The "without" cosmetic. That was the topic of the 3rd edition of U’cosmetics, both a conference and a competition, held in Guigamp (Brittany), on March 22, 2012. An opportunity to focus on this trend of the current cosmetic, but also a means to show by example that it is impossible to do (something well) "without" if there are no "plusses" without viable alternatives on the other side. Mélanie Perrot has been the eyes and ears of CosmeticOBS-L’Observatoire des Cosmétiques all along this day.
For the third year in a row, the U’cosmetics competition has been organized by two Master 2 IPP students from the Catholic University of Western-North Brittany (UCO BN), in a partnership with the Anticipa Technopole. The competition was intended for students in cosmetics from France, at the professional license level (the competition may be intended for foreign students next year) in two to five-strong teams. Four awards were to be won:
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"Without Cosmetic" award
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"Natural or marine Cosmetic" award
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"Innovative concept"
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Students award
The theoretical "Without"
It is no surprise, the different papers presented during the conference have made an exhaustive review of this now-familiar topic in cosmetics: the "without" or "Free" cosmetic. A well-known concept since some years: parabens-free, phenoxyethanol-free, phthalates-free, silicones-free, preservatives-free, colourants-free, nanoparticles-free …
Without surprise, but not without debates and questions, between the advocates of "the needs stimulate innovation: let’s go on!" and those of "why shall we do without, when knowing how to do well with, without any proven harmfulness?" Obviously, CosmeticOBS-L’Observatoire des Cosmétiques will come back to this topic, especially because the problem (also emphasized during this conference) of the alternatives to the "without", i.e. to the ingredients that may …
