Beauty innovations: Top 10 stories on APAC’s beauty product launches in 2022

K-beauty giants see mega demand for shampoos that conceal grey hairs and prevent hair loss​

South Korean cosmetic titans Amorepacific and LG Household & Healthcare (LG H&H) have both recently launched shampoos that can conceal grey hairs to great success, signalling a huge demand for anti-ageing hair care products.

According to Amorepacific, RYO Double Effector Black Shampoo pre-launch sales on channels including G-Market and SSG.com promptly sold out.

A month later, rival LG H&H introduced two grey hair care products under its hair care brand ReEn and claims to have sold over 200,000 units within three weeks of its release.

Is Vitamin K set to become the next ‘hero’ skin care ingredient?​

The skin-repairing and strengthening abilities of vitamin K, coupled with the insatiable demand for new and exciting ingredients, will spur interest in the “wound healing vitamin”, according to one skin care brand.

Vitamin K is a fat-soluble vitamin that can assist with redness, strengthen capillaries and can help with wound healing.

Skin care brand Biologi believes that vitamin K has the potential to become one of the next big things in skin care ingredients.

LG H&H ventures into beauty tech with mini tattoo printer for North American market​

LG Household & Health Care is set to enter the beauty tech space with a mini tattoo printer that it plans to launch in North America in the fourth quarter of this year.

On January 25, LG Household & Health Care (LG H&H) announced that it was set to enter the beauty tech space with the launch of a mini tattoo printer, dubbed Printly.

Printly is set to debut in the North American market through Arctic Fox, a US-based vegan hair care brand, which is popular among millennials and Gen Z consumers.

Kao relaunched sun care brand Allie with ‘ocean safety’ focus in 2022​

Allie relaunched with a series of new ‘ocean safe’ products that align with recent sunscreen regulations implemented to preserve the marine ecosystem.

The new line of products has a renewed focus on sustainability. In particular, the brand would now focus on ocean safety​.

This series of new products were designed to be ‘beach friendly’, said Kao.

As part of this, the company developed the Chrono Beauty range to suit sunscreen regulations in certain countries, regions and beaches that have come into play recently with fears that some sunscreen ingredients could harm the marine ecosystem. 

Est to launch new powder foundation that mimics liquid foundation​

Japanese beauty brand Est will be launching a new powder foundation that resembles liquid foundation thanks to a new powder gel technology.
The new foundation has been touted to be a game-changer by the brand, promising to introduce beauty consumers to a “new sensation”.​

According to the brand, this powder foundation adheres to the skin and finishes with a lustre-like liquid foundation. Furthermore, its unique technology allows it to be used without a primer.

Scent by SIX leverages fragrance tech to tackle the tough issues​

Singapore-based Scent by SIX is using fragrance technology to support the mental health of those that have been marginalised by society.

Leveraging technology from fragrance houses Givaudan and Takasago, the firm developed the range to support caregivers’ need for relaxation, sleep, and focus. 

In addition, the firm developed the scents with inputs from 10 caregivers. Lee personally led these sessions with the caregivers, finding out their scent preferences and learning how each of them perceived fragrances.

Kao Corp to expand launch of novel mosquito repellent to Indonesia in 2023​

Japanese consumer good giant Kao Corporation will launch its new mosquito repellent in Indonesia next year after recently embarking on an official launch in Thailand.

Kao was able to develop a mosquito repellent without conventional ingredients like N, N-Diethyl-meta-toluamide (DEET) and picaridin.

The company is already planning to launch Bioré GUARD Mos Block Serum in Indonesia in 2023 and will make plans to expand it further.

Scent Journer develops beneficial scents for pragmatic Asian consumers​

A Singapore-based start-up is developing perfumes that solve the Asian consumers’ biggest pain points with fragrances, while also delivering tangible benefits to them.

Founder Joyce Lian observed that consumers have a more pragmatic approach to perfumes compared to their western counterparts.

This led her to develop “mindful perfumes”,​ concoctions that do not just smell good, but also deliver tangible benefits for the user.

Biologi’s highlights new research claiming natural vitamin C is better than ascorbic acid​

Australian clean cosmeceutical brand Biologi has relaunched its vitamin C serum after its research claims to prove that its Kakadu plum-derived vitamin C is superior to ascorbic acid.

The rebrand follows the conclusion of a study jointly conducted with the Centre for Accelerator Science (ANSTO) that compared its Kakadu plum-derived vitamin C with synthetic L-Ascorbic Acid.

Their reasoning was that the different carbon molecules in these two compounds (C3 and C4), led to different structures, which they claim to result in different effects on the skin.

Anessa set to introduce sunscreen serum in response to changing lifestyles​

Shiseido’s Anessa is introducing a sunscreen serum to its existing line-up this February in response to the changing lifestyles and habits of consumers.

The Anessa Day Serum was developed in response to the new habits that have emerged because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

With consumers increasing their investment in skin care, parent company Shiseido saw an opportunity to develop a sun care product that people would “want to use every day”.​

The result was a sunscreen developed in a serum format that simultaneously protected and improved the appearance of the skin.