If your makeup can’t keep up with consumers’ increasingly active lifestyle, chances are it will be replaced by a more performant product in their gym bag very soon. Activewear is going beyond athletic as consumers look for beauty solutions that can stand up to a lifestyle centered around style and function. Activewear sales increased 16% during 2015, while total clothing sales excluding this category decreased 2% (NPD Group). This shows that the trend is not going anywhere and Morgan Stanley projections are very aggressive for future activewear sales.
Morgan Stanley’s Projection for Global Activewear Sales
2007: $190 billion
2020: $390 billion
“Long wear foundation sales rose 13% while basic foundations are on the decline (NPD Group), hinting that 2017 will most likely be the year of athleisure.”
This trend is changing the makeup world! Long wear foundation sales rose 13%, while basic foundations are on the decline (NPD Group), hinting that 2017 will most likely be the year of athleisure.
This new appetite for highly resilient makeup results from the convergence of several consumer trends: a holistic quest for wellness where physical activity has become a cornerstone of healthy lifestyles and a strong expectation that consumer goods must meet and adapt to consumers’ daily lives and not the other way around.
With traditional foundation growth stagnating and long wear foundation competition high, makeup brands need to refocus on their product performance.
Work Out and Nature Friendly
While hydrophilic surface treated pigments have typically been the technology favored for long wear makeup, they present limitations in a gym environment as they handle sweat poorly. Oil causes hydrophilic surface treated pigments to shift towards a darker shade. In order to withstand an intense work-out, a combination of both hydrophobic and hydrophilic surface treatment is better suited. Perfluoro compounds are excellent candidates, but all these molecules are not created equal. Two of these compounds, Perflurooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulphonic axcid (PFOS), are known to persist in the environment and have restrictions in some markets due to their environmental impact. Understanding the consumer need for safe and effective products, Sensient Cosmetic Technologies has identified a new environment-friendly solution to rise to the challenge.
Beyond Long Wear
PFOA and PFOS free, the new FSP (INCI: CI (and) Perfluorooctyl Triethoxysilane (and) Polyperfluoromethylisopropyl Ether) is a double coated surface treatment for pigments. FluoroSilane is chemically bound to the pigment, providing hydrophobicity and lipophobicity, and a polymer is mechanically deposited on the surface to provide soft touch and lipophobicity. This new structure has the unique advantage of combining high long-wear properties and excellent sensorial benefits in powder and emulsion makeup.
