magazine, KOSMETIKK, has written a big article about us. We think it's incredibly fun! You can read the article here:

Award-winning Norwegian skincare with probiotics

Marina Engervik founded the organic Norwegian skincare brand Marina Miracle at the age of just 26. She has been using live probiotics in her products since 2015, and is now also focusing heavily on the European market with franchises and distributors.

Text: Kristine Rødland
Photo: Bjørnar Solberg/Illusion Photography

Marina Miracle has so far been launched in Sweden, England, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium, while several other countries are waiting to launch. We have developed our own unique, active probiotic culture, with live bacteria that help the skin's bacterial flora and also have a balancing effect, Marina Engervik tells KOSMETIKK.

Her first product with live probiotics was the facial cleanser Sweet & Creamy Oil Cleanser, which came out in 2015.

– At that time, we had already been working for a long time on optimizing our probiotics. With the active probiotic culture as a base, we can make different fermentation juices from plant crops, berries and fruits. In the facial cleanser, we have broccoli sprouts, tomato sprouts and alfalfa sprouts, and in our new Acai Hydra Cream, we use whole açaí and raspberry berries as well as Norwegian nettle. What is so fantastic about probiotic fermentation in skin care is that the process makes the berries and plant crops break down more easily. The molecules thus become smaller and easier for the skin to absorb. You also get the nutrients from the whole berry or crop, and not just from the oil or juice. The process helps us utilize everything, which both feels good for us and is very good for the skin.

Marina Engervik has until now focused mostly on developing facial oils and serums, which provide the opportunity to use the finest ingredients in their purest form, and says that the new cream was created based on feedback from customers.

– They wanted a face cream that could be used over the oil they already had, and that provided extra moisture to the skin. The process of developing the new cream was demanding, and would prove to take more than two years.

– While facial oils are composed of only effective ingredients, a cream needs other substances in addition. You have to create an emulsion that gives a good creamy consistency, which can be compared to a nice “wrapping”. I am hopelessly meticulous and picky when it comes to creams, so I had to develop an emulsion that contained as many nutritious ingredients as possible, and that met my requirements, she says.

Creating an all-natural cream that feels velvety soft and comfortable, absorbs quickly into the skin, is not sticky and actually works was an exciting project.

After 56 formulation versions and countless rounds of testing, Marina Engervik came up with a formula that she was happy with. It contains a combination of both exotic and Norwegian ingredients: Açaí, jojoba, argan oil, coconut, nettle, beetroot and algae sourced from the west coast of Norway.

– The different ingredients have their specific tasks and complement each other. We spend a lot of time testing ingredients from different suppliers to choose the best quality ones, and in some cases we have to buy raw materials to make the ingredients ourselves. The nettle extract in the new cream is a good example of this. The nettle is picked in Northern Norway by a supplier and sent to our production facilities where an extract is made. It has a very soothing effect on eczema and irritated skin, and it soothes inflamed skin.

Marina Engervik says that there are a number of challenges in producing natural skincare.

– One of the biggest challenges is the natural variations in the raw materials and ingredients used in the products. If the oil is pressed from nuts, kernels or seeds that are collected in the summer versus the winter, the color and smell will often vary. This will in turn lead to small variations in the finished product.

There are also other factors that come into play, such as soil, weather and temperature.

– Every time we receive fresh ingredients or raw materials from a supplier, small variations will occur. If a customer experiences that a natural skincare product is not exactly the same as the last one she or he bought, there is not necessarily anything wrong with the product. It could be new, fresh ingredients that are experienced differently. The product is the same, and has the same good effect, she explains. Another common challenge is shelf life.

– Natural preservatives are complicated to work with, and the pH balance of the product is very important. Extensive testing is required for stability and shelf life. Shelf life can also be extended with the help of proper packaging, which is why we have chosen a completely sealed bottle for our new cream, which prevents it from being exposed to air. We have also done the same for the facial cleanser, which has recently been relaunched in an airtight bottle.

As a child

Marina had atopic eczema, and even had to be hospitalized for a while because it was so bad. She founded Marina Miracle in January 2014, motivated by her own skin problems.

– I have very sensitive skin that easily reacts with eczema and irritations from what I put on it. As a teenager, I had very difficult and chaotic skin that I never found a lasting cure for – dry and irritated and with deep acne. When I was about 23 years old, I had enough, and decided to fix my skin myself. I let myself be absorbed in the project. I acquired knowledge about plant extracts, oils and herbs, and bought what I thought my skin needed. After a lot of experimentation, I came up with a formula that worked, and in just one month my skin was healthy. The eczema receded, and the pimples and deep acne were no longer inflamed. My skin came into balance and got a fresh glow that it had not had before. Friends and family noticed the change, and wanted to try it. The word spread, and people contacted me to buy what they called the “miracle oil”. Then I realized that there were also others who needed such a product.

"At the time, I was working as a B2B salesperson for a telecom company, and had long fantasized about being able to sell something I was passionate about, something I had made myself – think how cool that would have been. I quit my job, took the plunge and started Marina Miracle," she says.

When Marina felt that the brand was starting to gain a foothold, she thought about expansion.

– We wanted to go out and show our products to as many people as possible. So we started looking at our neighboring country Sweden, where the market for natural and organic skincare seemed much bigger than in Norway. Maybe the topic was more general for Swedes, and more alternative for Norwegians? Sweden was an exciting market to enter. We took a new initiative and attended relevant trade fairs to show off Marina Miracle. At one of the fairs we came into contact with Tove Svanlind and Emma Bergqvist from Tree of Brands, who wanted to become our distributor in the entire Nordic region, with the exception of Norway. As a result, Marina Miracle is now available in many Swedish skincare salons (in addition to Norwegian salons). The products are also used in teaching at Axelsons Gymnastiska Institut in Stockholm, which we think is incredibly great! We have really been well received by Swedish skin therapists and end customers. The next step in our expansion will be to expand further into Europe, and we already have many countries on the waiting list to become a Marina Miracle franchise, including Spain, Poland, Finland and Denmark. We will also soon be launching at Tone Lise Akademiet in Oslo, where the products will be used in skincare education, says Marina Engervik.

6 quick facts about Marina Miracle

• Marina Miracle is completely natural, organic and vegan.
• All products are developed and manufactured in Norway.
• The company has its head office and store at Frognerveien 44 in Oslo.
• The products are used in treatments by Norwegian and Swedish skin therapists.
• Marina Miracle is targeting the European market, and has so far been launched in Sweden,
England, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Germany, Netherlands and Belgium. More countries are waiting to start.
• They have received ten international nominations and won seven awards for their products.