Skinobs has established itself as an international platform for cosmetic testing, connecting brands, laboratories and testing experts across preclinical and clinical evaluation.
On the occasion of the company’s 10th anniversary, we spoke with Anne Charpentier about this important milestone, the development of the company and the evolving role of cosmetic testing
“Skinobs is first and foremost a platform created to share assessment solutions with as many people as possible”
Anne Charpentier, CEO & Founder of Skinobs
EURO COSMETICS: First of all, congratulations on Skinobs’ 10th anniversary and on reaching this important milestone. Looking back, what inspired you to found Skinobs, and what market gap did you originally want to fill?
Anne Charpentier: The idea for Skinobs grew out of a very concrete frustration. A close friend of mine, working in the US beauty industry, was searching for a laboratory in Southeast Asia to conduct an innovative anti-ageing study. It took nearly eight days to identify the right partner: eight days of scattered emails, incomplete directories, and dead ends. I was struck by the absurdity of it: here was an industry built on rigorous science, yet finding the right testing partner was still entirely manual, opaque, and inefficient. I knew immediately that there had to be a better way. That gap, reliable, structured, accessible information on cosmetic testing, became the foundation of Skinobs.
EURO COSMETICS: The idea for Skinobs grew out of a very practical industry challenge: how difficult it was to identify the right laboratory and testing method efficiently. How did this experience shape your original concept for Skinobs, and what were the first steps in turning that idea into a platform?
Anne Charpentier: From the beginning, I wanted Skinobs to be genuinely neutral and independent, not a marketplace driven by commercial interests, but a trusted reference. The founding principle was simple: give evaluation scientists from brands and ingredients the ability to find the right test, from the right testing laboratory, for the right claim, quickly and with confidence.
The first years were largely about building the database, identifying laboratories, understanding the methodologies panorama, and structuring the information in a way that was actually useful. We launched the platform in April 2016 at in-cosmetics Global in Paris, and the response confirmed we had identified a real need. The cosmetic industry had never had a single, structured point of access to preclinical and clinical testing expertise at global scale.
EURO COSMETICS: Since the launch of the platform in 2016, Skinobs has grown into a database connecting 9,000 experts, 500 laboratories and more than 800 methods and technologies. What do you see as the company’s most important achievements so far?
Anne Charpentier: Several milestones stand out. Reaching 9,000 registered expert users across more than 124 countries is something I am genuinely proud of, as it reflects the global relevance of what we have built. Passing 500 laboratories referenced and cataloguing more than 1,500 methods and technologies represents years of curation work and collaborative exchange with the stakeholders of the testing field in the world that I believe is unmatched anywhere.
Beyond the numbers, I am proud of the community we have built through the Cosmetotest Symposium and our publications. And on a personal level, the fact that Skinobs has remained independent, trusted, and scientifically rigorous for a decade, in an industry where credibility is everything, is perhaps the achievement I value most.
EURO COSMETICS: You have been closely involved in shaping Skinobs from the beginning. Could you tell us a little about your professional journey, and which experiences most strongly influenced your path toward founding the company?
Anne Charpentier: My background is in the cosmetics industry. Before founding Skinobs, I spent many years working with testing laboratories and ingredients makers, gaining a thorough understanding of how product development actually works on the ground, from the very first formulation questions through to claim substantiation.
This knowledge of the tests and the expectations of the study sponsors have allowed me, through exchanges with my network and key players in the field, to have a clear vision of the unmet expectations. I understood the needs of those responsible for evaluating ingredients or finished product manufacturers, such as the speed, comprehensiveness, and robustness of the information. I also understood the strengths of testing laboratories, but I also noticed their lack of promotion of their services. Skinobs was born from this dual perspective.
I founded the company in 2016, and all my previous professional experiences contributed to it, particularly my networking skills and knowledge of the global sector and its key players. Skinobs is first and foremost a platform created to share assessment solutions with as many people as possible.
EURO COSMETICS: 2026 marks a new stage for Skinobs, with the launch of “My Laboratory Space” and the continued rollout of the freemium model. What are the main goals behind this next phase, and how will these developments strengthen the value Skinobs offers to laboratories, partners and brands?
Anne Charpentier: “My Lab Space” represents a major step forward in our collaboration with laboratories worldwide. Until now, data collection and profile management relied heavily on manual exchanges, emails, spreadsheets, and tedious back-and-forth communication.
This new interface gives laboratories direct control over their space on Skinobs: they can update their testing services, manage their featured content, and interact more actively with the platform. For us, this translates into more robust data and instant updates. For laboratories, it means greater autonomy and increased visibility.
Combined with the ongoing development of our freemium model, which aims to open Skinobs more broadly to users, brands, and formulators, 2026 will be truly dedicated to maturing the database infrastructure, making it more streamlined and accessible to everyone.
EURO COSMETICS: In March, you hosted the 2026 edition of the Cosmetotest Symposium in Lyon and online. Looking back, what were the main highlights of this year’s congress, and which moments or discussions stood out most to you personally?
Anne Charpentier: Cosmetotest 2026 was a particularly rich and successful edition. What makes this international symposium unique is the quality of the scientific exchanges surrounding evaluation methods and the willingness of experts to share not only their results, but also their questions and emerging technologies.
This year, the combination of in-person and online formats allowed us to bring together 270 participants from 20 countries, which significantly enriched the discussions. The discussions around the exposome and hormonal influences on the skin were particularly stimulating, as these are areas where testing methodologies are evolving rapidly and where the industry is showing real interest in developing innovative approaches.
Personally, what struck me most was the dynamism of the community: five years after its creation, the curiosity and commitment of the participants and the thirty or so exhibitors remain undiminished.
EURO COSMETICS: This year’s Cosmetotest program included topics such as hormones, the exposome, hydration and the skin–brain axis. What do these topics reveal about the current priorities in cosmetic testing, and where do you see the field heading next?
Anne Charpentier: These topics reflect an evolution in the field of testing, moving from specific biometrological or clinical measurements to a systemic understanding of product performance evaluation.
For years, cosmetic testing focused primarily on validating a single claim: Does this product moisturize? Does this compound reduce wrinkles? Today, the questions are more complex. How does skin react to chronic environmental stress? How can hormonal fluctuations throughout life be objectively measured? What is the relationship between the perceived effectiveness of a product and the changes observed in the different layers of the skin?
These are not marginal questions; they are being asked by brands and ingredient manufacturers because consumers and regulatory authorities are demanding more substantiated and objective claims.
The skin-brain axis, in particular, illustrates a convergence between cosmetics and wellness that, in my opinion, will redefine our approach to substantiating claims over the next decade.
EURO COSMETICS: Looking ahead, what is your vision for the next phase of Skinobs, and which trends, whether in biomarkers, AI, personalization or new testing methodologies, do you believe will have the strongest impact on cosmetic testing in the years ahead?
Anne Charpentier: My vision for Skinobs is to make it an essential global database for cosmetic testing information, not just a directory, but a dynamic and collaborative platform that closely supports the selection of testing solutions and accelerates decision-making.
Skinobs aims to highlight traditional evaluation methodologies – whether in silico, in vitro, ex vivo, or in vivo – as well as innovative technologies related to AI, optics, and omics analysis, to scientifically address emerging claims.
Biomarker analysis, non-invasive measurement technologies, and portable diagnostic systems significantly expand the range of methods. Personalization, which relies on understanding the skin in a given environment influenced by age and lifestyle, will undoubtedly require new testing approaches.
Skinobs aspires to be at the heart of this evolution: connecting experts, gathering data, and sharing an essential, scientifically sound, and well-documented resource.
EURO COSMETICS: Thank you very much for this insightful conversation and for sharing the story and vision behind Skinobs.
Anne Charpentier is the Founder and CEO of Skinobs, two unique and worldwide platforms for both Clinical & Preclinical testing and a news feed and press review dedicated to the evaluation field for ingredients, personal care & cosmetics. She has over 30-year experience as marketing developer in the cosmetics, firstly in the field of clinical testing and then in the field of active ingredients.
