Make The Best of 2021 - with lessons learned from 2020

In a few years, we will look back at this time and say: that was the moment where everything changed – in our world, our lives, and our industry.

2020 was quite the year. We lived, we learned and we walked the year through with you. We covered a tremendous amount of ground in beauty and wellness in order to keep ahead of the curve and provide you with insights to help keep your brand and product development process flowing.

If you are uncertain about what to do with your brand or product launches this year, reach out to us. We can come up with answers with you to respond to the world we live in today. We’re here to help you navigate this uncertain territory.

In case you missed any - here are our articles, podcasts, and webinars from 2020 to help you plan out 2021 as we continue to gain opportunities and insights.

Beauty & Wellness in The New After

Beauty and Wellness in The New After

Women Warriors in Business Series

In 2020, at the beginning of the pandemic, Women Warriors in Business (WWB) was born. WWB is an interdisciplinary team of industry marketing experts. Their collective expertise in market research, consumer insights, brand positioning, product development, and omni-channel marketing ensures brands respond quickly and successfully to today's evolving business opportunities. Below are the insights and opportunities we followed during 2020 with a look into 2021:

What’s Next in The New Normal
8 Tips Brands Need to Know Now
6 Ways to Reinvent Marketing in the New Era
How to Reinvent Beauty & Wellness Brands for this New Marketing Environment Video
The World After: A Beauty Renaissance Video

Beauty Responds to COVID

Global Cosmetic News podcast

Neuromarketing & Product Development

A deeper engagement with consumers mindset in the new normal.
The Beauty Experience Part 3 of 3
Neuroscience and the Skin - The Brain - Skin Connection
The Beauty Experience Part 2 of 3
The five senses and product development.
The Beauty Experience Part 1 of 3

Product Development Tips, Trends & Insights

Launching Your Own Brand
How to Market Ingredients in the New Now: The Fall Edition

Trends, Technologies, Textures & Concepts

BeautyEdge & Gattefosse - Trends, Technologies, & Textures in a Post-Covid World Video
BeautyEdge & Gattefosse - Get Fresh! Concepts for Skin Health Video

BeautyEdge New Collaborations

BeautyEdge & MANE
What Have We Done With Our Sense of Smell
MANE's Studio M & BeautyEdge Collaborate

BeautyEdge & The Digital Wellness Institute

BeautyEdge LLC has teamed up with the Digital Wellness Institute to offer a 10% discount on the 10 week certified course. "Our course gives individuals and coaches the tools to take back peace of mind & time when using technology."

Use this code BEAUTYEDGE to receive 10% off ($150 value)

SIGN UP FOR DIGITAL WELLNESS HERE

Our goal is to provide the best information about the beauty and wellness categories, and to help you launch innovative concepts, ideas, and products in 2021. cherie@beautyedgeinc.com is the best place to reach out for inquiries regarding help with your new product and brand launch projects.

Building A Career Path in Beauty & Wellness 1/2021

Often, I am asked the question - "How did you become a product developer?" I don't have a simple response to this question because the path to developing a career can have many twists and turns.

As fate would have it, a serendipitous moment earlier this year enabled me to provide a bit more insight to this question.

I responded to a post on LinkedIn from Lesley Jane Seymour. It was a call out to interview women who reinvented their careers later in life. Since it was #2020, and a year of opportunity (sarcasm here!), I replied to the post. I never imagined I would be selected to be interviewed, but I was! Lesley offered me the opportunity to tell a high-level story about my career in product development in a podcast interview. The 30 minute podcast can be found here CoveyClub I'm interview #98

The short video slides below comprise selected excerpts from that interview. I hope they inspire you and remind you that the path to success is seldom linear.

Reminder: Carve out time for yourself to reflect on what's behind you, to celebrate what you've accomplished, and to look forward to what you want to conquer in your career. And – feel free to reach out to us for your product development and marketing needs.

The Beginning: A Beauty Career Launch

Starting my career involved learning product development from the ground up with industry experts from R&D, dermatology, perfumery, chemistry, microbiology and marketing. With an esthetic and cosmetology license in-hand, I went on to earn a BS in marketing from the Fashion Institute of Technology.

Pressing through Personal Struggles & Reinvention

As my path in the corporate world progressed in beauty product development, I dealt with the aftermath of losing both of my parents within four months of each other, struggling with infertility for 14 years, and starting a new business. I was fortunate to have a few close women friends that walked the unseen journey out with me. I am grateful for their continued support.

BeautyEdge's Evolution

After 15 years, BeautyEdge is still growing. Our services have grown and I’ve grown, and with that we’re moving further into the world of Wellness.

What's to Come for BeautyEdge

We are excited to announce Digital Wellness classes coming to BeautyEdge in 2021! These courses provide practical tools to ensure you and your team stay focused and flourish digitally. Workshop topics will include team productivity online, deterring distractions, enhancing focus/deep work, ergonomics for WFH, mental wellness and physical health.

Sign Up to Learn More About Digital Wellness Classes From BeautyEdge

For a more intensive certified course in Digital Wellness taught by The Digital Wellness Institute - Use this code BEAUTYEDGE to receive 10% off ($150 value) for the certified course from The Digital Wellness Institute

Sign Up for the Digital Wellness Institute 10 Week Course Here

The Mindfulness Guide 12/2020

As we end this year that turned our lives upside down, BeautyEdge is happy to share mindfulness tips that we hope will bring you a little less stress, a little more peace and a renewal of energy and healing as we enter into 2021.

Click on the link below to find 7 different mindfulness exercises. Each is a 10-minute practice you can do with your favorite personal care product.

Wishing you peace, wholeness and love in the New Year,

The BeautyEdge Team

Click here for the BeautyEdge Mindfulness Guide!

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Since we have our minds focused - BeautyEdge is starting something new in 2021 - Digital Wellness Classes! These are educational classes with actionable tools to help you and your teams to Focus and Flourish Digitally. We will cover topics like Productivity, Distractions, Ergonomics and the WFH office, Mental & Physical Health as it relates to digital engagement to name a few.

We will start booking customized classes beginning in mid-February 2021. These classes are specific to creating a healthy digital environment for you or your teams.

Sign Up to Learn More About Digital Wellness Classes From BeautyEdge

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If you are interested in a more extensive exploration into Digital Wellness, BeautyEdge LLC has teamed up with the Digital Wellness Institute to offer a 10% discount on the 10 week certified course. "Our course gives individuals and coaches the tools to take back peace of mind & time when using technology."

To learn more about Digital Wellness and how it can enhance your online health. Click here for a 3 1/2 minute video Digital Wellness

Use this code BEAUTYEDGE to receive 10% off ($150 value)

Sign Up for the Digital Wellness Institute 10 Week Course Here

Getting Ready for 2021 - What You Need To Know 11/2020

Women Warriors in Business Series

In 2020, at the beginning of the pandemic, Women Warriors in Business (WWB) was born. WWB is an interdisciplinary team of industry marketing experts. Their collective expertise in market research, consumer insights, brand positioning, product development, and omni-channel marketing ensures brands respond quickly and successfully to today's evolving business opportunities.

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A Year in Review & Looking Ahead with WWB

Starting at the beginning of COVID-19, WWB presented a series of articles and online events about the impeding lifestyle implications from COVID-19 offering actionable opportunities for new product development, branding, and consumer engagement within the following trends and lifestyles:

Micro-Culturism

Mindfulness + Wellness

Digital Discovery + Connection

Mirroring

Below are the rollout of series of articles and videos presented on these trends with a futuristic look ahead as to how they will continue and transition in 2021:

What's Next in the New Normal?
Industry Article

8 Tips Brands Need to Know Now
Industry Article

6 Ways to Reinvent Marketing in the New Era
Industry Article

How to Reinvent Beauty & Wellness Brands for this New Marketing Environment
Video

The World After: A Beauty Renaissance
Video

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What's Next for WWB in 2021?

Contest Starting Soon!
 

In 2021, WWB will be holding a contest that includes a lucky winner! The prize? We can't tell you just yet, but it will give your business an energy boost by this expert panel for the New Year!

Enter the contest here!

November Events with BeautyEdge

The World After: A Beauty Renaissance

Women Warriors in Business (WWB) have teamed up again to bring you four key trends reshaping beauty,

Tuesday, November 17, 2020
1:00 PM Eastern Time
Duration 1 hour

Marketing beauty and wellness products has been reinvented into a beauty renaissance overnight. Join these four strategic thought leaders known collectively as Women Warriors in Business. This forward-thinking panel of experts will advise on winning strategies to connect with consumers in The World After: A Beauty Renaissance

Hear actionable opportunities within the trends of:
* digital connections
* micro-culturism
* mirroring
* mindfulness

REGISTER HERE!

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Let's Get Fresh!

BeautyEdge & Gattefossé set the scene for textures and formulas that release a fresh delivery of fruit waters, vitamins, minerals and more!

Thursday, November 19th
2:00 p.m. Eastern Time
Duration 30 minutes

Join us for this 30-minute virtual event on the importance of fresh sensorial textures and ingredients that give products the “feel good” benefits of healthy and protected skin. Lauren DelDotto from Gattefossé and Cherie Buziak from BeautyEdge will be speaking about the important technologies and trends we're seeing when it comes to aesthetics and the demand for products that exemplify concepts like comfort, protection, and immunity.

Click here to register Get Fresh! The first 30 registrants will receive a set of the prototype textures and technologies being discussed.

Register Here!

The New After - 10/2020

As we collectively progress through this phase of life, we’ll be seeing more and more brands in beauty and wellness connecting to the consumer through ritual. 
 
Consumers are looking for products that promote energy, calmness, relaxation, and inner-strength. Brands using products designed to promote physical wellbeing, positive feelings, and spiritual balance will come out on top. For product developers, the potential is limitless.
 
Here’s how you can harness the power of ingredients to create mindful, wellness-based products.

Click here to read: Beauty & Wellness in the New After

Read more about how important fragrance is in enhancing your mood and your day in the article below... and feel free to reach out to Birgit Benayoun at MANE or Cherie Buziak at BeautyEdge to launch your new fine fragrance.   

What Have We Done With Our Sense of Smell
The role of fragrance in beauty.

MANE's Studio M & BeautyEdge Collaborate
Fine fragrance development for Indie brands.

8 Tips Brands Need to Know Now 10/2020

2020 continues to be a turbulent and unsettling year with social and economic unrest as well as general global uncertainty. 

Women Warriors in Business (WWB)* shared their tips and thoughts with BeautyMatter on what brands need to know in this continually changing environment. 

Click Here to Read the 8 Tips

 **Women Warriors in Business (WWB) Women Warriors in Business is an interdisciplinary team of industry marketing experts. Their collective expertise in market research, consumer insights, brand positioning, product development, and omni-channel marketing ensures brands respond quickly and successfully to today's evolving business opportunities.  The WWB consists of - Cherie Buziak, Roben Allong, Janice Hart, Kathleen Carroll, Sheri Koetting, Joi Ruud     

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 New goals for 2021?

 How to Market Your Ingredients in a Way That COMPELS and SELLS

How to Market Ingredients in the New Now: The Fall Edition 10/2020

Creating new ideas and concepts around promotional materials for beauty products can be daunting, particularly in our current environment.

 The challenges?

• Creating a story different from competitive products

• Aligning with trends

• Telling an appealing ingredient story 

• Engaging the consumer  

• Translating high-end technology to an understandable consumer level

How do you craft an intriguing ingredient story that compels someone to purchase your product? 

The first step is to literally step outside and examine your surroundings. Be fully present. Take everything in, especially the smells. Observe, and most importantly, breathe.

It’s October ... The Fall Season … Apple picking is in full swing, bringing on the smell of sweet, cinnamon-infused ciders. Colorful pumpkins adorn manicured gardens.  Fragrant smoky notes from backyard fire pits fill the cool, crisp nights with a familiar and cozy aroma that welcomes a chillier season.  If you’re reading closely, there are at least 5 ingredient concept ideas in this last paragraph…did you notice them? 

Very often my clients tell me that when it comes to product development and conceptualization, they feel the need to reach and pull something out of nowhere in order to be competitive. I understand that urge, but the truth is, we’re all actually somewhere, and wherever you are and whatever season it is probably has all the answers and inspiration you need. So look no further than in your own backyard, patio, or neighborhood! 

Because of their cyclical and nostalgic nature, it’s always a safe bet to use Fall harvest-inspired ingredients that are familiar, comforting, and that promote wellness. You can count on Fall coming back again next year – seasonal materials will always be on trend.

To help you better understand how to be strategic when it comes to beauty formulas and their potential marketing stories, I reached out to a few raw materials experts keen on trends and healthy ingredients in the beauty industry.   

Janice Hart of Bell Flavors and Fragrances, which sources botanicals from all over the world provides a friendly reminder to keep things local, stating that, “As we are now in the Fall Season the following botanicals come to mind: Cranberry, Pomegranate, Yam and Pear. Mostly these extracts are known for their high anti-oxidant or moisturizing properties. Each of these extracts have been launched in unique skin and body care products. This season, you don’t have to source the globe for exotic materials in order to keep up with skincare trends. Instead, simply step outside and find fresh ideas in the familiar ingredients of your local harvest!” 

While focusing on the ingredients of the Fall season, also consider today’s lifestyle. Health and wellness are prominent lifestyles that have moved from trends to mainstream ways of living. Products that protect the skin from the aggressors of urban living, pollution, and the environment continue to be desirable performance attributes for the consumer. 

Need ideas for healthy Fall materials? Consider walnuts! Yes, Grenoble walnuts - green walnuts, sourced from the French Alps. The walnut tree is able to live up to 400 years, and is an example of a real challenge to aging. Over the centuries, it has protected the secret of its long life.  According to Lauren DelDotto, Marketing Manager at Gattefossé, “Gatuline® Age Defense 2 is an active extract of Grenoble walnuts that can be incorporated into products to give the skin an anti-aging boost.” 

And how could we possibly forget pumpkin this time of year? The powerful orange fruit is, above all, rich in nutrients and is one of the fruits with the highest anti-oxidizing carotene content, giving the pumpkin its fine orange color. 

Using fresh pumpkin cells – not extracts – can be a unique way to talk about this powerful active. “Fresh Cells™ are cellular suspensions of whole, fresh plant cells resulting from a mild and selective extraction process,” says DelDotto. “When Fresh Cells™ come in contact with the skin, they will degrade due to enzymes in the epidermis plus the physical application, and will sparingly pour out their precious content – protected, until that point, in a sort of natural microcapsule.”

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Now you have some new ways of thinking about which ingredients you can incorporate into your product.

But then how do you leverage those carefully selected ingredients in order to tell a compelling marketing story? After all, you could have the most cutting-edge, high-benefit ingredients available on planet Earth, but if you don’t market them correctly, it can affect your sales!

Before a product is available for sale, there’s a tremendous amount of work to process from start to finish.  

Consider this: concepts need to be envisioned, names generated, textures considered, technologies incorporated, formulas developed, claims discussed, and the consumer experience communicated.  And this is just the beginning.

So, once you’ve identified some of your newfound ingredients, start to create the concept of your product with these key questions and ideas in mind.

 5 key questions in beauty concept development. 

1. What makes the concept unique?

2. Does it fill a white space in the product collection?

3. Will it effectively compete with current products on the market?

4. Can the high-level technology be easily communicated at the consumer level?

5. What is the engaging experience the consumer can expect to have when interacting with the product?

Having a well-thought-out plan for concept development and answering these key questions will make the product stand apart from the competition and will contribute positively to the product’s success.  

If creating unique concepts for your products or brand is in your plan this coming year, contact me to schedule a consultation to talk through your goals. Email cherie@beautyedgeinc.com 

MANE’s Studio M & BeautyEdge Collaborate for Indie Brands 10/2020

Fine Fragrance Development

If you've been thinking about launching a new fragrance, now is the time. With the world looking for moments of calm within the chaos, and comforting their WFH and Home environment, BeautyEdge is collaborating with MANE’s Studio M specifically for start up brands. 

Read more about how important fragrance is in enhancing your mood and your day in the articles below... and feel free to reach out to Birgit Benayoun at MANE or Cherie Buziak at BeautyEdge to launch your new fine fragrance.   

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Further Reading on Fragrance

What Have We Done With Our Sense of Smell
The role of fragrance in beauty.

Further Reading on Product Development

The Beauty Experience Part 1 of 3 
The five senses and product development.

The Beauty Experience Part 2 of 3
Neurological connections between the brain and our skin.

The Beauty Experience Part 3 of 3
A deeper engagement with consumer's mindset for the new mindset.

What Have We Done with Our Sense of Smell? 9/2020

Clean beauty. Non-toxic ingredients. Fragrance-free. Natural. Organic. Free-from. These marketing terms and claims have become the standard for beauty and fragrance product development for the better part of the last seven years.  Let's take a closer look at the ways these claims have affected fragrance inclusion in personal care products and fragrance development in general, probing the question, “What have we done with our sense of smell?”

Read the full fragrance article here.

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Further Reading
The Beauty Experience by Cherie Buziak

This 3-part series explores the core elements and history of sensory branding, how neurological connections between the brain and our skin affect customer experience, and how the mindfulness movement creates space for innovation with the power to elevate beauty and cosmetics development.

The Beauty Experience Part 1 of 3 
The five senses and product development.

The Beauty Experience Part 2 of 3
Neurological connections between the brain and our skin.

The Beauty Experience Part 3 of 3
A deeper engagement with consumer's mindset for the new mindset.

6 Ways to Reinvent Marketing in a New Era 9/2020

6 Ways
to Reinvent Marketing
for the New Beauty Consumer

In a few years, we’ll look back at this time and say: that was the moment where everything changed – in our world, our lives, and our industry. The beauty brands – large and small  – who will survive and thrive in this new era are those who are agile and open enough to look at marketing and the consumer with fresh eyes.
 
BeautyEdge founder and CEO Cherie Buziak was featured in GCI Magazine, in a piece that explores six key ways beauty marketers and product developers can rethink and reinvent their strategies moving forward.

 Click here to read the full GCI article.

Now is the time to try out that new idea you have! - Cherie Buziak

How to Incorporate Mindfulness into Product Development: Part 3 In Mindfulness Series - GCI Magazine 9/2020

Mindful Beauty

Mindfulness coupled with wellness has exploded and beauty has come along for the ride. Now more than ever (especially given the pandemic), consumers are seeking out products that reduce stress and enhance their feeling of health and well-being.

These days, brands aren’t just designing their products to evoke that feeling of calm and tranquility. That’s the bare minimum. The future of beauty, mindfulness, and wellness products lies in the interaction between the physical and the digital product.

Click on the 2-minute video below to learn about mindfulness.

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Read more on Mindfulness in the The Beauty Experience series
by Cherie Buziak

This 3-part series explores the core elements and history of sensory branding, how neurological connections between the brain and our skin affect customer experience, and how the mindfulness movement creates space for innovation with the power to elevate beauty and cosmetics development.

The Beauty Experience Part 1 of 3 
The five senses and product development.

The Beauty Experience Part 2 of 3
Neurological connections between the brain and our skin.

The Beauty Experience Part 3 of 3
A deeper engagement with consumer's mindset for the new mindset.

Be still...take a breath...let's walk this out together! - Cherie Buziak

Beauty Responds To COVID-19: Podcast - 3/2020

In this time when we are called to pivot in terms of our daily lives, our relationships and our businesses, I want to share this timely podcast panel I was graciously invited to join called Beauty Responds To COVID-19  with Global Cosmetics News.

Recorded just two days ago, our discussions cover the response to COVID-19 from the perspective of panelists based in the US, the UK, and Malaysia. You’ll find interesting points of how these markets in three different continents are responding, and how we see opportunities and challenges in the near future.
 

Click here to listen to the podcast.

Hosted by Georgina Caldwell, Global Cosmetics News Editor, who was joined in this episode by the following guests:
  
Cherie Buziak – CEO/Founder BeautyEdge via the phone from New York
 
Joanne Bell – Brand Insight and Content Director at Free The Birds via the phone from London
 
and Nicole Fall – Head of Trends Asian Consumer Intelligence Pte Ltd via the phone from Malaysia.

Let’s stay connected…Reach out with any thoughts you’d like to share about yourself, your business, or send us topics you’d like to hear about. 

Tips on Launching a Brand 3/2020

Launching Your Own Brand?

2020 is underway and maybe you’re thinking: I want to launch my own beauty brand or product. If creating a new brand is in your future, let's consider a few crucial points and take a look at the competition. With the world more or less on pause, now is the perfect time to plan, strategize, and make sure that your brand is set up for success.

Below is a quick snippet video from CEW's Product Demo. CEW stands for Cosmetic Executive Women. 

For those of you who don’t know, CEW’s Product Demo is a night where 1,000+ of the year’s most innovative beauty brands showcase their new products in the hope of winning a coveted CEW award within their category. Yes! 1,000+ products. The products are voted on by 3,000 CEW members.

The video above captures only a few aisles of competing entrants. 1,000+ is a lot of brands to compete against. What will make your brand different? If you want to launch a new brand in this competitive landscape, keep these tips in mind.

Three Tips To Launching A Brand

1.  Business Plan.
Start out with a business plan supported by a marketing plan. Your plan is adjustable and you can change it along the way. Consider it almost like a living document. The plan must include your mission statement, your goals, the financial commitment needed for your brand for development and sell-through, your target market, pricing strategy, and competitors. It doesn’t take a long time to create a plan, but you need to know where you’re going and how much it will cost. And consider the extra help or expertise that you may need to hire on, even if temporarily, to get your brand launched.

THE TAKEAWAY: Create a business plan, or else you’ll be on a long, expensive road with no map leading the way.

2. Marketing Plan.

Alongside your business plan should be a comprehensive marketing plan. Sometimes marketing plans are included at the end of the business plan as an addendum. However you treat it, it’s best to have a marketing plan in place. Once you’ve thought about your products and created your business plan, how are you going to sell the product through? What PR support or other media will you use to promote your collection? How will you plan new product launches or introductions? This, like the business plan, can have room for adjustments along the way.

THE TAKEAWAY: A business plan without a comprehensive marketing plan is like owning a luxury car that never leaves the driveway.

3. Start Small. 

There is no need to rush into launching a 10 to 20 sku collection. Start with just a few key pieces to give you the opportunity to introduce the products and its special features to your clients. Launching a small number of pieces allows room to spare for new product launches in the future. Starting small will also make it easier for you to learn and grow from mistakes in a less costly way.

THE TAKEAWAY: In the beginning stages, less is more.

Bonus point: Hire an expert to help you. If you want to launch your product in a timely, cost-effective fashion, don’t hesitate to bring on the extra help you’ll need to bring your vision to life. An expert can help you with creating a business plan, marketing, product development, a go to market strategy, new technologies, and advise as a second eye for design, copy, and creative options.

If launching your own brand is in your plans for 2020 or if you’d like to learn more, contact Cherie@beautyedgeinc.com.

Product Development Tips 1/2020

Building Your Beauty Product Development Skillset

in-cosmetics 2019 N.A. is behind us, and we continue to relish the memories and learning moments from the conference!

Below is a fun, video highlight, from the Sensory Bar featuring science and beauty YouTuber, and new friend, Trina Espinoza.  (Trina hosts a YouTube channel called Ms. Beautyphile. Read more about her at the end of this article.)

Re-watching this video featuring formulas that sparkle, bounce-back, and transform, emphasizes the importance of innovative technology and how to create a sensorial experience that connects with the consumer.

Click the image to view the video.

The Importance of Beauty Product Aesthetics

Products are designed to delight, enhance, and beautify the body while creating an enjoyable product engagement experience for the consumer. Aside from product performance, product experience motivates the consumer to return and repurchase products time and again. 

Research backs this up. Facebook IQ hired Accenture to study the shopping habits and preferences of American adults that purchase beauty products. When asked how they research and evaluate beauty products, 61% of make-up and 55% of facial skincare shoppers reported relying on physical locations for in-person evaluations.  Although consumers are active with online purchasing, real time product and textural engagement is key. And in the digital age, we have yet to offer a real life textural and sensorial experience through a screen that goes beyond the visual.

The Art of Aesthetic Product Development

Evaluating beauty products tactilely is an art.  It’s a talent that is developed through years and years of working with hundreds of product textures, and from learning from cross functional team members.   
 

Cross Functional Teams:  

Chemists: Understanding how raw materials work within a formula requires developing products alongside seasoned chemists. Chemists offer education on how ingredients will affect the product’s aesthetics and performance. 

Consumer Science: Developing desired claims with consumer science teams brings an understanding about how aesthetic texture and product performance will translate into claims based on the appearance and sensorial engagement of the product. 

Raw Material Suppliers: Reviewing new raw material product launches and new textures with suppliers will keep you current to industry trends. 

Learning from these teams, tracking and evaluating hundreds of products, and understanding aesthetic product development language will create a visual aesthetic library in your mind.  
 

Develop the Aesthetic for The Final User

When developing a product from an aesthetic perspective, the final consumer is who the product developer has to keep in mind.  It doesn’t really matter much if you, the developer, personally “love” the aesthetic of the product you’re developing. Put yourself in the mindset of the final consumer and make decisions based on that perspective. 

For example, if the final user that you're developing a product for has very oily skin, and the product is developed with a thick, aesthetic texture, that leaves behind a rich, dewy after feel, that person is most likely going to be turned off by the product aesthetic. The formula will need to be adjusted if it doesn’t rub in to their liking, transition quickly, and dry down in accordance to their desired after-feel. 

The Love Language of Aesthetic Product Development

Aesthetic product development is also attained through very technical guidelines and language in the laboratories. When speaking with chemists, we use specific terminology to communicate about the texture and performance that needs to be achieved for the final consumer experience.  Dedicated chemists will go the extra mile and apply the product on their own skin to experience the product and determine if it is in alignment with the aesthetic requirements set forth from the marketing brief and product benchmark. 

Below is a short list of aesthetic terms. You may want to practice using these terms in order to enhance your aesthetic development skill set.  As a quick lesson for yourself, line up 15 different cream textures. Then label the aesthetic descriptors to each product using the below terminology.

Image copyright: BeautyEdge LLC

A Technical View of Aesthetic Qualities

Did you know that Gattefossé, a designer and provider of innovative technologies, has an expert sensory panel of evaluators?  Yes, it’s true! 

Their 15-person panel, established in 1996 and headquartered in France, continually touches, feels and evaluates finished skincare formulations. What an awesome job! If evaluating only 100 products per year, someone on the panel since the founding would have evaluated approximately 2,400 products to date!  Now that is how you build a mindful aesthetic library: by constantly sampling and experiencing hundreds and hundreds of products.   

The graph below is just 7 out of the 18 or so criteria that the Gattefossé expert panel evaluates against. 

Image Copyright: Gattefosse’

My friends at Gattefossé sometimes offer a half-day evaluation session at their Paramus, NJ location.  You can contact Lauren DelDotto to inquire about any upcoming evaluation dates for 2020.

It’s OK to be a Beginner

I recently had a moment of deep empathy for a young makeup artist. From a distance, I was watching her apply makeup on a customer in a department store. Both she and the customer appeared to be enjoying this time of makeup application. However, when 30 minutes of application turned into 45 minutes, a second makeup artist came in to apply makeup to the customer. Out of curiosity, I stepped over to where they were to see why the switch in artists.  

The young artist was beside herself and immediately blurted out, “I did a horrible job. I know my own facial structure and how to apply cosmetics, but I don’t always know how to apply cosmetics to other people’s facial structure.” She was obviously being overly critical of herself and her talents. To ease her stress, I put my hand on her shoulder, did an imaginary motion of brushing something off her shoulder and advised her to shake it off. 

All was not lost. The second artist was able to remedy the issue. This young artist was in the beginning stages of developing her make up artistry skills and was experiencing growing pains. Should that makeup artist step away from her skill set of artistry? No. Does she need to practice more on applying makeup on other people? Yes! Would it have been a better experience for her, and the customer had she asked for supervision and assistance from a senior artist before it became an emergency? Definitely. 

Seeing her experience was a reminder for me that we all continue to evolve with our talents. This applies to all careers and it’s the same with cosmetic/beauty product development. It’s not something that anyone can just jump into and expect to instantly succeed with no prior experience. To evaluate a product well without experience is impossible. Just as it’s impossible to become an Olympic gold medalist on your second day ever playing tennis.

If you’re looking for more information on product development, or need the guidance of a seasoned expert to help you with your process, contact me at cherie@beautyedgeinc.com.  We can work through your development needs together.

Until then, keep mastering your craft!

About Trina Espinoza: Trina shares the science behind beauty and personal care products that appeals to a consumer-based audience. Her accomplishments include being featured on Mashable as one of “six YouTube channels that make learning about science fun”.  She has been nominated for a Regional Emmy and has made guest appearances on the American Chemical Society’s Reactions series.

If you want to know more about Trina, you can find her on FB, YT, Instagram, and Twitter @msbeautyphile.