Beyond The Headlines: Maybelline launches “ready-in-a-click” Microsoft Teams virtual makeup, Sally Hansen on Sesame Street

21 Jul 2023 --- In industry news this week, Maybelline revealed a palette of AI-generated makeup looks for users to play with on Microsoft Teams. Sally Hansen collaborated with Sesame Street on a special muppet-inspired collection, while Skin care brand SK-II debuted new skin aging discoveries and innovations. Meanwhile, Estée Lauder Companies is facing a cybersecurity threat, which the company is currently tackling.

Product launches and innovation
Maybelline New York announced a collaboration with Microsoft that offers a new way to get ready for video calls with virtual makeup in Microsoft Teams. The Maybelline Beauty App in Microsoft Teams allows users to adjust their personal style quickly and easily from directly within a Teams meeting. The virtual makeup bag offers a “low-barrier” way to try out different styles with the goal of “democratizing makeup and empowering people with self-confidence, especially at work.” Powered by Modiface AI, the platform allows users to click through 12 makeup looks to complement their own natural look. Each look has a product breakdown so users can understand which Maybelline New York product and shade constitutes the virtual look and recreate it in real life. The virtual makeup looks are now globally available as an option in Teams video calls to those with a Teams enterprise license.

Maybelline New York collaborated with Microsoft to launch new AI-generated makeup filters on Microsoft Teams (Image credit: Maybelline New York).Sally Hansen launched its limited-edition Sally Hansen x Sesame Street Collection. This special collection, available in multiple territories, features ten Sally Hansen Insta-Dri shades and textures inspired by the beloved characters like Oscar the Grouch, Big Bird and Elmo. The Sally Hansen x Sesame Street Collection also features Sally Hansen Salon Effects Perfect Manicure ready-to-wear nails in a stylish oval shape, showcasing a “playful hint” of characters from the children’s TV series, like Ernie’s rubber ducky and Cookie Monster’s googly eyes. Sally Hansen’s Insta-Dri technology features a 3-in-1 formula with a built-in base and topcoat that dries in just 60 seconds. The Sally Hansen x Sesame Street collection also includes a Salon Effects Perfect Manicure Oval nail kit, for premium, ready-to-wear, non-damaging artificial nails designed for home application.

Business highlights
Hygiene and health company Essity completed the divestment of its operations in Russia for a purchase price of approximately SEK 1.2 billion (US$116 million) on a cash and debt-free basis. Essity has thus exited Russia. Essity began work in April 2022 to exit the Russian market and in 2022 an impairment was carried out of the company's assets in Russia of approximately SEK 1.7 billion (US$164 million). In 2022, Essity's net sales in Russia corresponded to about 2% of its total consolidated net sales.

Beauty brand Lion Pose officially debuted at Sephora. Developed with Harvard-trained dermatologists, the brand is centered on inclusivity and science-led formulations. Lion Pose is female-founded by Madhu Punjabi and Nisha Phatak, two BIPOC Silicon Valley software alums and Harvard MBA graduates. The company’s flagship product is its Unspotted 4X Acid Jelly Night Serum, designed to tackle hyperpigmentation, dark spots, and scarring safely and effectively on all skin tones. The brand has raised US$3 million from investors and celebrities including beauty and wellness fund Ignite XL, Precursor Ventures, Mindy Kaling, Rob Lowe's LH Capital, Howard Klein, Talia Frenkel (founder of L. Brands) and former-CEO of Guthy Renker (Proactiv parent company) Ben VandeBunt.

Research and development
Skin care brand SK-II debuted new skin aging discoveries and innovations while inaugurating its first Pitera Science Expert Panel that comprises top dermatologists. At the World Congress of Dermatology 2023 in Singapore, Alexa B. Kimball, MD, MPH, President and CEO and Harvard Medical Faculty Physicians at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Professor of Dermatology at Harvard Medical School, presented the findings from a collaborative research from different institutions. Among spotlighted findings, SK-II researchers discovered Aging Trigger Factor “AT-0”2, accelerates signs of aging via a chain reaction, even as early as in the 20’s. If left untreated, the aging chain reaction can lead to accelerated aging signs, resulting in more severe signs of premature aging. The findings show that reducing “AT-0”2 and preventing aging chain reaction with Pitera, a naturally derived ingredient crafted from a proprietary yeast fermentation process exclusive to SK-II, can keep skin looking youthful.

Brand initiatives
Maisons of the LVMH group – Parfums Christian Dior, Givenchy Parfums and Kenzo Parfums – announced their strategic collaboration with Cristal Union with the objective to improve the agricultural practices in the beetroot sector, from which the alcohol in its perfumes is sourced. Cristal Union is a French agricultural cooperative that brings together more than 9,000 beetroot growers and employs more than 2,000 people to produce and market sugar, alcohol and bioethanol. This year, the three Houses are financing a project aimed at supporting the agroecological transition of 380 hectares of beetroot cultivation in the east of France to produce the equivalent of 45% of their alcohol needs. The Maisons will work with environmental impact rating platform Genesis, using its tool measuring the health and quality of soils. Genesis will be in charge of collecting precise data about soil health on a regular and geolocated basis in order to assess the impact of agricultural practices on their health and their contribution to ecosystem functions.

The Pitera Science Expert Panel with the president of P&G Global Skin and Personal Care, Markus Strobel (Image credit: SK-II).In partnership with the Rimba Collective, soap brand Dove launched an initiative, the Dove Nature Regeneration Project, to protect and restore 123,000 acres of rainforest in Southeast Asia – an area “eight times the size of Manhattan” over five years. Re-establishing forest cover reduces the impact of natural disasters such as flooding and landslides, while conserving biodiversity. The critical habitats covered by this project account for approximately 80 endangered wildlife species, such as the Sunda pangolin and the helmeted hornbill.

Company announcements and recognitions
The Estée Lauder Companies (ELC) flagged a cybersecurity incident, which involved an unauthorized third party that has gained access to some of the company’s systems. After becoming aware of the incident, the ELC proactively took down some of its systems and promptly began an investigation with the assistance of leading third-party cybersecurity experts. The company is also coordinating with law enforcement. Based on the current status of the investigation, it believes the unauthorized party obtained some data from its systems, and the cosmetics giant is now working to understand the nature and scope of that data. The incident has caused, and is expected to continue to cause, disruption to parts of the company’s business operations.

In an “industry-first move” for South Korea, Amorepacific successfully became a member of the International Collaboration on Cosmetics Safety (ICCS). The ICCS operates as a global initiative, connecting cosmetics manufacturers, industry associations, and animal protection groups from every corner of the globe. Headquartered in New York, the ICCS spearheaded its mission in February backing animal-free safety evaluations for cosmetics, personal care items, and their ingredients. Amorepacific ceased all in-house animal testing related to cosmetic ingredients and products in 2008. As of 2013, Amorepacific and its business partners have forbidden any form of animal testing in relation to cosmetics “except when unavoidably demanded by foreign laws or regulations.” ICCS comprises approximately 40 international corporations and organizations including L’Oréal, Unilever, Estee Lauder and Procter & Gamble, as well as cosmetics associations from various countries, and animal protection groups such as Humane Society International, Cruelty Free International and PETA.

Symrise Brazil has been certified internationally as B Corporation. One element the scent manufacturer has been assessed against is the percentage of renewable materials in its fragrance ingredients. A fragrance is considered “renewable” when it contains over 50% of these raw materials, notes the company. It has committed itself to offer highly renewable fragrances that contain raw materials above 70%. 

By Benjamin Ferrer