Mirjana Brlečić: The Winning Combination When You Offer Pharmaceutical Advice Alongside Cosmetics

Rose for velvety skin, daisy for an even complexion, a little uncle against wrinkles, immortelle for preserving beauty, parsley for reducing redness, passionflower for calming, probiotics for renewing damaged skin, and innovation are indispensable ingredients in the business of Priroda liječi, which stands behind the cosmetic brand Nikel. The Nikel line was designed by Master of Pharmacy Mirjana Brlečić, the owner and director of Priroda liječi from Zagreb, because she believes that pharmacy is actually a creative profession that offers many opportunities with high professional coverage.

According to Brlečić, among all medical professionals, the pharmacist is knowledgeable about drugs, but also about cosmetic products. When founding the company, she was not afraid of a market filled with large global cosmetic companies; on the contrary, she was always driven forward by the realization that she was doing something different, new, that would help people. For the production of her natural cosmetics, Brlečić uses plants from the Croatian and Mediterranean regions, while the Nikel line is also free from all unnecessary additives since they unnecessarily burden the product and the skin. Brlečić believes that the content of numerous ingredients in a cosmetic product increases the possibility of allergic reactions.

Without unnecessary additives

She emphasized that as a pharmacist and scientist, she constantly questioned and sought the perfect formula for skin care. In doing so, she realized that everything the body needs ‘from the inside’ to be strong will equally effectively act when applied ‘from the outside’ through a skin care product.

– This realization became the cornerstone and foundation of the Nikel brand philosophy. Female beauty has always intrigued scientists, artists, pharmacists… who wanted to penetrate the secret of beauty and longevity. Pharmacy has given me the knowledge of how to make the entire complex of valuable natural ingredients that affect skin beauty effective in its care. We dermatologically examined skin conditions with results before and after using a product and continuously researched and sought better solutions. At the same time, I encountered numerous allergic reactions to cosmetic products in my work, which prompted me to create a brand that I can stand behind with my name and surname. Pure cosmetics, without unnecessary additives, just a base and an active component that will act on a specific skin need. That is why, of all the awards for innovation, I cherish the gold and the International Ecology Fund certificate the most, as they directly relate to what I wanted to achieve: a purified, dermatologically tested, natural, and effective product. When Nikel cosmetics was founded, the biggest challenge was how to convert a large molecule into an effective small molecule, allowing it to perfectly penetrate the surface layer of the skin, enter the deep layers of the epidermis, and be effective. Equally important was how to trap the active component to have time release – says Brlečić.

First to Use Probiotics

Pharmacy, cosmetology, research, creation, and collaboration with users. All of this makes up the path to product creation, and during the creation of Nikel, direct contact and conversation with users who had difficulty finding the right cream for their skin was particularly important for Brlečić.

– Nikel is a purified cosmetic line with active ingredients that address specific skin demands. This approach to creating the Nikel line also brought great recognition from international judges in Moscow in 2009 when the aforementioned gold medal and the International Ecology Fund certificate were won. At a time when probiotics were not yet a health hit, let alone used in cosmetology, in 2005, Nikel’s probiotic cream won gold for innovation at the international innovation exhibition ‘ARCA’ in Zagreb. At the exhibition of innovative products in the United States in 2013, it received gold, and the World Invention Intellectual Property Associations (WIIPA) included it in the top 10 inventions in its annual selection. The probiotic cream was the first Nikel product for renewing very damaged skin. I realized that probiotics, besides positively affecting the immune system when ingested, also work just as well externally when applied to the skin. Probiotics, among other things, produce large amounts of vitamin B3, which is important against skin flaking, and there are also antimicrobial peptides called bacteriocins that quickly renew problematic skin. Nikel cosmetics have received numerous recognitions and awards, including 50 world golds at exhibitions of innovative products in America, the United Kingdom, Asia, Russia, and the European Union. Such recognitions truly set us apart from the competition – says Brlečić.

Family Business

The company Priroda liječi was founded in 1998 in the center of Zagreb (in Tomašićeva and Stara Vlaška where the company headquarters is located) and has been operating from the beginning not only as a specialized store for over-the-counter drugs and medical products but also as a pharmaceutical consulting service, in collaboration with well-known dermatologists as a pharmaceutical-cosmetological consulting service. In 2004, Brlečić launched the production of the natural cosmetic line Nikel, and currently, the company employs ten people. Among them is Nika Brlečić Uroić, the daughter of Mirjana Brlečić, who, as a university Master of Pharmacy and pharmaceutical manager, deals with distribution, marketing, and intellectual property. She started working in her mother’s company while still studying at the Faculty of Pharmacy and Biochemistry.

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