What about a blemish that refuses to hide behind a concealer? When you arrive in New York after a red-eye flight from the west coast, do you want to hide inside a paper bag as you exit the airline terminal?

If these “horrors” take up even a tiny space in your brain, there is an event that must be on your To Do list – MakeUp New York. Yes, it is a trade event, but it is more than folks trying to sell their products, it is the umbrella venue for professionals who are innovative and talented cosmetic, skincare and makeup suppliers along with brands who are the very foundation of the American and global beauty industry and their only interest is getting us to look better. The entire existence of these enterprises is to produce products aimed at helping us to improve and maybe (from a psychological perspective) feel better.

Live in New York

At the New York 2022 event, over 3,453 participants from 36 countries (i.e., USA, Canada, Korea, Italy, France, Mexico) got together for two days trying to figure out how the rest of us can look forever young (or at least not old).

Although cosmetic and skincare aisles in retail stores lead us to believe that there are limited makeup and skincare options, there are, in fact, over 124 skincare and makeup suppliers and they presented beauty products at the New York show. Among the skincare and makeup producers, 50 percent were legacy brands, 45 percent Indie brands and 5 percent digitally native vertical brands (DNVB) that started online, selling and shipping their own product(s). It is more than e-commerce, it is actually v-commerce, with self-managing end-to-end distribution. Participants included experts and decision makers in R&D, design creation, laboratory research, marketing, product development and packaging.

Innovation

Twenty-two new skincare and makeup products appeared in areas that included accessories, formulation, and packaging. A show award winner was R&D color Royal Balm, a lip balm in a stick pen made of bio-based materials with a sensory formula that glides on the lips while providing a pulpy effect. The balm is transparent but finishes with a texture that shows up pink on the lips and the shade varies based on skin’s pH.

Of special interest was a mono airless packaging system that passed the leakage test; it distinguishes itself by being perfect for creamy cosmetic formulas. Another new product was Coup de Coeur, an emulsion transformed into a lipstick which retains all the benefits of a cream or serum and yet provides a lasting fresh sensation. The formula is based on organic cherry extract, glycerin and phytosterols.

As a Glocal Business Facilitator (of or relating to the tailoring of globally available products/services to local markets; a sales strategy), MakeUp in NewYork orchestrates a professional and hospitable event connecting the most innovative and talented cosmetic suppliers with the most successful skincare and make-up brands, in the center of America’s beauty industry’s hub: New York.

Live Long. Look Fabulous

We are living longer (and in some cases, better).

By the year 2050, research suggests that people aged 80 and older will reach 426 million (World Health Organization). This is the perfect time to re-frame our perception of aging.

The global anti-aging market is set to be worth more than $422.8 billion by 2030 (P&S Intelligence). The world population is living longer and growing older and therefore the consequences of aging have moved to the top of the health/wellness priority list. The United Nations selected the years 2021-2030 as the “Decade of Healthy Aging.” The focus of the project is to encourage healthy aging and take steps to improve the lives of older individuals, their families, and communities by changing how we think, feel, and act towards age and the ageing process.

Historically, the idea of ageing has been regarded entirely in a purely biological and medical framework. Today, there is a new and enlightened viewpoint that is holistic and blurs the boundaries between beauty, health and well-being and is clearly relevant to everyone, regardless of society, culture, religion or age. To reach this objective, lifestyle, diets, self-care and at-home services/devices are now viewed as a fundamental aspect of a healthy aging/living lifestyle.

The idea of healthy aging is expanding within the beauty industry and the premise of “aging” is morphing into an anti-aging marketing campaign. This “enlightenment” is changing the way brands research and develop new products and the way in which media spreads the message. Instead of focusing on eliminating all signs of getting older, the new vision is based on being comfortable with “age” and looking as good as possible while dealing with the realities of the aging process.

The new marketing mindset recognizes that consumers of all ages do not want to view a negative image of aging but rather want this natural and inevitable process to be represented in a positive light, supporting the new model of empowered beauty at every age.

Older/mature consumers are embracing aging and looking for products that ensure their optimal health/wellness and good looks that will carry them, successfully, along the aging path. Even millennials who are approaching middle age are showing evidence of a healthy attitude towards aging and selecting products which prevent signs of premature aging via overall skin health solutions rather than directly attacking wrinkles – doing whatever it takes to make them disappear (unsuccessfully) as the skin “flaws” will return – eventually.

Beauty brands have started to deliver products that include skin and hair care products with a focus on prevention from stress induced by aging and the environment, resulting in fine lines and wrinkles, sagging skin, and thinning hair. With science backed ingredients and desirable benefits, the emphasis is on the enhancement of overall skin quality and appearance in tandem with enhanced well-being.

Life is Getting Longer

The Spanish newspaper (El Pais) reported that immunologist Corina Amor, determined that, “Increasing the duration of human life to 130 years is reasonable.” In her doctoral thesis she proposed an experimental therapy to eliminate the cells responsible for aging and cancer which could be deleted in youth. The “senescent cells” exist in early days but as life continues, the immune system cannot cope and they accumulate. American biologist Scott Lowe devised a strategy to extract white blood cells (T lymphocytes) from a patient and re-engineer them in the laboratory to destroy the senescent cells. He was able to accomplish this in mice and it is likely that his research will find its way into skin care products in the next few years.

“Makeup is the finishing touch, the final accessory.” – Marc Jacobs