open eye our view on the world of health, beauty and

open eye
our view on the world of health, beauty and design
COSMOPROF 2012 | VOL 13
cosmoprof
Dew Gibbons’ Open Eye takes us out and about to see
what’s new and exciting in the world of health, beauty
and design. We just had to be at the world’s biggest
collection of beauty brands under one roof: Cosmoprof
in Bologna, Italy. We scouted and scoured the stands
until our feet were aching and our iPhones were
overheating, all in the name of bringing you our view
of the good, the beautiful, the innovative, the trending
and the ugly in the global beauty market.
Open Eye is privately circulated to selected friends and clients.
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the new crew
Here are some brands that had a compelling offer and we think have a decent chance
of breaking through.
Rich is a great name for a luxury haircare brand and this stood out
for looking credible as well as compelling. From the black on gold
packaging to the product ingredients, this brand is a classy act.
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Bibo – no, not
moribund social
networking site [sic]
but the Italian skincare
brand, marketing
vials of precious
natural ingredients,
including collogen
and elastin. Not an
innovation particulary
but a reflection of a
growing renaissance
of dispensing beauty
in vials and capsules
for instant access to
targeted skincare.
Inexplicable Chinese
font though.
the new crew
The rise and rise of natural beauty care was reflected by a whole
hall dedicated to the subject. One that stood out for us was Rare
Blossom, a family-run Turkish brand producing natural skin, hair
and babycare products in beautifully simple packaging that make
the ingredients the hero they are.
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So confident is
Greek skincare
export Juliette
Armand in her range
she declared: your
appointment with
plastic surgery is
postponed.” Given the
impressive scale and
visual appeal of her
products, we are not
about to argue.
the new crew
Perhaps economic disaster is inspiring creativity – again, from Greece, beautiful packaging for
a natural ingredient-led range called BodyFarm. They may have got their inspiration from fellow
countrymen’s skincare products Korres but it still looks fresh and new.
The increasing trend
for a ‘curated’ life,
with all sorts of
websites and apps
making decisions
for us is reflected in
this software from
Perfume Bar which
asks you a series
of questions about
yourself and then tells
you which perfume
you should wear. You
just have to like the
smell of it then!
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the new crew
Framesi have
created an identity
that more than
satisfies the
high demands of
professional hair care
brand communication.
Using colour as the
core navigation tool,
the pantone-like
look works from the
core salon range to
the special edition
Argan oil product. Its
bespoke hair washing
chairs featuring
relaxing coloured
lights complete the
salon experience.
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round of applause
Here we feature brands that for various reasons deserved an encore.
Nails are still hot right
now, but they can feel
like the downmarket
side of beauty. Italian
company Estrosa
make them look
beautiful with the
colour popping out of
a neutrally made up
and dressed model.
For those brands
looking to reflect their
scientific credentials,
ME Skin Lab, brand
Cosmetics 27 was
top drawer. Beautiful,
clean design that
really feels like it’s
going to work.
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Leading brand of
enhanced water,
Vitamin Water,
owned by the CocaCola Company,
has used its trendy
teenager credentials
to successfully extend
its brand to lip gloss.
round of applause
We’ve seen Davines, this family-run Italian professional
ethical haircare brand before but we fell in love with it all over
again. It’s the perfect balance between expertise, modernity
and beauty – ramping up the emotion through exquisite
illustration for consumer-led products and a more
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stripped-back approach for the salon colour range. The
brand identity takes its inspiration from the luminescence of
butterflies and insects and this beautiful and subtle approach
really works. The catalogue was a thing of joy too.
beauty pharm
In a week where French actress Emmanuelle Béart launches a campaign against cosmetic
procedures following a series of botched jobs, cosmeceuticals are answering a growing need
for super-effective beauty that avoids the knife. The growing trend for bringing professional
treatments into the home was also apparent. Here are the highlights.
Much like This Works in the UK - from
Australian company, Aspire Brands, comes a
no-nonsense, skin care brand Formula 10.0.6
that highlights the key ingredients and uses
typography-led packaging. Its tone of voice
keeps it friendly.
Mesoestetic USA – everything about the brand
says efficacy, including its claim as the ‘number
1 whitening treatment worldwide.’ Its Power
Patches showcase great product naming and
packaging that gets straight to the point.
American brand Dermaheal were one of a few companies promoting
peptides as THE regeneration ingredient; the science may blind you but
it gives you faith that the products just might work.
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beauty pharm
There were a few brands using the caché of a global city to market
themselves. One of the more successful was Italian-born hair care brand
NYCE (New York Cosmetic Experience), creating desirable simple
packaging reflecting a scientific approach to hair care.
We noticed a trend from the Asian stands for high quality fabric masks
that claim to make DIY facials ‘fun, easy and carefree’. Many of the
cosmeceutical brands were offering a similar product.
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Every year there are key emerging ingredients.
This year it was retinol, along with peptides.
And Argan oil has come of age.
home grooming gets serious
The days when a quick shave of the legs and a lick of nail varnish were all that was required to feel
remotely groomed are well and truly over. Professional treatments are making it into the home.
From Asia, skin and hair diagnosis at home, so you can actually test
whether your products are working. The design is also impressive - you
could mistake them for your mobile phone.
We saw loads of
products for hard skin
removal for the feet –
without the scrubbing.
From both peels to
electronic devices (the
faint-hearted should
look away now).
Where do you draw the line? Again, from Asia
a direct dermal injector that injects active
ingredients below the epidermus of the skin
in one action.
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home grooming gets serious
Following the success of the Clarisonic skin cleanser
there are now lots of options for home laser treatment,
including Philips ReAura laser skin treatment (RRP£799)
- now available in selected retail storesin Europe.
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nails
So, which brands are nailing it?
Innovations that have
already hit the high
street for nails - OPI
for shatter-effect nails
to rival Nails Inc
magnetic effect.
OPI were promoting
its gelcolor product
which offers a 3 week
manicure by applying
a gel over the colour
that is dried with a UV
lamp.
Decals for nails are also hot right now and there
were a plethora of options from the extremely
tacky to ones you might actually consider. And
while you’re at it why not decal your lips – prints
available from www.glamstripes.com – no
kissing recommended though.
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These nails are Flo Jo
on steroids. Only for
those whose husbands
will do the washing up.
There was a trend for
highly theatrical makeup, there were loads of
brands demonstrating
how to rival any drag
queen in Madame
JoJo’s on a Saturday
night.
hair! flow it, show it!
Some crowning glories from the haircare stands.
Italian brand Vitality’s
were promoting their
systematic approach
to hair care by
asking ‘What’s your
code? ’ which we
thought was a clever
way of engaging
the consumer in
the diagnosis and
treatment of their
specific hair type.
Innovation from
Asia for home dye.
‘Bubble’ colour
that enables an
even colour and
can dispense two
colours evenly.
This product, from Renée Blanche – with
heavy type and a never-before-seen editorial
style image. Inadvertantly achieves a retro
Kiehls – esque feel.
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hair! flow it, show it!
Amika are all about bringing professional hair tools to the home but we feel they have lost
some credibility with their garish, ethnic pattern. It is on the border of being appealing but its
overuse of pattern and type means there’s no hero in the communication and both messages
are overwhelmed. A more restrained use of branding would have a more impactful look.
Featuring the previously unheard of Russian herbal ingredient – Obliphica Oil.
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nice package
A selection of innovations from the beauty packaging world.
We loved the
Japanese-inspired
structure of these
bottles and the shape
of their nozzles.
A lot up top – the last
bastion of decoration
printing has been
breached! Decoration
can be achieved
up to the actuator
(dispenser) on a
variety of products.
Looks great and can
also be enhanced with
some bling crystal
decoration. Also
available, chromeeffect actuators.
Powder spillage. A big problem for a girl. This packaging introduces more
layers to minimise the chances of it getting out.
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nice package
Also from M&H (www.
mhplastics.com) a very
raised tactile surface
on packaging can
now be achieved. And
it looks great on the
latest Toni and Guy
professional salon
product. We think it
would also work well
on baby products.
From M&H a bespoke press and slide dispenser
for Molton Brown.
We loved these travel atomisers for taking your
favourite perfume brand on holiday. A marked
improvement on what is already available – one
step and you’re ready to go! (Well, you still have
to pack your suitcase.)
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Cosmetic packaging – cute options for mascara
– a built in mirror and eyelash de-clogger.
New perfume from Australian brand Kimmidoll.
One word. Cute.
nice package
This very intricate laser cut decoration is
100% wearable and can serve as a grip.
Looks gorgeous and very functional.
If your product has a signature scent, what better
way to introduce more consumers to the brand
than with a scratch and sniff scented tube?
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bambinos
All parents want to give their kids the best of the bestest. The future of the planet and baby’s
precious skin is a lot of responsibility to take on. Here’s some brands we noticed.
From DHU, a new global paediatric brand, Mama Natura, offering
natural solutions to common ailments. Naming, design and brand
expression by Dew Gibbons. (That’s us)
Little Green. We loved how they had fun with
their merchandising with the white picket fence
and bright colours that appeal to both children
and adults.
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bambinos
Gemma – cute illustration style on Italian
natural skin care brand.
Bio Vera – soft, pure and loving is what these
packs are saying to us – what more would you
want a baby brand to say? Come in pale blue
and pink.
Eco Kid. Clear packaging and navigation for
different ranges and nice contrast of colour
and black and white photography. Times have
changed since lice prevention was a disgusting
smelling shampoo and a hard scrape from a
narrow-toothed comb. This ‘Lice Bomb’ pack will
get rid of the little critters from your darling’s hair
in an eco-friendly way.
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outtakes
Beauty brings out the best and the worst in people. You’ve seen the best now entertain yourself
with some shockers.
Snails don’t go anywhere fast. They also don’t look particularly appealing
on beauty communications.
For the chess geek that needs incentivised to
groom? Not sure this will convince him.
Candle massage. Simple idea, scary thought.
Estheti Ring – bad name but the system of two
masseuses simultaneously massaging actually
looked unbelievably relaxing.
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Another attempt to attract the male groomer with
some gaudy barbershop-inspired accessories.
And to finish, we don’t
think you are going to
win any beauty fans
with this brand name!
contact details
We hope you have enjoyed this edition of Open Eye.
If you require further information on any of the innovations featured
please contact us at [email protected]
For regular Open Eye updates, follow us on Twitter @dewgibbons
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See our blog here: www.dewgibbons.com/blog
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