Emulium Illustro: Naturalness Without Compromising Performance

Over the past decade, the skin care products market has made considerable progress towards natural ingredients. Today, natural-origin skin care is expected to appeal to the senses, feel pleasant and even perform better than its synthetic-origin counterparts. Color cosmetics and sun care products present an entirely different challenge. These cosmetic product formulations are difficult to formulate and stabilize, and are highly dependent on silicones and synthetic polymers, making them rarely natural. Despite growing consumer interest in silicone-free natural cosmetics, silicone-based formulations remain the undisputed leaders in makeup products and sun care applications. Creating high-performance color cosmetic products without synthetic raw materials is quite difficult. Most color cosmetics and sun care products are silicone-based formulations that demonstrate good performance and stability, allowing pigments to be applied smoothly, evenly and easily to the skin. As a result, long-lasting and water-resistant products are obtained. Natural products are more commonly formulated as oil-in-water systems, similar to those used in skin care. The disadvantage of these formulas is that in addition to being difficult to stabilize, they tend to clump due to high pigment levels, giving a dry and uncomfortable feel. Oil-based formula structures with oil or silicone in the external phase appear to deliver superior results in formulations requiring high coverage. However, reverse emulsifiers without silicone or PEG are still quite rare on the market. The few existing examples are not designed for pigment delivery systems and are difficult to stabilize. Improved naturality and sensory properties require the addition of synthetic stabilizers and/or a co-emulsifier. Due to the strong need for high-performance and natural W/O emulsifiers to produce long-lasting and water-resistant low-viscosity formulations, Gattefossé has leveraged its strong expertise in lipid chemistry to develop Emulium® Illustro, an innovative natural-origin W/O emulsifier. Using patented technology based on polyglycerol esters, Emulium® Illustro perfectly meets consumer expectations in terms of naturality and the performance and flexibility requirements of formulators.

A True Expert

Emulium® Illustro demonstrates superior performance and stability compared to other W/O emulsifiers on the market. Compatibility with cosmetic raw materials—emollients, film formers, polymers, pearlescent agents, powders, stabilizers—is excellent. Flexible, easy to use and compatible with cold processing; it enables product development across a broad range from ultra-fluid to thick textures without requiring the use of additional emulsifiers. In addition to being an excellent solution for formulations containing high pigment and sunscreen filters, Emulium® Illustro can also be used to achieve innovative structures in skin care products.

A Unique Feel

The unique sensory profile of Emulium® Illustro stands out for imparting a light and soft final feel to foundations and mineral sunscreens, almost like a skin care touch (Figure 1). The skin appears naturally luminous, not shiny, looking moist while feeling non-greasy to the user.

Figure 1: Sensory analysis of 3 cosmetic formulations containing Emulium® Illustro.

The composition of Emulium® Illustro plays an important role in this sensory effect. The flexible carbon chains of 12-HSA and RA molecules coat pigments on the skin, providing a soft feel and high-performance natural non-transfer properties. Pigments are distributed evenly and do not accumulate in fine lines or pores; thus the skin appears perfect, homogeneous and smooth.

Meeting Customer Expectations

Emulium® Illustro was used at 5% in a natural foundation formulation and was confirmed to be non-comedogenic through a dedicated clinical study. Dermatological scoring and personal assessment were conducted immediately after initial application on untreated skin and after 28 days of use to measure foundation performance and evaluate skin quality, and panelists completed a satisfaction survey. As seen in Figure 2, foundations formulated with Emulium® Illustro provide smooth, flawless skin appearance and improve skin quality even without application of any additional makeup products. Figure 2: Dermatological and user assessment of foundation performance (immediately and after 28 days of regular use on untreated skin). Additionally, Figure 3 demonstrates that the efficacy and application properties of the foundation were confirmed by panelists. Emulium® Illustro meets consumer expectations in terms of foundation appearance and feel. Figure 3: User satisfaction assessment (immediately and after 28 days of regular use). According to user satisfaction survey results, 3 out of 4 panelists using the foundation containing Emulium® Illustro stated they wished to continue using the product after the study. Regardless of knowledge of the formula content, product performance was highly appreciated. When informed that the product they tested had a natural, PEG and silicone-free composition, 91% of panelists stated they would be willing to discontinue the silicone-containing formulation they had been using. With all this data, Emulium® Illustro clearly and comprehensively meets consumer expectations for natural makeup products.   Author: Flora Bollon Product Marketing Leader - Personal Care Texture & Applications Gattefossé - France                 Translator: Özge Yüksel Özel Technical Business Development Manager, Personal Care Azelis Turkey