The path from traditional "cosmetics" to beauty consumers is leading us into hyper-cosmetic space. Product development has entered mental and emotional realms, mixed tech with human reality and pushed the boundaries of biology. It's also navigated the social media nebula of whims like cloud skin, strawberry girl makeup, doe eyes, tooth gems, cherry cola lips, mewing, skinimalism, glazed doughnut nails and — perhaps my latest favorite — hot glue gun eyes (yikes), to name a few.1
Mintel data highlights several of these sentiments, noting market demand for products with a mind-body impact or that integrate beauty with artificial intelligence (AI).1 It underscores the revival of minimalism, aka Minimalism 2.0, for not just products and ingredients, but also packaging.3 The firm also predicts the emergence of "quiet beauty," which is said to emphasize the quality of ingredients, proven efficacy and "reassurance of simplicity."4
Our latest issue of Cosmetics & Toiletries rides these and other waves in beauty. In our cover story, Georgievskaya takes a deep dive into the impact of AI on modern beauty, outlining applications ranging from product advice and trials/sampling, to ingredient discovery, formulation optimization and more. Our Industry Insight also seeks to demystify AI in cosmetics.
Minimizing water usage and packaging, Chidley explores how brands like LUSH, Garnier, Ethique and Beauty Kitchen have embraced zero-waste beauty. She also describes how to formulate solid products.
Translating wellness and facial care to the body, Ghosh reviews the factors causing skin wrinkling and sagging, and presents pathways to counteract multiple concerns — along with combinations of ingredients for the desired benefits. In addition, our crowd-sourced Expert Opinions article gives us the numbers from Kline on growth in the current anti-cellulite and body care market. It also provides insights from industry experts on current and future directions for this segement.
Thinking holistically, Pommier explains how a hyperbranched dextrin was developed to impart soothing and protective effects in sensitive skin; it also demonstrated no negative effects on the microbiome.
Lastly, Steventon and Prow push past the boundaries of the stratum corneum with a look at microneedles, elongated microparticles, -somes, penetration enhancers and combinations thereof to deliver actives into the epidermis.
In the past year (and longer), our industry has successfully innovated its way into new hyper-cosmetic territories — the sneak preview of entries for the 2024 C&T Allē Awards in this issue are evidence of this. No doubt this progress will flow forward, making ripples and eventually waves of its own.
References
1. https://harpersbazaar.com.au/2023-best-beauty-trends/
3. https://www.gcimagazine.com/consumers-markets/news/22875400/decoding-mintels-2024-trends
4. https://www.mintel.com/beauty-and-personal-care-market-news/beauty-trends
