For many beauty brands, especially those looking to reach millennials, Sephora is big distribution win. And Amyris isn’t exactly a beauty company. The firm’s own profile describes it as “the integrated renewable products company that is enabling the world's leading brands to achieve sustainable growth.”
Enter the Biossance brand. It’s the company’s in-house skin care collection, showcasing how science (biotech in particular) can be used to make beauty product formulations inspired by nature and streamlined by cutting-edge technologies.
Signature ingredient
Biossance is built around squalene, more precisely squalene manufactured using yeast fed with sugar cane. And the company has taken its nature-via-science narrative even farther, choosing packaging: “tree-free outer cartons…made of 100% sugarcane fiber, a renewable resource. Zero bleach chemicals. Zero dyes,” according to the Biossance site. The bottles and jars have been recently updated too, though with a focus on consumer experience and application ease rather than on environmental sustainability.
“We are delighted to offer SEPHORA's clients these high-performance products that make no compromises in regard to their formulations and packaging,” Caroline Hadfield, senior vice president of personal care at Amyris, tells the press.
“Each product in the Biossance line,” she goes on to say “uses only the most effective and conscious ingredients, so you know what you're putting on your skin is safe for you and for the environment.”
Now and next
Earlier this month, Biossance skin care products launched at select Sephora stores, and they will be available there at least through spring, according to an Amyris press release about the distribution deal.
The five products in the collection include:
- 100% Squalane Oil - A weightless multipurpose oil that instantly hydrates locking in essential moisture.
- Squalane + Antioxidant Cleansing Oil - An antioxidant rich cleansing oil that gently removes long wear makeup and impurities.
- Squalane + Vitamin C Rose Oil - A luxurious face oil that brightens, firms and evens skin tone and texture.
- Squalane + Probiotic Gel Moisturizer - A weightless gel moisturizer that hydrates, brightens and balances skin.
- Squalane + Peptide Eye Gel - A weightless eye gel that reduces puffiness and dark circles.
And Biossance isn’t stopping there. There are plans for a product that supports the skin microbiome. “Biossance will introduce a weightless gel probiotic moisturizer designed to reduce the effects of stress, calm skin, and maintain a healthy skin biome,” according to the release.