From superfood pigments to mono-material packaging with a luxury feel amongst the trends at Cosmoprof Asia

Boasting 120,000 sqm and a total number of exhibitors at 2,562 exhibitors from 47 countries and regions, including 89% coming from outside Hong Kong, 84% coming from Asia Pacific, and 16% coming from the rest of the World. The Supply-side area with Cosmopack welcomed 912 exhibitors from 20 countries and regions, while Cosmoprof hosted brands and country pavilions with 1,650 exhibitors from 46 countries and territories.

2025 with a new area: Ingredients

The organisers announced a new area for the show, the Ingredients section, to be released in 2025. In partnership with IFSCC Asia, which will provide a host of conferences and educational content on ingredients and formulation, the international beauty show hopes to welcome around 150 exhibitions, which will be added to the Cosmopack area at the Asia World-Expo exhibition centre, and will be called Beauty Ingredient and Formulation Asia (BIFA).

Sustainable beauty focus

This year, the focus of the event was on sustainability, with a lot of talks around “greenwashing prevention” and “sustainable retail trends” as well as “no-trace beauty” or even “ Green Ingredients” and other initiatives to support the concept, with a Be-Sustainable e-book, showcasing the most sustainable innovations at the Asian event, like Beauty Yaurient detachable and recyclable brushes without glue, as well as O’right eco-friendly formulas.

The Cosmopack and Cosmoprof Beauty Awards - Sustainability

The winner for packaging was Korean packaging and full-service provider CTKclip, with yet another innovative design and its “Eco Slide Jar”. Composed of a 100% PET resin material, the Eco-Slide Cream Jar reduces plastic use by 40% to 50% compared to the brand’s existing products. The word “slide” in the product name refers to how the inner pot containing the cream slides into a larger box structure, making refilling easy and intuitive for the end consumer. The packaging can be customised according to individual brands’ needs, with elements such as an optional applicator within the lid and various set configurations. The outer container, meanwhile, can be customised with materials such as wood.

The sustainability winner was Chinese formula maker Tair Jiuh Enterprise, with “Double Sphere Multi-Use Plant-Based Color Makeup Stick”. The stick is composed of two “spheres” of solid make-up – which could be customised to be lipstick, eye, or cheek colour – to provide an ergonomic application; this formula includes pigments created from the juices of five superfoods: beetroot, radish, purple yam, spirulina, and turmeric. The manufacturer has created 150 shades from these ingredients, which all match the vibrance of synthetic colours. The combination of superfood juices, plant waxes and oils, and natural antioxidants provides anti-ageing and antibacterial benefits in the stick. The formula is odourless and free of irritants. It is also lightweight, lasting, and transfer-proof, with the colour remaining stable after a 12-hour sun and 45-degree heat test. The formula is 100% COSMOS-certified ingredients, is free of synthetic preservatives, parabens, and petroleum-based ingredients; and is made with RSPO-certified sustainable palm oil. The stick is presented in eco-friendly, mono-material, recyclable PET packaging. Additionally, its formula is produced using a low-temperature moulding process, which reduces carbon footprint and shortens production time by 25%.

On the brand side, the winner of Green & Beauty was the Spanish brand Arganour with “Porcelain” an anti-pigmentation serum that acts on acne marks, sun spots, hormonal spots, melasma, and age spots, employing an entirely natural origin formula. Using depigmenting biotechnology, the formula corrects and prevents hyperpigmentation and hypopigmentation and evens out uneven skin tone after 56 days of use. Among its ingredients are Aloe barbadensis leaf juice, Monarda didyma callus extract, plankton extract, lecithin, and Magnolia officinalis bark extract. In tests, 86% of subjects noticed a reduction in the size and intensity of blemishes, while 91% observed improvements in skin tone and texture, and 82% saw a de-pigmenting action. The product is certified as Ecocert COSMOS Organic, CAAE Vegan, and CAAE Cruelty Free.

Mono-material packaging with a luxury feel

Meiyume released its elevated version of its stock range with a slim refill in a porcelain-like decoration to bring an added feel. "sensorial sustainability"where brands need to re-create connection with packaging through matter.

The refillable Slim lipstick is plastic-free, with a supported aluminium mechanism, cap, and base. It is patent pending and features Meiyume's smart clip-closing system.

The Gaia aluminium lipstick has a patented aluminium swivel mechanism and a premium case featuring Meiyume's smart clip-closing system. It is available with an aluminium cup or a standard POK cup. Plastic constitutes less than 3% of the assembly's weight.

The Gaia lipstick also comes in a full aluminium version called "Gaia Elemental." The design is patented, plastic-free, and refillable with an aluminium swivel mechanism, cap, and base. It features Meiyume's smart clip-closing system.

Avoiding Greenwashing

In our conference at the event with Cosmed and SGS, we shared information about the anticipation of cosmetics regulations, especially in Europe, regarding Green claims as well as critical claims to avoid to prevent greenwashing like:

As they appear too generic and claims need to be more specific to explain the sustainability attributes of a beauty product. 

If you’d like to receive our white-paper on “avoiding greenwashing” please get in touch here: https://re-sources.co/contact/