Josefin Langard's Scandinavian skincare brand, MANTLE, was born from her life story. "I grew up in northern Sweden, where winters are brutal and the skin is constantly exposed to extreme conditions," she tells H! Fashion. "As a competitive skier, I spent my youth battling snow, wind, and sub-zero temperatures. I learned early on how fragile and powerful the skin can be when properly protected."
The entrepreneur is well-versed in what it takes to build a successful brand. She's served as the CEO of Glossybox, the much-loved subscription based beauty service, Co-founder and COO of KRY, a healthcare technology company, before pivoting to create her own brand. Josefin reveals: "After co-founding Europe’s largest digital health platform and becoming one of Scandinavia’s few female tech unicorn founders, I reached a point where I wanted to bring together my two lifelong passions: science-driven innovation and skin health."
Even after being immersed in the world of beauty at the very top, she still saw a glaring gap in the market:"I was craving skincare that was both high-performance and truly clean, formulas that felt luxurious, worked in extreme conditions, and supported long-term skin resilience. I couldn’t find what I was looking for so I built it."
"That’s how MANTLE started: in our own lab in the north of Sweden, where we develop and test every formula under real, harsh, Scandinavian conditions," the founder explains. "Our products are inspired by the resilience of the skin’s acid mantle, the natural protective barrier that gave the brand its name and they’re designed to strengthen it."
For Josefin, creating this skincare brand wasn’t just about entering the beauty industry, it was about raising the standard. "Clean, clinical, and unapologetically innovative - that's MANTLE."
Q: How would you define 'Scandi beauty'?
Scandi beauty is about simplicity that delivers efficacy, quality, and products that fit into real lives. With skin constantly exposed to harsh winds and freezing winters, the focus is on strengthening the barrier and helping balance your skin. Personally, I desire very efficacious products, and that is what we embody 100%.
Q: Scandinavian beauty is often described as minimal yet luxurious - do you think that’s evolving, and if so, how?
Luxury today isn’t about excess, it’s about intention. Our formulas are maximized and innovative which allows a minimalist routine. Every ingredient serves a clear purpose. We combine cutting-edge actives like NAD+, jellyfish mucin, peptides, and encapsulated retinol with calming, natural ingredients. I think there is a lot of innovation in our part of the world and it’s spilling into the beauty industry too which is great.
I was craving skincare that was both high-performance and truly clean.
Q: Many people associate Scandi beauty with a 'skin-first' approach. What role does makeup play in MANTLE's creations?
The foundation of our brand philosophy is actually: Life first, skin second. We want (or more so: need!) high-performing formulas to shield and strengthen our skin from freezing winters and intense midnight sun, but don’t spend hours in front of the mirror. Instead, we want a minimalist routine that does the work so we can go out into the world, confident and comfortable.
Q: How do Swedish lifestyle habits - from sauna culture to time in nature - influence your product development?
Scandi skincare reflects generations of adaptation and resilience in the North. Here, quality isn’t optional, but essential. With up to 70% of people experiencing dry or sensitive skin, every formula must be effective, nourishing, and smart.
Every one of MANTLE’s formulas is tried and tested in the extreme Scandinavian climate and developed in our Northern Swedish laboratory - where skin faces freezing winters and intense midnight sun. Our formulations reflect generations of adaptation and resilience.
Q: Are there any Scandinavian beauty myths or clichés you’d like to debunk?
One myth is that more active ingredients always mean better results. In reality, overloading the skin without barrier support often backfires. At MANTLE, we practice 'intelligent layering' - pairing potent actives with calming, nourishing elements to maintain balance. Another is that "glowy skin equals flawless skin." Real skin has pores, texture, and variation. Health isn’t about perfection, it’s about resilience.
Are there underrated trends or rituals from Scandinavia you’d like to share?
Spending time in nature just feels right. Walking in the forest, going sailing, skating onfrozen lakes, skiing down little slopes or through the woods - being outside, moving, and soaking it all in is so healing. And of course, there’s always the sauna afterwards and loads of moisturiser, otherwise your face basically falls off in winter.
Real skin has pores, texture, and variation. Health isn’t about perfection, it’s about resilience.
Q: MANTLE began with CBD skincare - what made you take that leap, especially given the complexities?
For me, starting with CBD was about leaning into both the challenge and the opportunity. While it came with regulatory hurdles, it also gave us the chance to be true trailblazers. If the path is easy, the opportunity is usually smaller. CBD taught us resilience, and as we’ve grown, we’ve expanded into equally exciting, innovative ingredients.
Q: Which MANTLE products do you feel best represents the brand’s DNA and why?
Scandi beauty is about maximum results with minimal effort, and that’s MANTLE’s DNA. The Hydra Serum embodies it with jellyfish mucin-hydrating three times more effectively than hyaluronic acid while solving an ecological challenge. The Glow Serum, our best seller, balances nourishment and efficacy for everyday radiance.
And launching this October, the Organ Essence is a tissue-preserving innovation inspired by organ transplantation science, which pushes boundaries in hydration and barrier support.
Q: Are there ingredients you’ve chosen not to use, and why?
Yes, many. At MANTLE, we see clean beauty not as a checklist of banned ingredients, but as a holistic approach to skin health - where efficacy, transparency, and respect for the skin’s natural functions are key. We consciously avoid things like denatured alcohol, which can damage the barrier, as well as synthetic fragrances and harsh preservatives. It’s not about fearmongering, but about formulating with integrity and supporting long-term skin health.
Q: What have been some of the biggest challenges building a beauty brand in such a competitive market?
I think building a business is always about overcoming hurdles, and once you view it like that, things shift. The more hurdles you’ve overcome and the further your company has come and the more value you have created. There have been many things for us such as CBD regulation, jars being delayed, production running late, whilst being sold out, tough market conditions etc. But we find that coming back to our why and values gives so much energy to the team and that we all find so much joy in serving our community and expanding our incredibly loyal customer base.
Q: You’ve co-founded other companies before MANTLE - how did those experiences shape you?
They have definitely shaped me into who I am and how I operate. The tech playbook of innovating, having an iterative approach, hiring the best possible talent and aiming to grow quickly is second nature to me. They also taught me that when you set your mind on something, you can achieve way more than you ever thought was possible - dare to dream.
Q: How do you balance innovation and creativity with staying true to the brand’s minimalist feel?
I founded MANTLE because I refused to choose between science and sensoriality, between efficacy and comfort. Every detail - from packaging to texture to results - is designed to ground you in the moment while strengthening skin long-term. Our approach is clean, clinical, and Scandinavian: innovation without excess.
Spending time in nature just feels right. Being outside, moving, and soaking it all in is so healing.
Q: Sustainability is a big part of the beauty conversation - what’s your approach?
We aim to make good and therefore sustainable decisions at all times. We put effort into sourcing ingredients that are sustainable and produced in a reasonable way for humans and the planet. We avoid plastic, minimalize packaging, gifting opulence and we consider how things are shipped, we try to get components such as gift boxes etc from close to us in Europe. We make minis that are refillable, we make sure all packaging can be recycled etc.
Q: Beauty is as much about connection as product performance - how do you balance that?
At MANTLE, we aim to push the boundary of what beauty is and looks like a bit. Hopefully we can make women feel a little more liberated from the super-narrow ideal of what beauty is. Lines and wrinkles, pores and skin texture and hair are all very natural and beautiful, but we don't see them very often these days.
Q: Where do you see Scandi beauty heading in the next few years?
I think Scandi beauty will evolve from being seen as “minimalist” to being recognized as “intelligent.” It’s not just about fewer steps, but about smarter ones - formulas that are barrier-supportive, climate-resilient, and rooted in science. Scandinavian innovation is moving from quiet efficiency to global influence.