The future of natural makeup

Since antiquity, women have been wearing makeup to transform their appearance. From the kohl of ancient Egypt to the powdered chalk of old Greece to the greasy blushes of the Victorian era, while beauty ideals have changed remarkably with the years, makeup has been an integral part in the lives of women throughout history.

Even in recent years, we’ve seen a marked shift in beauty ideals from bold, powerful makeup to the more subtle and natural look that is preferred by women today. To understand the shift in attitudes towards complexion makeup, Gattefossé conducted a global survey of over 1200 women in Korea, France, and the US in which we asked them about their makeup habits and perceptions.

 

Foundation Perceptions

Overall, the women felt that foundation makes them feel beautiful, allows them to hide flaws, and can be comfortable to wear.  However, especially in South Korea, they also believe that it can contain ingredients that are bad for the skin, and can cause pimples.

In France and the US, women have difficulty finding the right shade when purchasing foundations, which has led to the movement for more inclusive shades and customizable, personalized products that is currently emerging.

When asked about natural complexion makeup, we saw that consumers in all regions believe that natural products are better for them, better for the environment, and a good alternative to conventional makeup, but that interest in natural makeup was still low due to perceptions of poor performance, expense, and lack of availability.

 

Emulium® Illustro – Pigment Empowered

Emulium® Illustro has been designed as a solution to the natural makeup dilemma.   This high-performance, vegan and natural W/O emulsifier was specifically developed to work with pigments to deliver the benefits customers expect from natural complexion makeup.

Emulium® Illustro is the first emulsifier developed as a direct collaboration between the Gattefossé R&D and application laboratories. At each step of the development process, the application lab worked with the ingredient to ensure that the end result is high-performance, easy to formulate, and brings a unique sensory imprint to makeup formulations.

The resulting ingredient is designed to work well with pigments, film formers, pearls, emollients, UV filters, and more. It can create textures that range from ultra-fluid serums to sticks, it is globally approved, and it brings unique sensoriality not only to makeup but also to sun care and skin care formulations.

 

Clinically Tested

Two clinical studies have been conducted on Emulium® Illustro.  The first substantiates the “non-comedogenic” claim for the product. In this study, 20 female volunteers with oily skin, all regular users of silicone foundations, used a foundation containing Emulium® Illustro once a day for 27 days. At the end of the study, a dermatologist found no statistically significant increase in retentional and inflammatory signs, validating the claim “non-comedogenic” for Emulium® Illustro.

In the second study, 34 female volunteers, all regular users of silicone foundations, replaced their normal foundation with an Emulium® Illustro foundation for 27 days. Foundation performance and skin quality were evaluated. At the end of the study, the women were satisfied with the performance of the foundation, and interestingly, they saw in improvement in overall skin quality.

 

The impact of natural

Lastly, the women were asked at the end of the study if they would like to continue using the foundation beyond the end of the study. Without knowing the formula composition, 74% of women said they would like to continue using the foundation. When they were then informed of the natural, PEG-free, silicone-free composition however, this number increased to an astounding 91% of panelists who were willing to abandon their traditional silicone foundation for the product tested. This interest really highlights the interest of the market in high-performing natural makeup formulations.

It’s a winner!

The industry has recognized both the need for better natural solutions for complexion makeup and the innovation and quality of Emulium® Illustro by awarding this ingredient the Gold prize for the 2019 In-Cosmetics Global Innovation Zone Best Functional Ingredient Award.

 

 

Stay tuned

If you’re interested in the results of our global consumer perception study, stay tuned here over the next 3 months as we release the details about the ways consumer think about complexion makeup region by region.