Vogue Scandinavia was the first to experience Toém Beauty and now we’re obsessed

As a beauty editor, I have the pleasure of trialling most new launches to hit the market. All to say that when I first swiped Toém Beauty’s highlighter across the back of my hand, I swooned. It was velvet-soft, melt-then-set, and impossible to describe without sounding slightly possessed – the exact response founders Emilie Tømmerberg and Vanessa Kerr spent three years chasing.

For anyone who has followed Tømmerberg – a fixture in Norway’s beauty landscape – over the last decade, the launch of her own beauty brand feels almost inevitable. The reality, however, isn’t the fast-track influencer-to-entrepreneur pivot we’ve come to associate with some creator-led beauty.

“We’ve known each other since we were teenagers,” Tømmerberg tells me. “We studied computer science together, worked on school projects, and in all our free time, we’d talk about beauty, makeup, and YouTube tutorials.” The dynamic is obvious the moment you’re in the room with them: Tømmerberg ideates, Kerr steadies. Both obsess over detail.

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That complementary rhythm is the heartbeat of Toém. It’s also why the brand’s founding story lands with an almost fated quality.“Back in Christmas 2022, I remember thinking, I really want to start this [Toém Beauty] now, and I really want to start it with Vanessa,” Tømmerberg says. “And then Vanessa texted me, completely unprompted: ‘Let’s do it.’” Kerr calls it “telepathic.” Tømmerberg nods: “It really felt like the universe aligned.”

Unlike many launches in today’s beauty landscape, Toém arrived without outside investment, celebrity capital, or VC scaffolding. “It was a conscious decision,” Kerr comments. “We wanted control. We wanted to grow at our own pace and protect our integrity.” Tømmerberg adds, “It comes with responsibility and risk, but it’s also incredibly rewarding. We’ve been involved in every single part of the process: formulation, testing, packaging, design, everything.”

The name itself arrived mid-flight. Literally. “We were flying home from Italy after meeting with a manufacturer,” Tømmerberg recalls. “I looked at my boarding pass where my last name was spelled ‘Toemmerberg,’ and I just pulled out the first four letters. It felt right immediately.” Kerr adds: “It’s personal, but still stands on its own. Most people wouldn’t connect it to Emilie unless they knew.”

When the duo first set out, they thought the process would take a year. It took three.

“We just couldn’t settle,” Tømmerberg admits. They found themselves stuck in an endless loop of almost-good-enough. Early samples blurred together. Tømmerberg even questioned whether she would recognise the right texture if she saw it. Then it clicked. “It was like a puzzle piece fell into place,” says Tømmerberg. “Suddenly everything came together.” Kerr remembers the moment: “We just looked at each other and said, ‘This is it.’”

What they created is a trio of complexion staples – bronzer, blush, highlighter – known collectively as The Signature Edit. Made in Italy, the formulas are creamy on contact but settle into a velvety, almost cream-to-powder finish that reads like skin. They’re finger-friendly, brush-friendly, and as forgiving as a product gets.

“When you warm it up with your fingers, it just melts in,” Tømmerberg explains. “But even with a brush, I like to work it on the back of my hand first to really distribute the product.” Kerr, getting ready in the chaos of two small children as we speak, is more succinct: “It makes me look like I’ve slept, even when I haven’t.”

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In an era where “clean” can feel like a marketing minefield, the founders are refreshingly candid. They have no interest in moralising, fearmongering, or throwing around ingredient red flags.

Toém’s formulas avoid perfume, parabens, silicones, talc, mineral oils, and phthalates. More importantly, the brand focuses on what earns its place in the formula. “Every ingredient needs a purpose,” she continues. “We use a high percentage of natural-derived ingredients, and we combine them with carefully selected science-backed synthetics when they improve performance, stability, or safety. Some synthetics are important to ensure the products are vegan and long-lasting.”

A detail the founders are particularly proud of: Toém Beauty is represented physically at Oslo’s Gimle Parfymeri: a jewel-box retailer known for carrying only high-end, highly curated brands. “It means so much to us,” Tømmerberg says. “It’s the only place where people can experience Toém in real life.” Everywhere else, the products are exclusively available via the brand’s own online store.

As our conversation winds down, I think back to when I first paused over Toém’s highlighter. Now it’s become a key jigsaw piece in my beauty routine. And it feels serendipitous. After all, Toém was built on a puzzle of components: friendship, intuition, patience, intention. And now that they have finally clicked into place, we can’t wait to see what’s more to come.