EP94. How do we make solid formulations feel luxury?

I've just finished recording an episode on beauty packaging in which we looked at two innovative companies making plantable eyeliners and mushroom based packaging. And by the time this current episode goes live, you'll already have listened to our packaging discussion in your favorite podcast app because it was released last week. Recording last week's episode on beauty packaging made me stop and think. We know that packaging is a massive issue in the beauty industry. We also know it cannot continue the way it is. I work in an industry that produces tens of billions of units of plastic packaging a year, most of which ends up in a landfill or in our oceans. Things have to change and I'm delighted to see a handful of forward thinking companies start the refill revolution in various countries around the world. A decade from now, the beauty industry will look completely different. It has to. And we'll be taking our bottles to the refill stations to stock up on shampoo, cleanser and lotions. But I know we have a long way to go before we get there. That refillable future is still several years away and we need to take more action now. For that reason, I'm relieved that we already have a very powerful formulation ally at our fingertips. The solid formulation. I'm talking about shampoo bars, conditioner bars, lotion bars, cleanser bars, shower bars, solid deodorant, solid perfumes. I'm talking about solid beauty products that can be sold without packaging or wrapped in minimal paper packaging. And there is absolutely nothing stopping us from using solid formulations in our beauty routines and cutting out some of the plastic in our lives. Or is there? Well, it turns out that most shoppers still don't view solid beauty as a luxury good. And that might be the one thing we need to change our mindsets about moving forward. Hi, it's Lorraine Darmaire, chartered environmentalist, biologist and CEO of award winning online organic cosmetic formulation school Formula Botanica. I host the Green Beauty Conversations podcast and these are my green beauty opinions in which I share my takeaways from the podcast interview we released last week. In this short episode I put forward my main thoughts on the topic we last discussed, as well as setting you a challenge to make the green beauty sector a better place. I recently attended a panel discussion with a number of cosmetic chemists. As part of the overall session, I was asked for my prediction for beauty in 2022 and beyond. So I honestly answered that I think the solid bar formulation will rise in popularity. Now, I was joined on that panel by a chemist from one of the world's largest beauty brands who said, I love the concept, Lorraine, but I just don't think it's going to catch on because consumers simply don't want solid formulations. They want serums and cleansers and toners in bottles. To which I responded, well, yes, that may currently be the case, but the only reason shoppers want all of these products is because brands such as your employer have been telling them for decades that they need to buy these formulations to look younger. But that chemist made a valid point. Solid formulations aren't currently viewed as a luxury good. They tend to be viewed as a more functional formulation that will cleanse or wash, not necessarily as a formulation that delivers high performance ingredients, which is ultimately the reason why the average woman has 16 skincare products on her bathroom shelf. Most beauty shoppers still place efficacy and results over sustainability. In other words, there's currently a mismatch between consumer desires and the sustainability movement. So how do we get that wow factor, that luxury feel from a solid formulation? Well, I'd like to put this challenge out to our wider community. To you. Formula Botanica has taught over 15,000 formulators worldwide, and I know there are some very talented current and future formulators as well as beauty brand owners. Listening to this podcast, I'm seeing a couple of brands start to embrace high performance, solid beauty, so I know it can be achieved. In fact, I was even reading about a retinoid bar formulation being brought to market the other day. High performance, solid beauty is definitely possible, and as always, it will take the indie sector to push the boundaries of what can be formulated. I'm excited to think about the different types of solid formulations we could make, which will not only replace the number of beauty products on our bathroom shelf, but will also last longer and lead to us purchasing fewer formulations overall. So that's my challenge to you for this week. It will take all of us embracing solid beauty for the market to shift in the right direction. So I want you, whether you're a formulator, a brand owner, someone who works in the beauty industry, or simply a beauty shopper like all of us, to make and buy more solid formulations. They also make great gifts. Next time you're buying someone a birthday present, consider buying them a solid beauty product. A shampoo, a conditioner, a cleanser, a perfume. The more people buy and use these types of formulations, the more the message will spread and the more this market sector will take hold. And as a result, I expect we will see more innovators in the market who come up with high performance solid beauty. And as a result of those innovators, I genuinely, wholeheartedly believe that people will start to embrace more sustainable beauty formulations that come in either solid or refillable form in the coming decades. We simply don't have a choice. We have to do this. So I hope you'll join me for my latest challenge. And if you need some ideas for brands who sell solid beauty products, go and shop in the Formula Botanica Graduate Gallery on our website. I promise you that you'll be thrilled with the formulations you find there. Thank you for listening to my green beauty opinions. Remember to visit the Formula botanica website@formulabotanica.com to try our free online formulation course. And if you haven't subscribed yet to the Green Beauty Conversations podcast, please make sure you do in your favorite podcast app. Leave me a five star review if you enjoy the conversations I host and I'll be back soon with my next episode. SA.