Not strictly beauty, but it’s summer and pickings are slim but it looks like Symprove (the gut supplement that I’ve taken for a couple of years) is planning a sale. The brand went to private equity in 2020 after being invented in 2010 by farmer, Barry Smith, who originally created the supplement for his cows! Investment bankers have been appointed and the sale is scheduled for 2025. While we are talking about all things gut, did you know that Yakult has a skin care line called Yakult Beautiens – massage creams, sheet masks, cleansers – the lot? It’s only available in Asia as far as I can tell.

USA sunscreen brand, Suntegrity Skincare, has recalled their Impeccable Skin Sunscreen Foundation after it started to go moldy and cause hives in users. The mold in question is Aspergillus Sydowii which can potentially cause allergic reactions. Last year, Kosas concealer was recalled for mold. According to experts, if a product contains water, the potential for mold is increased – and almost all skin care contains water and in combination with the ‘clean’ skin care movement and the drive to use less preservatives, it’s not a good match. There’s the possibility of lab contamination but at the moment, the cause is not completely clear.

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The most interesting story at the moment is that IFF (International Flavors & Fragrances – a US corporation that creates products including fragrance) has been fined by The European Commission for effectively running a cartel for the supply of fragrance and fragrance ingredients. During the (ongoing) investigation, it was discovered that a senior employee deleted Whatsapp messages to and from a competitor (that presumably could have been incriminating) which amounts to the obstruction of the investigation. IFF immediately helped to recover the information and this was handed over to the Commission. Other names floating around in this investigation are Givaudan, Firmenich Internation and Symrise which amounts to the most important and influential names in fragrancing. The fine for obstruction is a cool EU15.9 million.

SpaceNK has sold their North America wholesale division to PCA Companies. They have around 600 points of sale in the US which apparently will be renamed although at the moment has no intention to change up the brands they stock. Rumours still abound that Manzinita Capital (who have owned SpaceNK for the past 20 years) is looking for the right banker to lead a sale.

In class action land, in April this year, a plaintiff filed a class action against Clinique regarding claims that Clinique uses benzoyl peroxide in acne treatments that degrades over time into benzene, which has potential cancer causing properties. Clinique claim that it’s safe for the intended use. Clearasil products were also found to contain benzoyl peroxide – the owners, Reckitt Benckiser, say the findings ‘reflect unrealistic scenarios rather than real world conditions’ and that’s something I think the lawyers will have a lot of fun with.

Again, from earlier in the year, Korean brands Missha and A’pieu have a class action lawsuit in the pipeline thanks to their claim that their sunscreen products are waterproof and sweatproof. The FDA say that no sunscreen is waterproof and it all washes off eventually and therefore the claim of being waterproof cannot be correct. Something I didn’t know is that federal regulations prohibit companies from describing products as sun ‘block’ since nothing blocks ultraviolet entirely. Missha Essence Sun Milk carries the claim of ‘impenetrable UV protection’ which is somewhat bold.

 

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