Skin care

It’s official: Australian Government passes bill to end animal testing for cosmetics

18-Feb-2019 By Amanda Lim

The Australian senate just passed a bill to effectively ban cosmetic testing on animals in Australia in a move that has been described as a ‘huge win’ for animals, consumers and science.

How the CBD trend is unfolding in Europe

15-Feb-2019 By Simon Pitman

Cannabidiol (CBD) skin care has already taken the US market by storm, and it is starting to make a splash in European markets too, underlined by a recent spike in new product launches containing the ingredient.

Editor’s Spotlight

Indie beauty brands are fine-tuning the ingestibles market

14-Feb-2019 By Deanna Utroske

2018 saw a boom of beauty supplements from skin care brands and vitamin makers alike. Now, innovative startups are refining the options—formulating and marketing teas, tinctures, mix-in powders, and pills to ensure beauty-from-within outlives the trend...

Laws & Regulation: Top news on cosmetics regulation across the APAC region

14-Feb-2019 By Amanda Lim

We round up of our most-read cosmetics regulation stories of the region, featuring animal testing, sustainability and Halal regulation.

Kao underlines sustainability focus with new environmental, social and governance strategy

14-Feb-2019 By Amanda Lim

Kao Corporation has been recognised for work in sustainability with three awards for its work in the area as it prepares to launch new environmental, social and governance strategy.

Affordable hemp seed oil skin care brand to launch in Aussie pharmacies

14-Feb-2019 By Amanda Lim

Bod Australia is set to launch its new Manuka honey and hemp seed oil skin care range in response to growing demand for unique natural ingredients.

Malaysia Airlines picks El-Hajj to provide cosmetics to pilgrims

13-Feb-2019 By Amanda Lim

The first skincare brand to target pilgrims to Saudi Arabia’s holy sites will supply cosmetics to passengers on a new Malaysia Airlines service as part of an amenity pack given to pilgrims.

K-Beauty’s bricks-and-mortar popularity takes a hit with falling sales

13-Feb-2019 By RJ Whitehead

Plummeting sales are causing South Korean cosmetics stores to close at a rate of knots as brands seek to bolster their online presence.

Shiseido sales surpass 1 trillion yen, but fall short of targets

13-Feb-2019 By Amanda Lim

Shiseido’s net profit, operating profit and sales all reached record highs over the last financial year, marking a second year of double-digit growth.

Unilever results point to problems in Latin America

12-Feb-2019 By Simon Pitman

Unilever posted strong full year 2018 results, with big gains in the Asia Pacific region, but in Latin America the picture was not so rosy, with Argentina and Brazil being singled out.

From The Editor's Desk

Is indie beauty a thing in Asia?

12-Feb-2019 By Simon Pitman

The indie beauty trend is taking North America and, increasingly, Europe, by storm. But is it gaining the same sort of popularity in Asia? If so, where are the hot spots for indie beauty?

Gallery: Top 10 most-read beauty and cosmetics stories of January

12-Feb-2019 By Amanda Lim

Read more about the emerging trends in Asia-Pacific and new innovations by Shiseido, Pola Orbis, Kao and more.

Halal personal care windfall: Indonesia hopeful new law will lead to business boom

12-Feb-2019 By RJ Whitehead

Indonesia’s government may see a windfall of US$1.6bn by issuing Halal certificates for consumer goods from shampoos to toothpaste and cosmetics, according to the new government agency in charge of its implementation, once mandatory Halal labelling is...

L’Oréal results thrive thanks to strong demand from Chinese consumers

12-Feb-2019 By Amanda Lim

L’Oréal’s luxury beauty division has seen double-digit growth in China, helping the French cosmetics company to record its best year in a decade.

Model behaviour: A.S. Watson credits product launch successes to predictive modelling

11-Feb-2019 By Amanda Lim

International health and beauty giant A.S. Watson Group says its use of predictive modelling technology has been instrumental to boosting the success of its product launches.

K-Beauty brand PURITO launches vegan derma cosmetics range

11-Feb-2019 By Amanda Lim

South Korean cosmetics brand PURITO has launched its PURITO Centella Green range, a vegan-friendly line of skin care products.

Kao breaks financial records but fails to reach forecasted goals

11-Feb-2019 By Amanda Lim

Kao Corporation posted record high profits and operating income but was not able to achieve its forecasted goals.

5 latest updates for regulation and safety in beauty: 2019

08-Feb-2019 By Lucy Whitehouse

From controversy over misreporting of potentially unsafe UK cosmetics after Brexit, to Unilever’s expanded transparency programme for ingredients, we take a look at the key updates for safety and regulation so far this year in this Editor’s Spotlight.

Exclusive interview: How Shiseido is focusing on Asia for future success in the travel retail space - CEO

08-Feb-2019 By Amanda Lim

Shiseido Travel Retail president and CEO Philippe Lesné has revealed how millennials have influenced the travel retail beauty segment and the key role digitalisation is playing in the company’s future expansion plans, in this exclusive interview with...

Estée Lauder sales soar past $1bn in Asia as China spends big on beauty

08-Feb-2019 By Amanda Lim

The Estée Lauder Companies announced that beauty sales in Asia-Pacific grew by 20%, offsetting a North American sales tumble.

CD Buzz Video

Black Chicken Remedies and the appeal of Australian beauty brands

07-Feb-2019 By Deanna Utroske

Among the trends Cosmetics Design is watching in the Americas region this year is the influx and popularity of brands and ingredients from Oceana. Case in point: Black Chicken Remedies, the once tiny Australian organic skin care and wellness brand founded...

Brand Story: Top news on the biggest names in beauty

07-Feb-2019 By Amanda Lim

We round up our most-read brand-related stories in the region featuring Shiseido, Crabtree & Evelyn, Pola Orbis and Johnson & Johnson.

Indonesian authorities raid four illegal cosmetics factories in Jakarta

07-Feb-2019 By Amanda Lim

The Indonesia Food and Drug Monitoring Agency has raided four illegal cosmetics factories producing billions of rupiah worth of products in West Jakarta.

'Morning routine’: Sunscreen guidance revamped by safety bodies in Australia and New Zealand

06-Feb-2019 By Gary Scattergood

The organisations responsible for sun safety advice in Australia and New Zealand have adopted a new policy on sunscreen use, recommending that people apply it daily as part of a regular morning routine.

Liquid gold: Mibelle launches honey ferment ingredient to enhance skin microflora

06-Feb-2019 By Amanda Lim

Mibelle has created a new black bee honey ferment designed to regenerate the skin’s natural microflora.

Microalgae and marine stewardship: Japanese firm first to earn joint seaweed certification

06-Feb-2019 By Amanda Lim

A Japanese microalgae producer is the first in the world to attain certification of the joint Aquaculture and Marine Stewardship Council (ASC-MSC) Seaweed Standard.

AmorePacific performance suffers from weak domestic demand

05-Feb-2019 By Amanda Lim

AmorePacific Group’s said its performance in 2018 suffered because of weak domestic demand, fierce competition and increased labour costs.

Korean wave effect: K-Beauty accounts for $4.8bn of nation’s SME exports in 2018

05-Feb-2019 By Amanda Lim

The cosmetics category grew a sharp 27.7% to $4.8bn in 2018 among Korea’s start-ups and SMEs, cementing its position as the third-largest export category.

Watsons launches first store in fast growing and ‘trend aware’ Vietnamese market

05-Feb-2019 By Amanda Lim

Health and beauty retailer Watsons marks official entry into the Vietnamese market with the launch of first store in Ho Chi Minh City.

Editor's Spotlight

Can overseas indie brands change the pace of beauty?

04-Feb-2019 By Deanna Utroske

The independent beauty movement is truly global, as evidenced by the international spectrum of exhibitors at IBE LA last month. But a subset of indie beauty brands from abroad aren’t just going global, they are inviting consumers to be patient, seek balance,...

Mercury alert: Five cosmetic creams found to contain vast quantities of undeclared ingredients in Singapore

04-Feb-2019 By Gary Scattergood

Five cosmetics creams in Singapore have been found to contain potent undeclared ingredients – with one possessing mercury levels which exceeded the permissible limits by more than 40,000 times.

Allies of Skin on the path to becoming the most internationally recognised Singaporean beauty brand

01-Feb-2019 By Amanda Lim

Singaporean brand Allies of Skin is set to expand massively in both Europe and Asia this year, while actively raising funds to continue its founder’s plan for global success.

Hot Topics: Top 5 trending beauty and cosmetics news stories on social media

31-Jan-2019 By Amanda Lim

In our round up of the top five stories trending online, we highlight the animal testing ban delay in Australia, Crabtree & Evelyn’s rapid decline, Shiseido’s developments in anti-aging and more.

Cosmetics sales boost LG H&H figures despite China volatility

31-Jan-2019 By Amanda Lim

South Korea’s LG Household & Health Care has delivered its best quarterly performance with help from its cosmetics division which recorded strong double-digit growth, despite market volatility due to falling numbers of Chinese tourists.

From The Editor's Desk

How luxury beauty brands can remain relevant in a fast changing market

30-Jan-2019 By Simon Pitman

There is an increasing body of evidence pointing to the fact that luxury consumers are changing their buying patterns while also becoming more difficult to access. So how to navigate these new hurdles?

Chemberry seeks co-investors and expansion across more sectors in 2019

30-Jan-2019 By Amanda Lim

Specialty chemical search engine Chemberry hopes to expand its coverage and “spin-off” from Clariant following positive feedback from industry.

Lush Japan raises awareness for endangered birds for Valentine’s Day

30-Jan-2019 By Amanda Lim

The Japanese arm of UK cosmetics brand LUSH has collaborated with the Nature Conservation Society of Japan to protect the sashiba, an endangered migratory bid from the hawk family.

Gpskin partners with K-Beauty brand to make “clinical-level” skin care more accessible

30-Jan-2019 By Amanda Lim

Handheld device Gpskin Barrier is partnering with LaStella Cellif Microbalm in its quest to enable consumers to monitor and care for their skin from the comfort of home.

3 out-of-the-box beauty tools from indie brands

29-Jan-2019 By Deanna Utroske

Most skin care tools coming to market now are high-tech electronics or digital devices. However at this month’s BeautyX Summit and Indie Beauty Expo events in Los Angeles, California, Cosmetics Design learned about 3 beauty tools made of simple metals...

Symrise launches new multifunctional preservative

29-Jan-2019 By Simon Pitman

Germany-based ingredients provider has launched a new alcohol-based multifunctional preservative for the cosmetics and personal care market, called SymOcide BHO.

HK-listed L’Occitane sees 9-month sales in South East Asia shoot up by 23.6%

29-Jan-2019 By Amanda Lim

US leads L’Occitane International sales growth at impressive 50.3%, while South East Asia sales increase 23.6%.

First “self-service” aesthetic salon expands footprint in Japan

29-Jan-2019 By Amanda Lim

Japan’s first ever do-it-yourself aesthetics boutique, Jibun de Este, is quickly expanding with outlets nationwide following the debut of its first store in March 2018.

Sun protection ‘oversimplification’? Researchers question current WHO guidelines

29-Jan-2019 By Amanda Lim

New evidence leads researchers to critique the World Health Organisation’s UV Index and calls for the personal care industry to help spread the message on adequate sun protection.

How do ingredients companies approach indie beauty formulation?

28-Jan-2019 By Simon Pitman

To answer this questions, Cosmetics Design spoke to decision makers at Blue Diamond Almonds Global Ingredients Division, to find out how ingredients providers come up with solutions that suit the specific demands of indie beauty players.

Challenging times: Formulating modern beauty solutions from traditional beliefs far from easy

28-Jan-2019 By Amanda Lim

Behind the rising trend of Traditional Chinese Medicine and Ayurveda beauty, there are challenges that formulators face when creating modern skin care products from millennia-old wellness concepts.

Formulating for Indie Beauty Special Newsletter

Formulating an indie beauty brand story with regional ingredients

28-Jan-2019 By Deanna Utroske

In the beauty and wellness space, a well-constructed brand story can capture the attention of consumers, buyers, and media. To find out just how regional ingredients can effectively inform and inspire an indie brand and its story, Cosmetics Design checked...

8 top predictions for sustainable cosmetics in 2019

28-Jan-2019 By Lucy Whitehouse

Ecovia Intelligence has revealed its picks for the top trends and drivers set to define sustainable beauty and personal care in the coming year. We reveal the specialist research consulting & training company’s predictions in this Editor’s Spotlight.

Croda expands Halal portfolio as Indonesia puts new Halal legislation into effect

28-Jan-2019 By Amanda Lim

Croda International expands Halal ingredient portfolio in anticipation of rising Halal demand as ahead of Indonesia’s October 2019 deadline to have all cosmetics certified by Majelis Ulama Indonesia (MUI).

Crabtree & Evelyn closure: What went wrong for the bath and body care brand?

25-Jan-2019 By Amanda Lim

From doomed acquisitions to a lack of understanding of the brand, we speak to an Asian consumer expert to explore what led to Crabtree & Evelyn’s downfall, and what it can do to save itself from the brink of obscurity.

China Focus: Our top stories featuring China’s cosmetics industry

24-Jan-2019 By Amanda Lim

We round up of our most-read news pieces about China, featuring China Beautéville, bird’s nest skin care, top regulations, trends and more.