SCS Formulate 2025 - A flurry of awards and a Wild-West themed dinner!

This year saw CCUK exhibiting again at SCS Formulate and we welcomed both members and non-members onto the stand to chat with us about CCUK, with several members joining us in the Anecdote Bar on the evening before the event for an informal catch up. Jane and Gill helped again with the SCS Education Pavilion, which highlighted all the courses available from the SCS and hosted the ‘Meet the Expert’ sessions where students and newbies could come and talk with industry experts about their careers. Thanks to our members, Daniel Lloyd, Daniel Campbell, Joe Bannister and Fakhara Jones for volunteering to be the experts. We know these sessions were greatly appreciated.

Gill Westgate shared an update on our latest Education & Skills Survey, in her Inform presentation, ‘Careering into the Cosmetics Industry’, along with Bernice Ridley of the SCS, who talked passionately about the industry consistently being able to ‘sing from the same hymn sheet’ in terms of scientific understanding and literacy, through professionally-led education. Gill began with some comparisons with the last survey conducted in 2021. As of November 11, there had been 53 responses which is rather too few for a detailed statistical analysis and comparison, said Gill. Some key points to note:

• A quarter (14/53) of the respondents were educated internationally – double that of 2021

• 6/14 work for companies located abroad

• Formal education remains perceived as useful preparation for careers in the industry

• Need greater and earlier awareness of the industry as a career and more relevant and collaborative training opportunities

• Basic scientific and formulation skills are needed for the future

• AI has its place in the development pipeline but human involvement remains essential

More replies from 18-45 age groups and male respondents are needed, so the survey will remain open for a while longer. If you haven’t completed it yet, please click this link.

During the fun Wild-West themed SCS Annual dinner, President Dan Whitby, introduced the winners of various awards as follows:

Contributor of the Year - Dr Paul Cornwell, TRI Princeton

This is a new award decided by the SCS  Head Office team who have a 360 view of all the committees and working groups. Caroline Holford, Marketing Manager, says: “We decided to create a new award this year to celebrate the volunteers who help to run initiatives within the SCS. As Head Office have a holistic view of the Society, we were well placed to choose our inaugural winner – Paul Cornwell who heads up our Annual Conference Committee. Paul is a joy to work with as he is an organised, well-connected, encouraging and inspirational leader – he is able to keep the team on track in terms of deadlines and budgets, and the Annual Conference is going from strength to strength under his leadership. We feel extremely lucky to have Paul as one of the valued volunteers to help to drive Society forward”. 

Cosmetic Scientist of the Year - Lilah Bibi, Stephenson Group (CCUK Members)

This is also a new award looking to recognise formulator talent in the industry, judged by the SCS Executive Committee (Pres, IPP, VP, Hon Sec, Hon Treasurer, Gem Bektas, Head of Operations).

Congratulations go to the two Laura Marshall Award winners:

Azelis : Moisture Jelly Shot

Croda Beauty : Biomimetic Bond Building Serum (CCUK Members)

Jane Evison joined 9 other judges to celebrate 10 years of the awards by choosing 10 finalists from over 50 entries. The top scoring finalist in each of the two award categories were then the winners. Laura Marshall Memorial Award - SCS Formulate

Photo credit: Everybody Smile Photographer.

Our Communications Manager, Maria Rawson, attended the panel debate on AI in Cosmetics: Your Next Promotion Depends on Being a Winner in the AI Skills Battle in which Dr Barbara Brockway (Barbara Brockway Consulting), Mauricio Cafiero (University of Reading), Heidi Bannister (Arthur Edward Recruitment) and Danny Mirza (CES London) discussed the ever evolving landscape of AI and its place in the cosmetic industry. Heidi, from our member company, Arthur Edward, presented and below are takeaway points:

Why AI Matters in Beauty

• AI is reshaping how we create and market products

• How consumers find and buy products

• It’s transforming how we discover talent, shape careers and build teams

• To stay competitive, we must embrace not fear it

AI Across the Product Lifecycle - From lab to launch, AI is everywhere.

• Formulation and NPD, Trend forecasting, ingredient selection

• Marketing and CRM Personalisation, campaign automation

• Sales Retail and E-Commerce Virtual try on, smart merchandising, analytics

• OperationsForecasting, inventory, sustainability, traceability

Tips for Candidates - Supercharge your job search!

• AI to tailor CV and LinkedIn, humanise to stand out

• Practice interviews with AI coaches

• Tailor applications to a company or job spec

• Don’t doomscroll; learn and grow

Stay Ahead in the AI Skills Race - Adaptability is your superpower.

• Learn the language of AI, no coding needed

• Upskill with free tools, Coursera, LinkedIn Learning, Arthur Edward Career Hub

• Show how you’ve embraced new tech in your career

• Never forget, relationships build success

"Don’t be scared of AI, embrace it, use it, play with it and keep learning. AI doesn’t have all the answers, don’t believe everything it tells you, challenge it, add your own thoughts and experience to humanise it" said Heidi.

Special thanks go to members Barbara Olioso (GreenChemFinder) and Bindiya Verna (Official UK representative of LeipzigerMesse) who came and helped us out on the booth. Bindiya is also looking for expressions of interest to join a UK contingent at next year’s CosmeticBusiness in Munich, so please contact info@cosmeticsclusteruk.com if you are interested in this initiative as we may be able to coordinate something. There was even talk of creating a German cosmetic cluster (to date one doesn’t seem to exist!). As CCUK is all about networking, we were delighted to welcome some noteworthy visitors to our booth and here is our pick: 

Carole Carson, Founder of Grow Your Brands International, who helps beauty and makeup start ups, has just published a children’s activity book Glow Up! Create Your Own Beauty Brand – Grow Your Brands International | Retail Brands Growth Consultancy hoping to inspire young minds. Carol says: “Equip young entrepreneurs with essential business fundamentals through this comprehensive beauty brand creation guide. This educational and fun activity book walks participants through the complete process of launching their own beauty brand, from concept to market strategy. A QR code provides parents and mentors with guidance and supplementary materials to support deeper learning and address questions the child may have”. At £10.95 this sounds like a great stocking filler! Carol also has a helpful Beauty CEO Planner ™ notebook, which is designed as “an all-in-one planning tool that will help you reach your business goals and maintain brand consistency”, according to Carol. 

Helga Hertsig-Lavocah, vibrant in sunny yellow, dropped by to remind us that trends are not ‘rocket science but you do need to escape your category orbit’, by giving us an astronaut key ring and talking about her independent trend forecasting business, Hint Futurology, ‘which provokes the NPD process by showcasing products from outside your category to inspire the next gen of beauty and home care’. Hint Futurology

Will Rabey from Habit Action explained to us how his company custom designs and builds workspaces for specialist applications such as fragrance evaluation. Find out more by visiting Our Projects

Jane and Gill were delighted to be able to catch the final speaker session of the event, which was given by Liz Earle, MBE, of Hot Cloth Cleanser fame, who describes herself as being “an award-winning authority in the world of beauty, natural nutrition and well-being, multi-brand founder, researcher, podcaster and television broadcaster as well as being a Sunday Times No 1 bestselling author with more than 30 books on looking well and feeling great!” Liz, who it has to be said, does look great, shared her experiences on her journey in the beauty and well being industry and her final words were worth staying for - “Stay positive, look forward, find your purpose”.