The sixth edition of the international contest dedicated to innovation in the cosmetic industry was broadcasted online on Cosmetic Valley TV. The aim of the competition is to dig out start-ups with the most innovative projects, to support their development and favour the research in the perfume and cosmetic industry.

For this year’s edition, in addition to the Industrial Prize, which rewards a technological innovation in the cosmetics industry, and the Academic Prize, which rewards the work of researchers and academics, the twelve members of the international jury [1] has delivered a “Judges’ Favourite” award.

The academic prize was given to Laurent Billon, professor at IPREM (Institut des Sciences Analytiques et de Physico-Chimie pour l’Environnement et les Matériaux), who created a bio-inspired microgel that allows to form an adhesive film, which is used to gradually diffuse a cosmetic on the skin.

The industrial prize was awarded to professor Martin Lukaszewicz and doctor Agnieska Lewinska, both from InventionBio (Poland). Invention(Bio) is a new smart delivery system based on green chemicals obtained from a patented biorefinery in a waste free and environmentally-friendly process. Encapsulation enables to deliver active substances to a part of the skin, making it possible to lower the concentrations of the active substances and reduce costs without losing effectiveness.

The “judges’ favourite” prize was awarded to Dr. Roberto Vargiolu and Professor Hassan Zahouani, co-developers of touchy finger, an augmented and connected human finger. By simply placing a sensor-equipped ring on their finger, users can assess the softness of their skin and hair.

A total of 81 projects participated in for the 6th edition of The Cosmetic Victories 2021 competition: 22 academic projects and 59 industrial projects from 13 countries: Belgium, Brazil, Denmark, Spain, USA, France (and Nouvelle Calédonie), Ghana, Hungary, Italy, Poland, Taiwan, Thailand, Ukraine.