Brand story: Top news on the big name beauty brands across APAC

1 – Making a comeback: Crabtree and Evelyn plans Asian expansion after brand relaunch

Bath and body care brand Crabtree & Evelyn has relaunched in Singapore​ after closing all its stores in Jaunary, and now plans to expand across Asia.

The brand unveiled a new e-commerce website as well as two new bath and beauty collections: Evelyn Rose, a rose-scented collection, and Crabtree, its first genderless range.

Reaching ‘Zillennials’​

The brand is also sporting a new identity and ethos – ‘Born Curious. Grown Wild’, which was inspired by its founder, Cyrus Harvey.

“We knew we had to reconstruct everything – our brand, our products, our business model – to be welcomed into that community, and to be authentic there could be no half-measures,”​ said David Stern, CEO of Crabtree & Evelyn.

“So, we made the daring decision to discontinue all of our existing products, close all of our existing stores, and reintroduce the brand behind a dynamically different product range and a social and digitally driven business model.”​

2 – Beauty from the inside out: Kirin and FANCL to develop new beauty products after stake purchase

Kirin and FANCL plan to work together to develop cosmetic products​ that focus on internal as well as external beauty, such as probiotic beauty products.

The Japanese beverage company announced on August 6 that it was 30.3% stake in cosmetics maker FANCL for JPY129.3bn ($1.22bn).

The shares were acquired from FANCL's founder and chairman, Kenji Ikemori and his relatives.

The transaction is set to close September 6 this year. The deal will see FANCL become an equity-method affiliated company of Kirin, which will hold 33% of the voting rights.

Kirin spokesperson Toshiaki Hyoudou told CosmeticsDesign-Asia ​that Kirin and FANCL were aligned in their focus on supporting the health and well-being of its consumers. “FANCL aims for growth by solving social issues related to health and this direction is completely in line with Kirin.”​

“FANCL is characterised by its proposal of ‘internal and external beauty’ and advocates that it will be healthy and beautiful from both external and internal perspectives through cosmetics and supplements.”​

3 – ‘Novel sun protection tech’: Research from Kao to drive skin barrier innovation

The Biological Science Laboratories and Skin Care Products Research Laboratories of Kao Corporation claims to have discovered a relationship between the skin barrier and UVB-induced erythema.​

The new research found that skin with reduced skin barrier function is prone to UVB-induced irritation.

Additionally, the results also suggests that the barrier function of the stratum corneum can potential protect the skin from ultraviolet irradiation.

This research findings were published in the journal Photodermatology, Photoimmunology, and Photomedicine​...

“Kao is going to use these findings in its ongoing search for novel sun protection technologies for skin with low barrier function and high sensitivity, as well as technologies to improve the barrier function in all types of skin,” ​said the company.

4 – Sephora’s HK return: LVMH-owned retailer to offer ‘most extensive’ beauty brand portfolio

Beauty retailer Sephora to introduce more than 40 “new and exclusive”​ beauty brands​ to Hong Kong with the launch of its new 4,200sqft flagship store at IFC mall in early September.

This will include “cult beauty favourites”​ such as Drunk Elephant, It Cosmetics, Ouai, Sunday Riley, Farmacy, Opalex and Tarte.

Additionally, the store will feature niche fragrance labels including Clean Reserve, Kayali, Bon Parfumeur and Maison Margiela.

This will give LVMH-owned Sephora the “most extensive” ​brand portfolio in the market online and offline, claimed Benjamin Vuchot, Sephora’s Asia President.

“We are really proud of the exciting brand portfolio for our new store. We believe the new Sephora Hong Kong will be the ultimate one-stop beauty destination in the region that consumers will find joy in exploring the countless products and services on offer,”​ said Vuchot.

5 – ‘Perfect balance’: Shiseido unveils new ingredient that combines richness and comfort

Japanese beauty giant Shiseido claims to have developed a water soluble polymer that gives “unprecedented” skin comfort.​​

The company said it took about six years to finally achieve a water-soluble polymer that was rich in texture yet non-sticky and comfortable on the skin.

The new ingredient was presented at the 84th The Society of Cosmetic Chemists of Japan (SCCJ) Research Discussion held in Osaka, Japan this month.

Designing for comfort​

A polymer is a general term for a chain-like or network-like compound in which a large number of molecules called monomers are linked and expresses various functions depending on its chemical   physical structures.

In cosmetics, it can serve as a thickening agent to fine-tune the feel, uniformly disperse emulsified particles. It is also used in powders and coatings in products such as hair styling gels.