“The moment Kate Winslet said yes… I had to pinch myself.”

How one Norwegian woman is changing the way we think about skincare, from the inside out. And how she managed to get Kate Winslet’s attention.

In 2017, Cecilie Nordstrøm walked away from a long career in media and into the unknown. She wasn’t looking for fame or fortune, but simply wondering: Could there be a better way to age? That question sparked what would become Oslo Skin Lab, a quietly revolutionary beauty brand rooted in science, not hype — and today, one of Norway’s most celebrated wellness exports.

At the heart of the brand’s philosophy is a single, often controversial protein: collagen.

A Personal Turning Point

“I was never that deeply into skincare,” Nordstrøm confesses with a laugh. “I’ve never had great skin, and I assumed  that when I got older, I probably wouldn’t care so much about my own appearance” she tells StyleTalk as we sit down for this interview.

But life had other plans. She recalls the moment that changed everything.

“I walked into a ladies room at the airport, the kind that has ghastly, unflattering lighting. I looked in the mirror and thought: “Is this what my future face will look like?”  Afterwards I picked up every anti-age-product I could find in duty-free, because I realized: yes, I do care.”

Up to that point, she hadn’t been meticulous about what she used on her skin. But from that moment, she committed to a better skincare routine. With a background in marketing health supplements, Nordstrøm already understood the importance of what we put in our bodies.

“I had been reading about Omega-3 and the incredible effects people were experiencing. It got me wondering why skincare was not held to the same scientific standards” she says.

“I read everything I could find. But I felt there was a lack of solid documentation behind the claims. Even the scientific research seemed superficial, perhaps because skincare isn’t considered as critical from a medical perspective. That’s when I started wondering — there must be something more we can do for skin health” she said and explains what lead to starting up her own brand Oslo Skin Lab I 2017.

Science Behind the Skin

What came next was a product named The Solution, a hydrolyzed collagen powder designed to boost the skin’s natural elasticity, reduce wrinkles, and improve texture from the inside out.

Collagen is a naturally occurring protein, making up nearly 90% of our skin’s structure. But as we age, our body produces less of it. The problem, skeptics argue, is that ingested collagen simply breaks down in the digestive tract and is lost.

Nordstrøm and her team tackled this head-on.

“The key is hydrolysis — breaking the collagen peptides down small enough to be absorbed through the intestinal wall and into the bloodstream,” she explains.

“That’s what stimulates your body’s own collagen production.”

Not everyone was convinced.

“There are many misconceptions about collagen powder, even among experts,” she says. “But we’ve conducted gold-standard clinical trials, peer-reviewed, published in medical databases. If you’re skeptical of those, you’d have to question all scientific research.”

Beyond Skin Deep: The Microbiome Frontier

This past June, Oslo Skin Lab took another leap forward with the launch of The Recipe, a skincare line using probiotic technology designed to support the skin’s microbiome, the complex ecosystem of bacteria that protects and nourishes our skin.

“Our skin is full of bacteria, some good, some not so good,” Nordstrøm explains.

“Just like most health challenges, it’s all about balance.”

But bringing probiotics to skincare wasn’t simple.

“Most creams and lotions claiming to contain probiotics contain postbiotics, which is dead bacteria. Live bacteria cannot survive inside a cream”  she explains.

The solution? Create a mix-it-yourself kit with live bacteria.

“I had this eureka moment: what if we just separate the live bacteria and let the user mix them in with a basic oil right before use?”

The result was a breakthrough. The Recipe now includes a night serum, eye cream, day serum, moisturizer, and body cream, all working in sync with the skin’s natural repair processes.

Enter Kate Winslet

Then, in May 2025, the brand received a golden seal of approval: Kate Winslet signed on as global ambassador for The Solution.

“It still feels surreal,” Nordstrøm admits. “We sent her the products before Christmas. Weeks went by, and then in the new year we heard back: she loved them, and so did her mother! So, she said yes” says Nordstøm enthusiastically.

For Nordstrøm, Winslet is more than a celebrity endorsement, she is an icon of authenticity. “Her message about natural aging and embracing your natural body aligns perfectly with what we stand for. Seeing her in our campaign, saying she truly loves our product? It is a dream come true.”

A New Kind of Beauty Brand

Today, Oslo Skin Lab is sold in fourteen countries and continues to expand, guided by a simple but powerful philosophy: support the body’s natural functions, rather than fight them. Whether it is ingestible collagen or topical probiotics, Nordstrøm’s approach is rooted in self-repair, slow aging, and science, not gimmicks.

“Ultimately,” she says, “beauty is not about turning back time. It is about helping your body do what it’s already capable of,  just a little better.”