From the ancestral rituals of indigenous Amazonian tribes to the high-fashion runways of Fashion Week, makeup has transcended cultures and epochs, becoming an integral part of cultural practices and cosmetic care across different populations and regions.
Let us delve into the captivating world of cosmetics, where science, art, and tradition seamlessly intertwine. In this article, we will explore how makeup continues to evolve under the influence of technological advancements, inclusive movements, and environmental concerns. Beyond its role in enhancing appearance, makeup also plays a significant role in shaping individual psychology, self-confidence, and social perception. Moreover, modern makeup extends beyond mere aesthetics, incorporating multifunctional benefits such as hydration, UV protection, and anti-aging properties. Innovations such as skin-adaptive formulas, probiotic-infused foundations, and pollution-resistant cosmetics further illustrate the industry’s shift towards products that combine beauty with skincare.
Like other cosmetic and personal care products, makeup must adhere to strict safety and performance standards. The cosmetics industry employs marketing claims to attract consumers, and these claims must be substantiated through rigorous scientific testing, in compliance with various global regulations such as Regulation (EC) No. 1223/2009 in the European Union and the MoCRA directives in the United States.
However, beyond marketing considerations, these claims must be validated through in-vitro or in-vivo testing on humans to ensure both consumer safety and product efficacy. As the industry progresses, innovations such as AI-driven skin diagnostics and custom-blended makeup solutions are set to redefine product development.
These advancements aim to provide consumers with safer, more personalized options, reinforcing the balance between aesthetics, functionality, and well-being in modern cosmetics.
Beyond enhancing appearance, make-up plays a role in psychology, influencing self-confidence and social perception.
Marketing claims for makeup products, much like those for skincare products, are assertions regarding the supposed benefits of the products, designed to capture consumer attention. These claims play a crucial role in product positioning within the market and directly influence purchasing decisions.
Makeup-related claims can be categorized based on the type of product, its application area, and the duration of its action:
Make-up products
1. Eyelashes: mascaras, primers, serums, eyelash tints…
2. Eyebrows: pencils, felts, powders, gels, waxes, dyes, serums…
3. Eyelid products: base, primer, blush, eyeliner, kohl pencil, eyeshadow, glitter…
4. Lip products: balms, exfoliants, lip contours, pencils, lipsticks, glosses, inks…
5. Nail and cuticle products: varnish, base coat, top coat, oils, serum, glue…
6. Skin: Fixing spray…
The evaluation of a makeup product’s performance serves three primary objectives: Its effect on the skin, lashes, brows, eyelids, lips, and nails, its durability and resistance to various external conditions and its impact on skin metabolism. When designing a clinical study to assess a makeup product, numerous factors must be considered. Each study is tailored to the claim under investigation, as is the case for any cosmetic product. The study must account for the product’s mechanisms of action, the target consumers (skin type, age, beauty routine, etc.), and key protocol parameters such as measurement timelines, application conditions, tested areas, recruitment criteria, measurement devices, and medical supervision. To validate the performance of makeup products on human subjects—most often women—multiple approaches can be employed.
1. Clinical scoring
Clinical scoring is conducted by an expert (dermatologist, cosmetologist, or ophthalmologist) before and after product application, using a scale adapted to the product’s claims under controlled laboratory conditions. To ensure result robustness, variables such as lighting, temperature, and humidity must be strictly regulated. Evaluations are carried out using standardized light and distance assessment setups by trained cosmetic specialists or dermatologists. Clinical scores help assess attributes such as wear, coverage, hydration, and uniformity.
Several well-established clinical scales are used, including:
• Lübbe scale: for skin dryness assessment.
• Shine and mattification scale: for evaluating skin luminosity.
• MASI (Melasma Area and Severity Index): for assessing a corrector’s ability to conceal pigmentation spots.
2. Biometric testing
Biometric testing employs non-invasive measurement techniques using advanced devices to objectively and quantitatively assess the effectiveness of makeup on the skin, lips, and nails.
Common instrumental measurements:
• Wear and visual appearance: Image analysis of skin, lips, or nails using cameras and image processing tools such as SpectraCam, DigiCam, Nomadcam, Siascope, TiVi80, Clarity 3D Mini, AEVA-HE², DermaReader, Dermatop-HE…
• Full-face visualization: Devices such as Visia-CR, SpectraFace, Visioface (C+K), AEVA-HE (Eotech), HeadScan Dynamics (Orion), and F-Ray.
• Color measurement using chromametry: Reflectance spectrum analysis from 400 to 700 nm, avoiding external color influences. Devices include SkinColorCatch, LC100 Spectrocolourimeter, Attonics Spectrometer, Chromameter, Colorimeter (Courage & Khazaka), and DermaLab Colormeter (Cortex).
• Claims assessment: Each skincare-related claim requires specific, dedicated evaluation methodologies.
3. Neurosensory approach
Since the 2010s, advances in neuroscience have enabled a scientific assessment of emotional and physiological responses associated with cosmetic and makeup application. Emotions, which shape individual experiences, are categorized into six primary types: pleasure, sadness, fear, disgust, surprise, and anger. These reactions are spontaneous, rapid, and universal, processed unconsciously by the brain.
The study of emotions helps evaluate the psychological and physiological impact of makeup. Several methodologies are employed based on the product type, consumer profile, and claim to be validated:
• Expressive and behavioral analysis to measure spontaneous reactions.
• Physiological measurements to analyze the emotional impact of makeup on the body.
• Subjective and cognitive evaluation to collect user perceptions and experiences.
Integrating neurosensory approaches allows brands to enhance the reliability of unconscious emotional analyses, refine product development, and tailor marketing strategies to consumer expectations. By promoting well-being and self-confidence, makeup becomes more than just an aesthetic tool—it becomes an instrument of personal empowerment.
These tests provide objective and reproducible results, essential for substantiating cosmetic product marketing claims.
4. Sensory analysis and organoleptic evaluation
Sensory analysis assesses organoleptic, sensory, emotional, and neurosensory characteristics through trained subjects. Often conducted using the Quantitative Descriptive Analysis (QDA) method, this approach enables rigorous comparative evaluations of products.
5. Consumer testing
Consumer tests gather feedback from end-users on makeup effectiveness and performance under real-world conditions over several days or weeks. Conducted on naïve, untrained subjects who represent the target demographic, these before-and-after studies assess perceived product efficacy through standardized self-evaluation questionnaires. Statistical analysis of responses helps quantify the perceived effectiveness of the product and identify its strengths.
Special Makeup testing instrumentation
Shine/Mattifying effect
• Glossymeter (Courage & Khazaka), GonioLux (Orion), Samba Face, Skin Transluency, SkinGlossMeter, TransluDerm (Orion), Transluency Meter TLS850
Mechanical Properties of the Nails
• Nail Strainstresser Meter by Courage & Khazaka
Surface: Eyelashes, Eyebrows
• EyelashCam by QIMA
Ultimately, functional makeup serves both aesthetic and skincare purposes, requiring rigorous clinical validation to support its claims. A comprehensive approach—combining biometric testing, sensory evaluation, and consumer insights—ensures scientifically substantiated benefits.
Collaboration with CROs is essential to designing optimal study protocols, considering factors such as study duration, application conditions, and measurement techniques.
Key challenges in makeup evaluation include controlling environmental factors (lighting, humidity, temperature) and ensuring measurement reproducibility. Advanced AI-driven analytics and non-contact optical technologies are shaping the future of cosmetic testing. Today, illustrative results have become a key expectation for both brands and consumers.
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