We are back from three intense and inspiring days at in-cosmetics Global in Paris, where we met customers, partners, and fellow suppliers across the cosmetics industry. The volume of input was enormous, so we have summarized our key takeaways below. We start with overarching themes observed from walking the show floor, followed by highlights from presentations and showcased innovations.
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Key observations
- Biotech and AI/tech are here to stay. These were visible across stands as well as in the Innovation and Sustainability Zones.
- Sensoriality is central: transformative textures, multi-sensory cues, and culinary inspiration appeared across many concepts.
- Recurring themes included longevity, adaptive beauty, inclusive beauty, and beauty from within.
- Upcycling and alternative feedstocks for cosmetic ingredient production continue to gain momentum.
- Scientific substantiation remains non-negotiable.
Marketing trends theater
Beauty is clearly moving beyond anti aging into a new longevity led era, where long term skin, hair and scalp resilience, emotional well-being and preventive health take center stage. Across presentations, speakers highlighted a decisive shift towards biologically relevant, evidence backed innovation, simplified yet high performing routines, and credibility built through transparency, ethics and trust.
Sensoriality emerged as a powerful differentiator, with texture, scent and tactile cues increasingly acting as “proof” that a product works, while AI is being repositioned as an invisible enabler of smarter, more human centered beauty rather than an end in itself. A clear proof point was the size of the sensory bar and number of attendees.
Inside out beauty and nutricosmetics are gaining momentum, aligning beauty with daily wellness rituals and raising expectations for clinical validation and trust. A dedicated section on the show floor is expected to expand next year, signaling growing interest in the category.
Ultimately, the show reinforced that the future of beauty lies at the intersection of science, sensation and simplicity — delivering not just performance, but reassurance, meaning and resilience in an increasingly complex world.
Sustainability trends
Across sustainability presentations and the Sustainability Zone, the focus this year shifted from the product or solution to the broader concept of sustainability—strategies to reduce impact, ways to measure the reduction, and certification as a route to stay compliant and connect with consumers.
Circularity and upcycling are scaling up but require clearer definitions and traceable provenance. Responsible sourcing is converging with human-rights due diligence expectations (including new EU requirements) and stronger transparency demands. While credibility is increasingly anchored in certification and third-party verification that can support defensible claims.
In parallel, exhibitors and speakers emphasized quantified impact via Life Cycle Assessment and Product Carbon Footprint and a shift toward primary supplier data, while next-gen biotech and low-impact processing routes (fermentation, plant cell culture, solvent-free extraction) were positioned to deliver efficacy with fewer sustainability trade-offs.
Taken together, these themes are reshaping what “innovation” looks like—less about novelty, and more about enabling performance with better profiles and clearer proof points.
Innovation zone
The Innovation Zone highlighted how innovation is being driven as much by enabling technologies as by headline actives, with strong momentum behind biotech routes (including fermentation and bio-derived materials), upcycling/circular feedstocks, and processing approaches designed to reduce footprint while improving robustness and claims defensibility. One clear impression was the sheer number and diversity of actives presented across the show.
Many entries focused on solving current formulation and regulatory pressure points—such as achieving high performance with fewer contentious materials, supporting biodegradability and microplastics replacement, and delivering stability, clarity and premium sensoriality across modern formats (e.g., waterless, high natural-origin, or low-energy processing concepts).
Within functional ingredients the focus was on multifunctional emulsifiers, film formers, rheology modifiers, dispersants and sensory modifiers. They are positioned as critical performance levers helping boost SPF and wear, improve pigment dispersion and product stability, and create silicone-like feel or lightweight textures.
Want a closer look at what AAK Personal Care showcased at in-cosmetics Global 2026? See the ingredients and concepts we featured here
