‘Simplicity and sophistication’: Clariant develops minimalist skin care concepts inspired by J-beauty

The Swiss firm has observed this interest coming from busy urbanites with no time for beauty regimes with multiple steps.

“Time pressures and daily stresses leave little time for complex regimes. So, many women are rejecting fast beauty over-purchasing, reducing their daily products. Women are rejecting fast beauty over-purchasing, reducing their daily products,” ​said Alexandre Lapeyre, global head of marketing, Clariant Active Ingredients.

This has manifested into a growing need for multifunctional products with trustworthy ingredients to keep the beauty regime simple but effective.

The firm has also seen this trend in Asia, where rising stress levels, lack of space and overbearing skin care routines like the K-beauty 10-step regime are driving the need for minimalistic and multifunctional products.

“As minimalism slowly becomes mainstream beyond skin care, trend setting markets will see an increase in simple yet sophisticated products to satisfy consumers need​,” said Charlotte Stricane, formulation & concept designer at Clariant Active Ingredients.

J-movement​

To address these trends, Clariant has introduced Zenspiration, a collection of three formulations.

“Zenspiration brings all the elements needed for formulators to rise above the ordinary and to reinforce natural beauty,” ​said Lapeyre.

For these formulations, Clariant took its cue from Japan, where there is a focus on minimalist routines and products that are backed-up by scientific research.

Clariant believes these basic values of J-beauty are now “sought after worldwide”​.

“With simplicity and sophistication at its heart, Japanese beauty is certainly one of the inspiration sources brands will tap in to reinvent their own classics​,” said Stricane.

The Zenspiration formulations demonstrate Clariant’s latest ingredient launches including EquiScalp and Rootness Energise.

The former is a microbiota-friendly scalp soother created from apple stem cells and featured in the Simply Rebalancing Scalp Toner, a minimalist formula containing only 16 ingredients meant to provide relief from scalp irritation.

The second formulation of the collection is the Energising Water Cream, which claims to hydrate and prevent premature ageing.

This formula also contains Rootness Energise, which Clariant claims can ‘refuel cells’ and in promote skin elasticity, tonicity and firmness.

The last of the formulations is the On-the-Glow Solid Serum, a facial serum housed in a practical solid stick format.

According to Clariant, the serum can soothe skin while evening out skin tone and reducing age-spots.

The firm believes the market will see more demand for simple, effective and multi-purpose products accelerated by the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

Stricane said: “Spending so much more time at home has reinforced the need for space and elimination of what is unnecessary to everyday life. Smarter formats and a less-is-more approach to skin care will be even more appealing to consumers looking to keep a healthy beauty regime.”