Colour cosmetic trends call for specialty silicones

From teens to an older populace, emerging economies, and a burgeoning working population – and including mass market to premium products – even those created to represent the cachet of professional makeup artists are part of the mix. And never have consumers asked so much – in terms of intense colour, differentiated products, lasting wear, comfort, and all-out performance. Driven by the desire for healthy, beautiful looks balanced by convenience; guided by safety, sustainability and environmental awareness; and shaped by regional habits and customisation, consumer needs and wants are diverse. It is a tall order. But in a $60 billion global colour market1 driven by creativity and technology, specialty silicones have earned a reputation as versatile and beneficial materials in colour cosmetics, both for their multifunctional properties and their performance.

High gloss is ‘in’

A rapidly expanding youth market is propelled by fashion and expects innovative cosmetics to match. The trend toward a vibrant look is especially popular in the lip colour segment, and full lips remain in vogue globally. Consumers increasingly look for high shine that intensifies colour, a ‘plumping’ effect that makes lips look fuller, and long-lasting wear so they do not need to reapply lip colour as often. A new high-phenyl-content fluid2 with high viscosity (10,000 mm2/s), and a high refractive index (1.58) provides intense gloss and a plumped appearance to lips. The fluid can be used in stick, gel or liquid products, where its high gloss brightens and illuminates the lips, contributing to the full look and more intense colour. The material’s high viscosity also improves transfer resistance for longer-lasting effect. Polyisobutene (PIB) is commonly used to enhance shine in lip products. However, in evaluations by Dow Corning, the new silicone fluid was unique in its combination of high viscosity and high refractive index compared to PIB, dimethicone (50,000 mm2/s), phenyl silicones, and other organic materials. It is this combination of higher refractive index at high viscosity that allows the silicone fluid to maintain a glossy layer on the skin for the appearance of fuller lips. As a predictive model of natural vertical lip lines, 0.1 g droplets of various high- and low-viscosity phenyl and organic fluids with 0.5 wt% Cl 15850 pigment were applied to a cotton-knit substrate (Fig. 1). After five minutes, the high viscosity of the glossy silicone fluid (far left) allowed it to maintain its bead-like integrity on the substrate, beyond that of the high-viscosity PIB, while also continuing to exhibit its high gloss. The low viscosity fluids did not maintain their droplet form, and thus also lost any appearance of shine. The new silicone fluid also has a pleasant sensory profile. In a sensory evaluation of the neat phenyl fluid and high viscosity PIB (50,000 mm2/s), panellists found the silicone to be more glossy and less tacky (CL=99.9%).