For its 11th edition, the Cosmetic Victories — an international competition launched by Cosmetic Valley in 2015 — spotlights scientific advances driving a more sustainable cosmetics industry.

The competition features two categories:

  • Academic Research Award (projects led by recent graduates, PhD candidates, postdoctoral fellows, and academic researchers)
  • Industrial Innovation Award (projects led by companies, start-ups, and innovative SMEs)

Six finalists were selected, and the awards were presented on April 13 in Paris, France, and the jury of this 11th edition unveiled not two but three winners.

Academic Research Award

The jury chose to distinguish two joint winners in the Academic Research category, highlighting the excellence of two major scientific advances:

  • Ms Giovana Colucci from the Polytechnic Institute of Bragança, Portugal, was awarded for EmuLig, a multifunctional lignin-based emulsifier. A proprietary green process transforms lignin – a renewable and abundant by-product of the pulp and biorefinery industries – into a multifunctional emulsifier with stabilizing, antioxidant, SPF boosting and thickening properties. EmuLig thus offers a high-performance and sustainable alternative to fossil-based cosmetic ingredients.
  • Ms Manami Toriyama from the Laboratory of Advanced Cosmetic Science, University of Osaka, Japan, was awarded for cosmetics targeting primary cilia for a better regulation of the immune memory. The primary cilia, which govern immune memory, can cause chronic skin inflammation that can lead to atopic dermatitis or psoriasis. Botanical active ingredients (silymarin and cucurbitacin IIA) have been identified that suppress ciliogenesis while strengthening the skin barrier. Targeting immune memory, not symptoms, represents a paradigm shift in skincare. This approach brings efficiency while reducing the chemical, medical and cutaneous load.

Industrial Innovation Award

Ms. Joana Almeida, co-founder of SurfACT, received the award on behalf of the young Portuguese company for its development of sustainable, multifunctional biosurfactants derived from circular bio-resources.

At SurfACT, microorganisms are used as factories to produce multifunctional biosurfactants with low ecotoxicity and high biodegradability and with great potential for cosmetic applications.

Each of the three winners received a EUR 10,000 prize, along with support from Cosmetic Valley.

The next edition, for which a call for applications will be launched in October 14 and 15 at the Cosmetic 360 exhibition, will focus on another major challenge: the digital transition in the service of cosmetics.