There is nothing like a recession to push consumers away from prestige cosmetics towards cheaper alternatives as a means of stretching the household budget.
Hindustan Unilever, the manufacturer of Pears Traditional Soap, has clarified reports in the national press that it is abandoning the new product formulation introduced last year following a facebook campaign by users to reinstate the traditional recipe.
As part of the ongoing fight against the sale of counterfeit products online, the French government has introduced a charter containing a number of principles to be signed by manufacturers and e-commerce platforms alike.
The UK-based Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has renewed its efforts over advertising claims that are backed up by enhanced images, having targeted two major cosmetic players recently.
Companies will find it harder to make natural and organic claims unless they have the supporting data, due to changes to France’s advertising recommendations.
Johnson & Johnson is the latest consumer goods company to come under fire from the UK's Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) for misleading advertising of their personal care products.
Direct-selling company Nu Skin has launched its Future Serum in the Japanese market, the first ageLOC product to be made available in Japan, as part of a global product roll-out.
Sweet scents reminiscent of baking cakes, desserts and favourite confectionary are tipped as one of the big fragrance trends for next year, as well as using woody notes for female perfumes.
The organisers of the first ever MakeUp Paris event, to be held in Paris next June, say they have already sold 80 per cent of the stand allocations for the event.
Unilever personal care brand, Dove, has announced the UK launch of a new body wash range that promises to reduce the level of daily skin damage caused by showering.
Shiseido has announced it will take over the operation of its current sales distributor in Switzerland in order to strengthen its businesses in the Swiss market.
Products from Israeli company Dead Sea Cosmetics have been destroyed by Palestinian custom officials as part of a campaign against goods manufactured in Israeli settlements.
‘Power’ beauty shoppers, those that spend big at the beauty counter, are worth targeting even in a recession, according to a recent market research report.
Although more that 75 per cent of US women wear lipstick or lip gloss, lip colour formulations often fail to live up to expectations, according to market research company Mintel.
An increasing number of skin care lines are targeting the problem of glycation as a means of generating healthier-looking skin with fewer signs of ageing.
A magazine advert for Procter and Gamble’s Olay brand featuring digitally retouched images of Twiggy has been criticised by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA).
Although the concept of fairtrade products is still relatively new to the beauty industry, a trickle of new product launches has turned into a steady stream, evinced by these launch highlights in 2009.
Many cosmetics and personal care products on the German market wrongfully claim to be natural or organic, according to a study carried out by the regional Consumer Association in Hamburg, Germany.
Despite increased media coverage and new product launches, organic food and beauty products have still not gained mainstream acceptance amongst US consumers, according to market research firm Tabs Group.
Unilever has halted all purchases of palm oil from Indonesian company PT SMART after a Greenpeace report alleged that its parent group Sinar Mas is engaged in widespread illegal deforestation and peatland clearance in Indonesia.
Gaba International, which is owned by global oral care giant Colgate-Palmolive, has been fined by Swiss authorities for contravening competition regulations.
Several recent product launches have seen companies tapping into the Mood-Beauty trend that Mintel tipped as one of the four key beauty trends for 2010.
Although almost one in three French women use an organic skincare product, confusion still persists about what the term ‘organic’ really means, according to a recent study by Cegma Topo.
French law courts have decided that the Christian Lacroix fashion house will close its haute couture business, while its fragrances and accessories will be licensed out.
A Peruvian police investigator has been dismissed over allegations that an organised gang had murdered local people to harvest their fat for cosmetics.
Provider of private-label product management solutions, Trace One, has acquired UK-based Eqos, positioning itself as the European leader in its market.
The Natural Beauty Summit Europe event, held in Paris last week, underlined how the natural and organic category has now clearly left behind its niche status.
As the global economy emerges from recession, consumers are embracing more modest consumption patterns, something cosmetics players cannot ignore as 2010 looms.
Continuing consumer demand for ‘natural’ products is prompting UK-based personal care companies to expand by adding to their product ranges or extending their distribution reach.
Food companies are showing far more interest in nutricosmetics and nutraceuticals than pharmaceutical and cosmetics companies, according to Bernstein Research.
Last week’s Sustainable Cosmetics Summit had a clear message that resounded throughout the proceedings: ‘get certified if you want to ensure future growth’.
A rise in the status of private label brands, ‘fitter’ products with fewer ingredients, and colour coding for convenience are set to be important product trends for 2010.
Police in Peru say they have arrested a number of people on suspicion of murdering people in order to sell on their fat, allegedly to European cosmetic makers.
Israel-based Syneron, a manufacturer of medical aesthetic devices, has entered the skin whitening market with the launch of its topical skin whitening products in Asia.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) hopes to extend the reach of its consumer health information through a collaboration with health information website, Everyday Health.