Talking to a variety of attendees, the general consensus was that the show had proved to be a good platform for negotiations. However, a criticism voiced by a number of individuals was that, despite the show growing in size, it did not offer anything particularly new.
The Zoom stands, featuring what was billed as some of the industry's most innovative and distinctive new products, failed to whet the appetites of a number of people interviewed at the show. The general observation was that few of the products being showcased were particularly new or ground-breaking.
On the other hand the Beyond Beauty Lab did seem to turn heads. Some eye-catching displays and presentations helped to highlight both a number of current industry issues, together with the technologies that are helping to make some of the new products a reality.
In the Beyond Beauty Lab, Saint-Gobain showcased glazed and oxygenated effects for three cosmetics bottles, while Quest International had three fragrances based around tears, saliva and perspiration, known as (My) Liquid. These fragrances are said to have been fine-tuned according to human emotions, aiming to evoke what the manufacturer refers to as intimate perfumes.
The show also revolved around both packaging and ingredients manufacturers - the biggest parts of the industry. But interestingly it also marked a new departure and one that could blur the lines between these categories - the move towards companies specialising in providing turnkey services for the major cosmetics companies.
One prime example of this is the UK-based firm Cosi. Speaking to the company's head of communications, Tracey Elms, CosmeticsDesign-Europe.com learnt of how the company has evolved off the back of the increasing demand to outsource all aspects of cosmetics production.
"Two years ago P&G said that they would never be interested in outsourcing the production of its cosmetics products, now they are rapidly evolving as one of your major customers as their decision makers realise the benefits our services can bring," said Elms.
"On the back of this kind of success Cosi has now evolved into a business that can provide a complete service for the development of products; from the sourcing of ingredients, through to testing and even branding. Looking at the evolution of the market place in recent years, this appears to be the future of the industry."