LCF Research: recent activities in Cosmetic Science

London College of Fashion has offered university-level education in cosmetic science for over two decades and has offered the only integrated MSc in Cosmetic Science in the world since 2012. The group of LCF researchers dedicated to advancing our knowledge of cosmetic science engage in a wide range of multidisciplinary research, including consumer psychology, topical pharmaceuticals, needs of disabled consumers, multimodality of sensory responses, and energy consumption in cosmetic manufacturing. Underlying this research is a consistent focus on themes such as sustainability, equality, diversity, and inclusion

Here is a brief overview of the group’s recent activities.

August 2022

The research group published review papers on incredibly pertinent topics in the open-access journal Cosmetics. Namely, a review paper titled ‘A state-of-the-art review on the alternatives to animal testing for the safety assessment of cosmetics’ by Prof Danka Tamburic and MSc Cosmetic Science alumna Rita Silva.

September 2022

In September 2022, LCF’s Cosmetic Science team attended the 32^nd IFSCC Congress in London, the most prestigious international event in cosmetic science. The congress was hosted by the UK’s Society of Cosmetic Scientists and was the first major in-person event since 2019. The Cosmetic Science team featured prominently at the conference, with Professor Danka Tamburic as a member of the scientific committee; and Diogo Baltazar and Gabriela Daniels, moderating podium presentation sessions at the event.

Dr Milica Stevic delivered a podium presentation titled ‘Instrumental Assessment of the Effectiveness of Silicone Replacement Materials in Lip Balms’. The project was led by Dr Stevic in collaboration with Dr Asma Buanz (UCL and Faculty of Engineering and Science, University of Greenwich) and her team. Another collaborative project titled ‘Determination of Lipstick Authenticity Parameters’ was led by Dr Stevic, Ran Bai, Stefanie Naseem, Jekaterina Rogaten, Tanzina Nahar Hoque, Professor Tamburic and Asma Buanz. It was selected amongst the top 10 outstanding posters out of 400 posters presented at the congress. Gabriela Daniels also presented a poster entitled‘Hair, Ageing and Quality of Life of Women from African Descent Living in the UK’, which was well received.

Yimeng Jiao, a PhD researcher at LCF, was awarded a competitive SCS bursary to attend the congress, where she presented an element of her PhD project in the form of a poster titled ‘Investigation of the Experimental and Theoretical Release of Caffeine from Cosmetic Hydrogels and Patches’.

Also in September, Professor Tamburic published a paper on the natural antioxidant raspberry oil entitled ‘Red Raspberry Seed Oil Low Energy Nanoemulsions: Influence of Surfactants, Antioxidants, and Temperature on Oxidative Stability’ in the open access journal ‘Antioxidants’, in collaboration with colleagues from the University of Belgrade.

October 2022

In October 2022, Gabriela Daniels and Dr Ameerah Khadaroo, shared their research on blind and low-vision people’s makeup practices and motivation at the Beyond the Visual: Non-Sighted Modes of Beholding Art Symposium, at Welcome Trust, London. Gabriela has been leading several multidisciplinary research projects aiming at promoting inclusive beauty norms, practices and access to cosmetics.