Organised by HPCi Media and taking place at the city’s Catalonia Barcelona Plaza Hotel, the two day event welcomed a diverse span of topics from aerosols to wellness claims.
Sandra Ferretti (Obelis Group) began with an overview of updates on the gold standard EU Cosmetics Regulation, rounding things up with a focus on how the UK’s crashing out of Europe with no deal on 31 October would impact both European cosmetics companies operating in the UK and UK-based businesses selling into the EU.
Other regional or country focused talks on the summit’s first day included an update on China’s cosmetics regulation by James Wakefield (Delphic HSE), who outlined some key new concepts related to non-special use cosmetics, including an exemption to China’s strict animal testing requirements, and Sandra Schneider’s (Dougmar Consultants) comprehensive presentation on the US market, which zeroed in especially on California’s state regulations, including the Air Resource Board, Prop 65, Bill 1162 (for hotel toiletries’ bottles) and 1-4 dioxane limits, to name but a few.
ASEAN cosmetics industry requirements were covered by Alexandra Egan (Oriflame), who explained that while the ten countries in the ASEAN region were theoretically harmonised under the ASEAN Cosmetic Directive, there was nevertheless still divergence between the countries.
She recommended building good relationships with the respective local authorities to make life easier.
Dorota Keczmerska (Volcke Aerosol Connection) discussed the aerosols category and the regulations governing this well-loved product format, adopting a hypothetical product – volumizing dry shampoo for dark hair – to highlight the examples of the regulatory red flags one would have to watch out for.
Olivia santoni, founder of Bloom Regulatory
The proof of efficacy of a new anti-blue light active from Lonza, ScreenLight Block, was the topic of the discussion delivered by Dr Jordan Pekov (Lonza), while an in vitro vegan testing method for accurately testing and ranking the mildness of cosmetic ingredients, ingredient blends and finished products was demonstrated by XCellR8’s Dr Carol Treasure.
Key trends included in the Cosmetics Business Regulatory Summit 2019’s first day included Cannabis & Cosmetics by Olivia Santoni (Bloom Regulatory) who tried to untangle the legal issues complicating the use of hemp and CBD in beauty products at the moment and customisable beauty.
Here Helen Bannayan (Emulsion Cosmetics) explained how her brand uses a ‘mix in your hand’ approach to product personalisation, and how she approaches this in as safe a way as possible.
The final presentation of the day was a barnstorming keynote from Anni Hood (Well Intelligence), who spoke on the ways in which issues such as mood lifting products, epigenetic products and touch technology to name but a few were impacting the beauty world.
She also advocated for conscious and ethical capitalism in the cosmetics industry as a route to better mental and physical health among employees and ultimately a better perception among consumers.
Topics on day two of the summit will include J-beauty, palm oil and fragrance, as well as a panel debate on navigating lifestyle and wellness trends.
