What will our cosmetics be like in the future? How will they be designed? How will they be modified to meet marketing needs, to meet regulations requirements, to meet customers’ expectations? These questions were the topic of the 15th "Breakfast Meeting - Cosmetics" "Matinales de la Cosmétique"), organized by Sylvain-Romain Cotte (SRC Consulting), and held in Paris on March 17.
March 21, 2011
If we think from the very beginning of a cosmetic product, it is first an idea, then the product is designed … all these steps in the mind of a manufacturer, or better, in a "formulator" (product designer)’s mind. A cosmetic product is first a formula that is imagined depending on what the product will be used to, but also on its efficiency, its
galenic
form; customers have to like it, as it must be bought!
As pointed out by Régine Frick, a consultant and the main speaker of this session, a formula comes within a larger framework based on constraints and several points that need to be answered. Régine Frick details at least six, which are a major factor when designing a formula.
Formulation and its constraints
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Regulatory constraint
National and international regulations are more and more stringent, leading to more and more technical pieces of information as well as safety data being recorded (especially in the "Cosmetics File" that every manufacturer shall have available for the Health Authorities) for every marketed product. This is a major limiting factor when creating a new reference: a formulator can no longer design a formula from his mind …
