cosmoprof asia

cosmoprof
asia
our view on the world of
health, beauty and design
ISSUE 17
The East is no longer looking to the West.
Asia has truly come of age and the industry’s
confidence at CosmoProf Asia was palpable.
While China continues to be the world’s
beauty manufacturer, countries such as
Taiwan, Thailand and in particular South
Korea are rapidly catching up with the West’s
abilities to create brands. And they’re largely
doing so by drawing their inspiration from
their own cultures.
Just as Japanese companies Shiseido and
Kao Brands are doing, it’s only a matter of
time before we see a cluster of newer Asian
businesses challenging the dominance of
L’Oreal, Procter & Gamble and Unilever on
the global stage.
Enjoy our potted digest of those things we
found of most interest.
1 | INTRODUCTION
new & growing brands
From cutesy ‘Hello Kitty’ meets
‘BeneFit’ to contemporary takes on
traditional visual cues, there were many
brands that are carving out unique
positionings in their marketplaces.
Shara Shara from Korea. ‘Her flawless skin, rosy cheeks and
soft lips are so lovely that no man can resist her’. The brand
for women who are remembering their first love with a retail
experience styled as ‘the romantic lounge for ladies’. It might
not meet all our feminist tenets but despite that it does look
a fantastic brand, probably one of the most consistently and
creatively expressed at CosmoProf.
3 | NEW & GROWING BRANDS
I want I want. This Korean brand,
which has something of the feel of
This Works has charmingly inept
translations. Our favorites are ‘I
want to keep basic of the basic’
and ‘I want to manage and solve
with this’. We have a suspicion
that the brand could really catch
on in Western markets. Without
wanting to sound patronising the
naïve translations are really very
appealing and have an unknowing
credibility to them.
Makeover, but not made over
quite enough. Looks and sounds
a lot like Nars!
Artistic wisdom. By 2020 75% of the world’s
population will be living in an urban environment.
Bangkok brand Sranrom have developed a concept
of Urban Wellness that relieves tension, enhances
relaxation, overcomes lethargy, clears the mind
and helps you sleep tightly with a range of naturally
derived products. Beautiful collages of botanical
illustrations, paper cutouts and photographs of
ingredients embrace their packaging, POS and
website. A beautifully executed brand world.
5 | NEW & GROWING BRANDS
66°|30 is the angle of inclination
of the Earth and the origin of the
seasons. French beauty entrepreneur
Didier Arthaud has created this
handsome brand and has build it with
a great brand story. Organic products
for men who want to buy responsibly
but not at the expense of their style.
‘Created for today’s man, driven by
forces of strength and vulnerability,
confident in the future, yet aware
of the fragile equilibrium of his
environment and his skin’.
Lashing out. All the way to
Hong Kong to see London
brand Paperself’s range of
extraordinary paper eye lashes.
Many other examples from all
over Asia but Paperself’s were
amongst the most extravagant.
7 | NEW & GROWING BRANDS
Your lucky numbers. Asians have
a love of lucky numbers. German
fragrance house Chiara Ambra
have developed a coordinated range
of numbered fragrances which while
designed to work together in any
combination (you buy a selection
of 5 fragrances) allow you to renew
and refresh with subtly different
notes throughout the day.
ingredients from asia and further afield
The trend to find ever more exotic
ingredients continues apace. From
sheep’s placentas to brewer’s yeast
there were far more stories than we
can accommodate here.
Emu Oil! Down the ages Aborigines have used Emu oil for all
manner of skin, muscle and joint ailments. It makes sense to
us, the skin must come under the harshest of conditions in
the Australian Outback and evolution would presumably have
provided the catalyst for the Emu’s adaption to its environment.
Emu Tracks from South Australia have developed a range of
products from arthritic relief to sun protection.
9 | INGREDIENTS FROM ASIA AND FURTHER AFIELD
Functional jelly. All the fun of jelly,
but with the benefits of Collagen,
Placenta extract, Hyaluronic Acid
& Yakult to regenerate cells and
tissues and delay ageing from
Taiwanese business Nutrarex.
Placenta extracts. The biggest
ingredient story for both wellbeing
and beauty is undoubtedly placenta
extract, and many ingredients
companies and brands offer differing
versions. To us the most convincing
was D’AGE a Swiss brand that
combines sheep placenta extract and
embryonic stem cell therapy. The list
of claimed benefits are legion from
weight management to anti-ageing
and increased flexibility in joints and
decreased heart disease.
11 | INGREDIENTS FROM ASIA AND FURTHER AFIELD
The curing powers of sugar.
For long the bête noire of the
Western diet, sugars are being
paired with natural extracts and
minerals (including Folic Acid,
Ectoin, Wilbride & Rooibos) to create
both topical lotions, emulsions and
systemic nutritional jellies
for Japanese brand
Adjuvant. Benefits
include skin firmness,
softness and rehydration.
Your daily bread. Beta Glucan,
the active in brewer’s yeast, is the
key ingredient in Japanese brand
Bigumi’s Wakeup Serum that
claims anti-aging properties, lighter
skin tones, smoothing of wrinkles
and removal of spots.
Kangaroo anyone? Australian
brand Nature’s Care claim that the
marsupial’s meat (in the form of a
compressed powder tablet) is a rich
source of proteins and minerals and is
useful for various day to day metabolic
activities… presumably it puts the spring
back into your step.
13 | INGREDIENTS FROM ASIA AND FURTHER AFIELD
Probiotic Yoghurt Candy.
K LAC is a Korean brand that’s
been developed in association with
the Kyung Hee University. Among
an array of what seem to be very
credible products are a range of
probiotic yogurt sweets. Just now
beauty candy is big in London,
but this brand comes more from
a nutraceutical positioning, the
packaging looks great and they
tell a very compelling story.
packaging & tools of the trade
Among the many Chinese packaging
suppliers we didn’t see too much that
was genuinely new or that we hadn’t
seen elsewhere but what did catch our
eye were the beautiful Kabuki brushes
from all over Asia and some very lovely
packaging.
Going Green. Singapore based brand DrGL is an all-embracing
range of skincare products formulated especially with Asian
skin and climate in mind by the eponymous Dr Georgia Lee.
Beautifully designed no-frills structures and a single-minded
approach to colour-blocking invites you to explore the range
further. Looks simply stunning and certain to become a
cult favourite.
15 | PACKAGING & TOOLS OF THE TRADE
Airless double walled pump.
This airless double walled pump
from Eurocosmeticasia, a
Shanghai based manufacturer,
allows for decoration on both the
inner and outer walls creating a
sense of depth and movement to
the bottle’s graphics.
Elegant simplicity. Amongst the
most handsome of cosmeceutical
brands on display was Forderm.
Simple clean typography, clear
colour-coding and elegant glass
bottles and pots. The brand’s focus
is on efficacy with all products
tested by both bioscientists and
physicians. At present it’s only
available in Korea. Shame.
17 | PACKAGING & TOOLS OF THE TRADE
Plastic or Glass? Hong Kong group UA Packaging have
developed a technique that renders an ultra-high gloss plastic
finish that’s at first sight hard to distinguish from glass. We’ve seen
similar techniques before but none as convincing as this, the full
effect of which isn’t quite possible to capture in the photograph.
Gonna be sexy fit. Despite torturing the English language and grossly
over promising (the night cream claims to sculpt your body while also
ensuring a better night’s sleep) this skincare brand from Bangkok’s
Zense of Joy spa looks great.
19 | PACKAGING & TOOLS OF THE TRADE
Cutesy in candy colours
Graphic artist Mari Kim has created
packaging for the revamp of
Korean cosmetics brand Peripera’s
tint line. One of many brands we
saw at CosmoProf that seem to
do a BeneFit meets Hello Kitty.
Sugary and saccharine but it goes
down a storm in Asia, and not just
with the tweenies’ demographic
that we might imagine from our
Western sensibilities.
The art of the Kabuki brush.
An Asian speciality with producers
outdoing each other for ever more
exotic designs, all very beautiful
objects of desire.
Paw Paw, again from Australian
brand Nature’s Cure is unique in
that it is petrochemical free. The
balm acts as a natural barrier and
has uses from lip balm to nappy
rash. We’re certain this sea of pink
is very effective at standing out in
store.
21 | PACKAGING & TOOLS OF THE TRADE
Cremorlab. Without doubt the best
looking stand at CosmoProf, and
beautifully restrained packaging.
innovations
From the reinvention of traditional
medicines and therapies to technology
manufacturers looking for new
markets we’ve only included a small
selection of the innovations that are
driving the Asian market forwards.
Facemasks are massive. Impregnated masks are now an
enormous business in Asia and we lost count of the stands
selling their wares. One of the most innovative was Taiwanese
brand Timeless Truth who offer a vast range of mask
products offering anti-aging, moisturizing, skin whitening and
problem skin products. We’ve also seen a mask from Japanese
retailer Muji that allows you to create your own therapy using
compressed masks in combination with a wide
range of products.
23 | INNOVATIONS
Transferable technologies.
Possible because of the vagaries
of the mobile phone market
Silitech, who claim to be the
world’s largest producer of
mobile phone keypads, have
diversified into beauty products.
2 or 3 samples were being
unveiled at CosmoProf. The
version shown here uses LED
lighting bars more commonly
found in your mobile phone
alongside a compact’s mirror.
Reflexology in a patch. The
benefits of reflexology have
been known for generations. The
Patch-It series of products fuses
reflexology with traditional Chinese
medicines and Aromatherapy in an
easy to use format. Foot patches
(using the same transdermal
technology as smoking cessation
products) are used to help with a
variety of conditions from sleep loss
to circulation problems.
25 | INNOVATIONS
Electro-puncture from
Hong Kong. Locally
based Aculife claim a
medical breakthrough
in bringing modern
technology to an ancient
Chinese medicine. A small
electronic stylus (which
doesn’t actually puncture the
skin) is passed over areas of the
hand that respond by stimulating
a small electric shock.
Hot herb therapy pads.
Australian company Karma
Living have developed a range of
herb pads infused with essential
oils that are activated in the
microwave and are used to relax
tight muscles, reduce swelling,
improve blood circulation and
generally relieve stress. We tried
the shoulder pad, it was a very
welcome relief after a day spent
trudging around a trade show.
Light therapy & meso rolling. Beauty Republic’s
products include ‘meso rolling technology’ (skin
puncturing therapy) that with a single roll impales 600
needles into the skin and allows for the better absorption
of ingredients and a combination serum dispenser and
light emitter, with benefits including anti aging, dark
spot correcting and skin whitening.
27 | INNOVATIONS
We end our CosmoProf Open Eye
with hair loss and unintended
humour. One can only assume that
from the number of brands offering
hair loss treatments from the
believably scientific to the frankly
laughable the condition is as big an
issue in the East as it is in the West.
This private label manufacturer from
Guangzhou Province was clearing
overstating its product benefits in a
wonderfully 1950s retro manner for
sprinkled hair follicles in a tub.
contact details
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