After four decades, celebrity skin specialist, Ole Henriksen, is still achieving worldwide success with his eponymous skincare brand. His celebrity following is grand, working with everyone from Charlize Theron to Halle Berry. He’s the one who spent hours with them leading up to their Oscar wins and the reason they glowed up on that Oscar stage. He has even been sought out by royalty; Ole has been flown out to his home country of Denmark, numerous times, to work on Princess Mary in the comfort of her own palace.
Ole began his career as a beauty therapist and soon after created his own product line in 1984 and in 2011 Kendo a brand incubator for LMVH acquired his line and it is now exclusively sold at Sephora stores worldwide. His product line was birthed in his own kitchen where his concoctions included the finest ingredients for skin radiance. From the start his products flew off the shelves at such rapid speed that beauty conglomerates started circling the brand. And although the skincare brand was acquired, Ole’s services were retained and he is across all the research and development of new products. Ole additionally travels to the countries where he sells his products giving inspirational seminars on skin health. I fell in love with this brand myself when I had the pleasure of meeting Ole years ago when he originally launched his brand in Australia and I still use it to this day.
I recently spoke to Ole about the upcoming re-launch and re-branding of his line. Normally companies choose to relaunch when a product line isn’t doing well. Ole’s brand however, is extremely successful. So, I asked, why a re-launch? Ole explained to me that he often heard from clients that they love his products but can’t always figure out what to add or not when it comes to their routine. So with this in mind, Ole ultimately wanted to make the products easier to navigate. To do this, and at the same time address all the common skin concerns that he knows people shop for, Ole and his team came up with four distinct franchises that address every skin concern.
The first of the four is the Truth Franchise, which has always been the flagship of the Ole Henrikson brand. With high concentrations of Vitamin C, it was created specifically to brighten and even skin tone, to provide continued deep hydration all day long, address lines and wrinkles and to strengthen collagen. Ole says: “The thing I love the most about the name is that it is about being true to the person that you’re born to be and to be the best at it.” Which is all part of the Ole “essence”.
The next franchise is Transform. Ole explains: “I’ve always been about healthy exfoliation with the purpose of getting rid of dull, lifeless skin cells to reveal the smoother more refined skin.”. The Power Peel is the hero product of this line, which is a three-step process that incorporates a micro-dermabrasion followed by an acid peel and finally a mask.
Then in the purple packaging comes Nurture, with the main goal of calming and reducing redness for sensitive skin and Rosacea. Ole loves the word Nurture. He says: ”It’s about nurturing the best in yourself. It’s about nurturing your skin to that healthy beautiful glow. Nurture is calming, soothing and comforting.”
The newest addition is Balance, inspired by Ole’s own experiences at the beginning of his journey in skincare. He struggled with acne early on which made him look for solutions. When he was living in Indonesia his esthetician, Lagita helped him elevate his skin and clear it. This was the beginning of his fascination with skincare and he was so inspired he enrolled in beauty school in London. When he first opened his state-of-the-art spa in Los Angeles his focus was on erupted and acne skin. He learned that living a healthy life, eating a balanced diet, having self-confidence, exercise and of course doing the right things topically could eliminate acne. He quickly became the go-to acne expert among celebrities. This is what led him to create the balance line. “The Balance range symbolises balancing life and balancing your skin,” adds Ole.
Ole’s relaunch has taken the guess work out of which skincare to shop for. His colour coded installations make it easier for women to, touch, feel and try all the products to help them choose the right one. It allows women to feel empowered and confident in their choices.
Ole’s Australian launch is themed the “Ole Glow Camp” and it’s all about bringing out the “Olé Glow” which he says comes from the inner and the outer self. Ole will focus on fitness, nutrition, skincare and wellness.
My last question to Ole was: “How do you want your customers to think, feel and react to the rebranding?” And in true Ole style he replies: “I want every woman to experience not only the “Ole Glow” but their own glow as well – A merry glow, to feel incredibly good about themselves, to be confident, loving life and being able to be wild, crazy and free.” This collection is already empowering his following and leaving them with a glow like never before. It is clear Ole Henrikson has turned 40 years of experience into one of the most invigorating and effective product lines on the market today.
By Mary Zavaglia in LA