Innovative Cosmetics for CARE – ICCARE

Cosmetics is the third-largest contributor to the French trade balance, with 60% of production being exported, representing a market worth of 19.2 billion euros. To maintain this leadership, it is crucial to continually provide well-thought-out innovations but also to ensure "cutting-edge" consumer safety. This implies improving the quality of cosmetic ingredients while also advocating for eco-design, which aims to optimize the lifecycle of products, promote natural raw materials, and, most importantly, eliminate fossil-based ones whenever possible. As the flagship product in the make-up segment is the lipstick, with nearly 900 million tubes sold worldwide each year, these changes should impact it first.
Addressing these challenges by showcasing the French expertise and scientific technology to design the cosmetics of the future is the main goal of the "ICCARE" Joint Laboratory (Innovative Cosmetics for CARE). This collaboration brings together Chanel Parfums Beauté, a global leader in luxury cosmetics, and researchers from the Rennes Institute of Chemical Sciences (UMR CNRS 6226) located at ENSC Rennes. By merging their expertise towards the design of cosmetic products and perfumery on one hand, and in organic synthesis, catalysis, and green chemistry on the other, Chanel PB and ISCR aim to develop innovative lipsticks featuring a high degree of sustainability and safety.
Firstly, in light of the impact of nanoparticles on health, which is particularly significant when it comes to lipsticks as a portion of which is ingested by the user, ICCARE will focus on the development of new inorganic pigments featuring, for the first time, a high quality non-nanometric grade. These raw materials are essential in cosmetic for providing the shades of makeup products such as lipsticks, nail polishes, or eyeshadows.
Secondly, the ICCARE project also targets the design of a new bio-sourced synthetic wax featuring a low carbon footprint and long-term sustainability in order to replace the undesired petroleum-based synthetic waxes commonly used in lipsticks.
Succeeding in the development of these eco-friendly cosmetic ingredients in the context of sustainable chemistry while adhering to the international nomenclature related to cosmetic raw materials will require overcoming significant technological issues. Therefore, the strategy of the LabCom ICCARE will focus on two research axes:
1. The development of innovative and environmentally-friendly synthetic processes which demonstrate a perfect control over the size of the targeted inorganic pigments, drastically limiting the formation of undesirable nanoparticles.
2. The development of an efficient and sustainable catalytic process that allows producing a bio-sourced synthetic wax with a chemical composition almost identical to petro-sourced synthetic waxes. The goal is to achieve similar performances, offering both excellent stability and appealing sensory plasticity—two essential properties for lipstick formulation.
By achieving these ambitious goals, the ICCARE Joint Laboratory will enable the formulation of high-performance and eco-designed makeup products, in full adequation with the expectation of the cosmetic sector, for which consumer safety and the eco-design to enhance the lifecycle of cosmetic products have become a priority.