Skin care

Serious about the skin microbiome: Science, regulation and opportunities in 2020

09-Sep-2020 By Kacey Culliney

The skin microbiome continues to ignite interest as science fast advances and product innovations hit shelves, but where exactly are the biggest opportunities for industry and what will be the key challenges moving forward?

Amyris produces CBG for skin care at commercial scale

08-Sep-2020 By Deanna Utroske

Cannabinoid ingredients are increasingly popular in personal care. And with its engineered yeast and fermentation process, the biotech company Amyris is now equipped to manufacture cannabigerol, or CBG, commercially.

2021 Beauty Shortlist Awards open for entries

02-Sep-2020 By Deanna Utroske

The international cosmetics, personal care, and wellness awards program is known as a discovery platform for retailers and consumers as well as for being independent from advertiser or sponsorship support.

Traub Capital acquires beauty manufacturer MANA Products

02-Sep-2020 By Deanna Utroske

On Tuesday, the New York City – based contract manufacturer announced the deal with Traub, one that positions the beauty maker for growth in the prestige color cosmetics and skin care markets.

FDA cautions consumers about hand sanitizers packaged and flavored like foods and beverages

01-Sep-2020 By Deanna Utroske

Late last week the US Food and Drug Administration warned consumers about the serious risks of consuming sanitizer and the packaging and flavors showing up in the marketplace that up the likelihood of ingestion.

5 small beauty businesses awarded FedEx grants

01-Sep-2020 By Deanna Utroske

Last week FedEx Express Canada announced 30 small businesses receiving grants under the company’s new #SupportSmall initiative, a program to help small business across that country survive the Coronavirus economic recession.

2020 Conference on Engineering Cosmetics and Consumer Products goes online in September

27-Aug-2020 By Deanna Utroske

The American Institute of Chemical Engineers will host the 3-day event, showcasing the latest personal care and beauty formulation trends, engineering innovations, and packaging and manufacturing technologies.

FDA publishes hand sanitizer testing protocol to detect impurities

26-Aug-2020 By Deanna Utroske

This week, as part of its response to contaminated and unsafe hand sanitizers, the agency published a testing methodologies document. The protocols outlined in the new document can be used to determine the quality of finished sanitizer products.

Hygiene goes First Class: Michelle Hope Skincare launches the Essential Care Collection and BluBag

26-Aug-2020 By Deanna Utroske

The travel and hospitality industries have been drastically impacted by stay-at-home and social distancing guidelines. To help airlines, cruise lines, hotels, and other travel service providers return to business, the amenities and spa brand Michelle...

Aussie takeover: BWX furthers expansion of Sukin into the US market on the back of growing interest in A-beauty

26-Aug-2020 By Amanda Lim

Australian cosmetics firm BWX Limited is eyeing stateside opportunities for natural beauty brand Sukin as interest in Aussie-style skin care gains momentum.

One Ocean acquired by Present Life

25-Aug-2020 By Deanna Utroske

The new beauty and wellness holding company, led by former Coty CEO Camillo Pane, announced the acquisition just this week.

FORMA is building brands for next-gen beauty consumers

24-Aug-2020 By Deanna Utroske

A new venture, backed by the growth equity firm General Atlantic, has emerged from what was Morphe Holdings to develop, accelerate, acquire, and curate the personal care, cosmetics, and wellness brands that will win over Millennial and Gen Z consumers.

Clean Beauty spending up 26% among Gen Z consumers

20-Aug-2020 By Deanna Utroske

That’s according to new data from financial services company Klarna, who only today announced a partnership with Beautycounter.

The Detox Market acquires green beauty ecommerce platform

20-Aug-2020 By Deanna Utroske

This week, the retailer announced the purchase of Clementine Fields, a Canada-based site specializing in clean and green beauty and lifestyle brands.

In-Flight Service: EO Products and Alaska Airlines team up for hygiene

20-Aug-2020 By Deanna Utroske

Today, the personal care brand announced a deal that will put EO French Lavender Hand Sanitizing Wipes in the hands of every passenger traveling with Alaska Airlines through the end of 2020.

Shoppers Drug Mart puts 2 new vegan skin care brands on the shelf

19-Aug-2020 By Deanna Utroske

Only one of the brands is new to the personal care marketplace, but they are both new to the retailer. And both ZERO by Skin Academy and Versed show just how neatly vegan sits alongside today’s popular clean and green beauty products.

Unfiltered Experience rethinks what’s possible with virtual beauty events

19-Aug-2020 By Deanna Utroske

The new industry event—launched just last year—connects beauty brand founders with influencers, buyers, experts, and editors. And the 2020 edition of Unfiltered Experience promises to bring that same high-value interconnectedness to an online event.

Is a new subscription box the answer to clean beauty product discovery?

18-Aug-2020 By Deanna Utroske

In July, MUA and podcaster Cassandra McClure launched the Clean Beauty Kit, a monthly subscription box for both pros and consumers looking to live the clean beauty lifestyle. Cosmetics Design checked in with the entrepreneur to learn about who she’s reaching,...

Personal care innovation insights for a COVID-19 world

17-Aug-2020 By Deanna Utroske

Belinda Carli, Director of the Institute of Personal Care Science, is well-regarded in the industry for her deep knowledge of the latest product formulation technologies, advances in beauty science, and trends that matter in the marketplace. In this video,...

Brown Girl Jane to help fund and mentor Black women beauty and wellness entrepreneurs

13-Aug-2020 By Deanna Utroske

The month, the indie beauty brand teamed up with Unilever to expand on its #BrownGirlSwap initiative and further support Black brand founders.

Why should formulating chemists care about personalized beauty?

12-Aug-2020 By Deanna Utroske

A lot of what’s going on in the personalized beauty space today relies on algorithms, data, and all things digital. But ingredient makers are getting in on the trend too, helping chemists trouble shoot NPD for personalized and custom formulation options.

School Supplies: GOJO pledges to make Purell products available to students, educators, and school staff

11-Aug-2020 By Deanna Utroske

This month, Carey Jaros, President and CEO of the hygiene and skin care products manufacturing company, issued a statement to the press vowing to coordinate with school districts around the US to ensure they have ready access to soap, sanitizer, and disinfectant.

New Zealand – based skin care brand Antipodes teams with Purity Life

11-Aug-2020 By Deanna Utroske

This month, Antipodes signed a partnership deal with the natural CPG distributor to reach consumers across Canada.

The NIU BODY Rebrand: millennials have grown up and so has their skin care

10-Aug-2020 By Deanna Utroske

Late last month, the affordable beauty brand led by Connie Lo and Laura Burget announced a rebrand, complete with a new name—Three Ships—a new look, a new product naming format, a new marketing strategy, and a new product too.

What’s In My Jar: The tech startup on a mission to dispel ‘clunky’ sunscreen labels built on ‘outdated regulations’

06-Aug-2020 By Kacey Culliney

Algorithm specialist What’s In My Jar has developed an online tool that recommends sunscreens based on skin type, lifestyle and budget – helping consumers navigate clunky, cryptic and often misleading labels built on outdated regulations, its CEO says.

Colgate-Palmolive reports Q2 sales rise – ‘our momentum continued’, says CEO

06-Aug-2020 By Kacey Culliney

Personal care giant Colgate-Palmolive has reported a continued sales rise for the second quarter of 2020, driven largely by a strong performance in North America and increased demand for liquid hand soaps.

AmorePacific maneuvers to reach more US consumers via ecommerce

06-Aug-2020 By Deanna Utroske

This week, the long-standing Korean Beauty company began selling the full portfolio of both its AMOREPACIFC and Mamonde brands on the Amazon Premium Beauty store.

Avon to launch skin care for women in menopause

06-Aug-2020 By Deanna Utroske

The multinational beauty maker has been previewing the Adapt Sync product line since 2019; and now Avon has published a study on what women worldwide know and how they think about menopause.

Linda Rendle steps up to CEO at Clorox

05-Aug-2020 By Deanna Utroske

Next month, the company that owns Burt’s Bees and several popular household and professional product brands, will have new leadership.

Edgewell to buy men’s grooming brand Cremo for $235 million

04-Aug-2020 By Deanna Utroske

Today, the personal care business that spun off from Energizer 5 years ago announced a deal to acquire Cremo.

Keech Combe Shetty elected Board Chair of PCPC

04-Aug-2020 By Deanna Utroske

The Personal Care Products Council has announced that as of Monday, Keech Combe Shetty—Executive Chair at Combe, the personal care company behind brands like Vagisil and Just For Men—is the organization’s new Board Chair.

Codex Beauty’s broad spectrum anti-microbial preservation system available to license

30-Jul-2020 By Deanna Utroske

Today, the clean beauty brand announced the issuance of two US patents for two different ingredient technologies and that one of those is now available to other skin care, hair care, and personal care brands.

PCPC launches Hand Sanitizer Ingredient Connection Program

30-Jul-2020 By Deanna Utroske

Earlier this month, the Personal Care Products Council announced a new initiative to connect raw material suppliers and manufacturers, and thereby help producers meet the tremendous demand for hand sanitizer.

Demand for hand soap is high, confirms data from Henkel North America

29-Jul-2020 By Deanna Utroske

Consumer hygiene habits are changing as the Coronavirus health crisis wears on. And new survey data on the handwashing practices of women and men in Canada shows just who is washing their hands—for how long and how frequently.

Sustainability matters more in 2020, shows new data

29-Jul-2020 By Deanna Utroske

The California-based biotech company Genomatica has just released survey data on if and how much consumers in the US care about environmental issues during the COVID-19 health crisis.

Cosmetic Additives market sees year-over-year gain in June 2020

29-Jul-2020 By Deanna Utroske

New data published by the American Chemistry Council this month shows that the US specialty chemicals market is improving, since taking a record dip in April. But only 3 industry sectors saw a Y/Y increase last month.

LoveKind bets on turmeric-based beauty with a purpose

28-Jul-2020 By Deanna Utroske

The newly founded collective has announced an equity ownership partnership with Yellow Beauty, a brand that holds turmeric as its hero ingredient and the imperative to end child marriage in Bangladesh as its mission.

Editor's Spotlight

Highlight on Hygiene: the newly chic personal care category

27-Jul-2020 By Deanna Utroske

As COVID-19 spread around the world, demand for soaps and hand sanitizer increased dramatically. And as the pandemic wears on, the need for basic hygiene products (and hygienic beauty solutions) remains constant. Here, Cosmetics Design looks at headlines...

Buy now, Pay later: Sephora Canada signs a deal with PayBright

23-Jul-2020 By Deanna Utroske

The beauty retailer already offers US consumers an installment payments option in partnership with Klarna, a Sweden-based bank and financial services company. Now, a deal with Paybright brings that same financing option to beauty consumers in Canada.

Voyant Beauty Holdings set to acquire KIK’s personal care business

22-Jul-2020 By Deanna Utroske

KIK is divesting its personal care manufacturing business to focus on consumer products in the household, pool, and automotive sectors.

Au naturale? ‘Natural’ tops online 2019 beauty claims but consumer interest wanes, says Euromonitor

22-Jul-2020 By Kacey Culliney

Natural was the top product claim made across the online global beauty and personal care space last year, driven by a huge wave of new brands entering the market. But consumer interest in the space is fading, warns Euromonitor International.

30-minute watch – Episode 6

Clean & Ethical Beauty Video Series Episode 6: Brainstorming the future

21-Jul-2020 By Amanda Lim

In our final episode of the Clean & Ethical Beauty Video Series, we discuss how the events of today will impact how the clean and ethical beauty category might look in the future. Scroll down to watch episode 6.

Indie Beauty Opportunity: The Big Find is back at QVC and HSN

21-Jul-2020 By Deanna Utroske

The 2020 edition of Qurate Retail Group’s indie brand pitch competition is now open for entries.

Newly launched Beacon Awards to honor indie beauty innovation and excellence

21-Jul-2020 By Deanna Utroske

In mid-July, Beauty Independent announced a new awards program to recognize the achievements of cosmetics, personal care, and wellness entrepreneurs.

‘Impact of COVID-19’: Johnson & Johnson Q2 net earnings plummet 35%

17-Jul-2020 By Kacey Culliney

Personal care major Johnson & Johnson has reported a sharp drop in net earnings across its global business for the second quarter of 2020 and a dip in sales across consumer health due to COVID-19.

‘Upskilling’ complete: L’Oréal to close Clarisonic and refocus on own-brand device NPD

16-Jul-2020 By Kacey Culliney

International beauty major L’Oréal will shut down its facial care brushes business Clarisonic to refocus and invest new product development efforts into own-brand devices.

Lip service: Kao study proves its highly occlusive formula effective as balm to improve lip roughness

14-Jul-2020 By Amanda Lim

Japanese cosmetics firm Kao has combined common oil and wax to develop a new lip care formula that was found to have ‘greatly contributed’ to the improvement of dry and chapping lips.

Testers are over, but can the ‘touch-and-try’ cosmetics business rely on virtual testing post-pandemic?

14-Jul-2020 By Amanda Lim

The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has marked the end of in-store cosmetic testers, but one firm doubts the abilities of augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR) and similar technology to completely replace them.

Editor's Spotlight: Startup Focus

Probiotic experts launch startup to tap into burgeoning wellness market

13-Jul-2020 By Nikki Hancocks

A microbiome health focused B2B startup has launched with its first products tapping into the growing beauty-from-within and women's health markets.

‘Lead with education’: Dermalogica ready to welcome consumers back to salons with new safety protocols

13-Jul-2020 By Amanda Lim

Professional beauty brand Dermalogica has leveraged on its past experiences to develop new safety measures for safe re-opening of salons in South East Asia and Hong Kong.