Millennial consumers and young executives are driving growth in the cosmetics industry's adoption of sustainable packaging. Although significant progress has been made in developing environment-friendly packaging for beauty products, many factors, including lack of recycling facilities, non-oil-based materials, costs, and demand, are slowing down adoption. With millennials becoming stronger in corporate management, they are expected to push for more adoption of sustainable packaging, prompting major suppliers in the beauty sector to work harder to develop environment-friendly packaging and practices. This trend has been gaining strength in the past several years, with the cosmetics industry adding more post-consumer recycled materials into packaging. Neenah Packaging’s director of marketing Mark Sng said, millennials account for an increase in customer requests for ecology-friendly packaging.

Kiehl's launched the Apothecary Preparations complimentary skincare service at the company's OG East Village store. Designed to provide consumers with a personalized solution to their major skincare problems, the process begins with a brand representative interviewing the consumer. Once the skincare issues are identified, the consumer is provided with a skin strengthening concentrate rich in squalene and a skin lipid complex, and two targeted complexes based on the survey results.

Henkel named Hans Van Bylen its new chief executive officer, succeeding Kasper Rorsted, who has served on the company's Management Board for 11 years. Born in Berchem, Belgium, Hans Van Bylen joined the company in 1984. He rose through the ranks, occupying management positions of increasing responsibility. He has been a member of the Management Board since 2005. He will be succeeded by Pascal Houdayer as Management Board member for the company's Beauty Care business unit.

L’Oreal’s Dark and Lovely haircare and styling brand launched #LoveMyColor, a campaign aimed at empowering African-American women and promoting the company’s Fade Resist Rich Conditioning Color product. Seeking to give women a platform to embrace their beauty, the campaign also highlights women’s colorful personalities, which make them who they are, the company said. Also, the campaign features real-life “Hair Dyeries,” which calls on consumers to share personal testimonies about things that make them feel powerful, unique, and confident.

Beauty retail chain Aritaum is opening 70 stores across the US and Canada. Aritaum will sell only brands owned by parent company, South Korea-based beauty brand Amore Pacific. Also, the retailer plans to launch an e-commerce site for the US market by the end of 2016. Brands to be carried by the retailer include Iope skincare products, Hanyul line of skincare products made from traditional Korean ingredients, and Laneige facial care products.

Beauty brand Revlon signed UK-based fashion model Nana Afua Antwi as its new brand ambassador. To be featured in the Revlon advertising campaign for 2016, the model will also headline the brand’s international campaign. Born in Ghana, she has blazed a path for other models of color following her, having appeared as the face for Swedish skincare brand FOREO.

Dubai-based businesswoman Negin Fattahi-Dasmal is expanding her luxurious nail salon chain, N.Bar, in Iran in 2016. Following the Western powers’ lifting of international sanctions against the country, the entrepreneur thinks it is time for high-end international brands to enter the market. Many leading international beauty and personal care brands intend to do so, attracted by the country’s beauty and cosmetics market valued by the Iranian parliament’s research center at $4 billion a year.

New Avon LLC named J. Scott White as chief executive officer effective April 25, 2016. White’s appointment comes following New Avon’s separation from Avon Products, Inc., and sale of majority ownership to Cerberus Capital Management, L.P. In partnership with New Avon and Cerberus teams, White will lead the reorganization of the company’s North American business.

Seeking to reduce by 60 percent its overall environmental footprint by 2020, L’Oreal wants to incorporate sustainability into its innovation model in order to make each beauty category more sustainable, according to Jonathan Maher, vice president of CSR and Sustainability. Maher said part of his job involves coordinating the company’s Sharing Beauty with All sustainability campaign in the United States. To measure the company’s sustainability achievements, L’Oreal developed a customized eco-design tool that helps product development teams in determining ways to improve new product’s environmental profile.

Former CEO and bareMinerals creator Leslie Blodgett resigned her advisory role with Bare Escentuals effective April 15, 2016. After her departure from the company, Blodgett will stay on as a key member of the recently created Shiseido Americas Creative Center, which is led by Shiseido Americas president and CEO Marc Rey. Blodgett became Bare Escentuals’ executive chairman in 2010 after the company became part of Shiseido Co.

Origins collaborated with physician Andrew Weil to create the Origins Mega-Defense line of skincare products. Designed to protect the skin from pollution, the product line includes Mega-Defense Barrier-Boosting Essence Oil, which is rich in anti-oxidants and is formulated to strengthen and nourish skin’s barrier. Mega-Defense SPF45 Advanced Daily UV Defender is purely non-chemical and oil-free. It contains Opuntia Cactus and is designed to protect the skin from UVA and UVB rays, pollution, and environmental stress.

After opening 77 new stores, and increasing its total retail space by 9.5 percent to reach 874 stores in 2015, personal care and cosmetics retailer Ulta Beauty plans to expand even faster in 2016. Since opening its first store 25 years ago, the company has seen fast-growing revenue, with sales rising 21 percent to $3.9 billion in 2015, compared with sales in 2014. During that period, the company reported comparable sales grew 11.8 percent. Ulta Beauty’s rapid growth and expansion poses a serious competitive threat to rivals, such as Macy’s, which has a large beauty department, and beauty retailer Sephora.

Fragrance personalization could be an additional way to compete in a saturated fragrance market, according to Luciano Bertinelli, CEO of Ferragamo Parfums, part of the luxury company Salvatore Ferragamo S.p.A. He said, however, that additional sales from personalized fragrances would not be worth the complex business model it would require. Bertinelli said the perfume industry could benefit from intellectual property protection, which is currently lacking in fragrances. He said by combining stand-alone stores with their fashion business, global brands can enhance their image and attract customers who are not only interested in fragrances.

Beauty retailer Sephora’s stores in five Middle Eastern countries, including Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Oman, will start selling skincare products from the South Korean brand Dr. Jart+, according to Lee Jin-wook, CEO of Have&Be Inc. Launched in 2005 by Lee after three years of research and development by dermatologists, including Jung Sung-jae, the skincare products immediately became popular. Company sales jumped to 86.3 billion won, or $74.5 million, in 2015. Dr. Jart+ products are now sold in 12 overseas markets, including the United States, Hong Kong, and China.

Unilever UK’s Impulse brand of female body sprays launched a new variant, the Impulse Why Not? According to the company, the new limited edition spray comes with a “truly tropical” scent and includes zesty citrus notes of bergamot, frozen lemon and bitter orange. It also features an infusion of Earl Grey Tea and natural spices, such as nutmeg and cardamom, the company said.

Cosmetics company Lush has turned reports of beans in its Wiccy Magic Muscles massage bar sprouting in showers and sinkholes into positive PR. Social media stories about the massage bar, which contains organic aduki beans and natural butters, first began appearing near the end of 2015. Consumer reaction to the sprouting seeds ranged from concerns over finding green shoots in showers to delight and reassurance about the authenticity of Lush’s organic claims.

Beauty and personal care company The Body Shop, guided by the leadership of its CEO Jeremy Schwartz, continues to grow its business and revenue, while remaining true to its environment-friendly principles. Since Schwartz’s appointment in 2013, the company has reported growing sales worldwide. Schwartz revised the company’s sustainability initiative by launching the Enrich Not Exploit Commitment, which comes with 14 goals aimed at “enriching” the planet by 2020. These goals include regenerating 75 million square meters of habitat to help communities live more sustainably and powering 100 percent of its stores with environment-friendly energy. Also, The Body Shop has influenced its parent company L’Oreal to adopt more environment-friendly business practices.

Revlon, Inc. said its board of directors appointed Fabian T. Garcia as the company’s president and chief executive officer. Effective April 15, 2016, Garcia’s appointment also comes with his election as member of the board of directors. Garcia has served in multiple management and leadership positions at the Colgate-Palmolive Company, including those in the company’s businesses in Asia-Europe, Eurasia, Latin America, and Europe.

Revlon South Africa said media personality Bonang Matheba remains the beauty company’s brand ambassador in the local market. Company communications manager Michelle Stevens clarified, however, that there are currently no plans to make her a global brand ambassador. On March 18, 2016, Matheba announced on her Instagram account that she has been named as a global brand ambassador by the company.

Haircare brand Unwash said it will start selling its “no-shampoo” hair washing products through beauty retailer Ulta’s stores in May 2016. Marking the brand’s first major national retail launch, the Ulta-bound lineup includes Bio-Cleansing Conditioner, Anti-Residue Rinse, Hydrating Masque, and Dry Cleanser. By 2017, Unwash, which was acquired by Athena Cosmetics in 2013, expects to expand its merchandise lineup by adding a Micellar water product for the hair.

L’Oreal Paris agreed to sponsor IT Princes, a beauty contest for women working or aspiring to work in technology in Russia. Organized by Internet company Mail.ru, the competition asks women to submit photographs of themselves and a personal statement, Mail.ru users will then vote for their top 10 candidates. Prizes include an opportunity to work at the Internet company, beauty baskets, spa days, and hotel stays.

Beauty retailer Ulta said it plans to open 100 new stores in the United States, adding to its current store count of 874 across the country. Ulta reported sales jumped 21.1 percent to $1.27 billion in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2015, while comparable-store sales rose 12.5 percent and net income grew 23.6 percent to $107.8 million in the quarter, compared with the same period in the previous year. Ulta’s expansion plans mean it is poised to stay much larger than nearest rival Sephora, which at present operates about 360 stores in North America.

Avon Products, Inc., revealed more details about its three-year transformation plan, previously announced during the beauty company’s Investor Day in January 2016. According to the company, it is changing its operating model by revising its commercial business to ensure that all markets have consistent roles, responsibilities, and process; and streamlining its corporate functions to align with the present and future needs of its business. Consequently, Avon said it plans to reduce its workforce by 2,500 jobs across many geographical locations. With this, Avon expects to record about $60 million before taxes in total charges with these actions in the first quarter of 2016.

L’Oreal said it plans to expand its manufacturing plant in Russia’s Kaluga region in order to meet growing demand for its beauty products in the country. According to the company, it will invest more than 2.5 billion rubles, or $35.6 million at current exchange rates, to add 152,222 square feet to the 111,111-square-foot plant. By July 2017, construction should be completed at the factory, which opened in 2010 and produces haircare products and hair dyes for the company’s L’Oreal Paris and Garnier brands.

Hain Celestial plans to launch organic and natural personal care products at the 2016 Natural Products Expo West. Among the products to be included are Body in the Buff biodegradable body scrubs from the Alba Botanica brand, Intense Defense with Vitamin C Detoxifying Facial Towelettes from the Avalon Organics brand, and Foaming Shower Oils from the JASON brand. Also, the company will launch Queen Helene 100% Coconut Oil for skin, hair, and nails.

Shiseido’s sales forecast for its fiscal year ending December 2016 sees operating profit dropping 14 percent to 38 billion yen, or $337 million, compared with fiscal year 2015. Demand from tourists visiting Japan is forecast to rise 5–6 percent, compared with the 12-billion-yen increase from the nine-month period of the previous year. Shiseido hopes to offset this decline by expanding sales at duty-free shops both in Japan and overseas.

L’Oreal Paris used Facebook Live Video to give local consumers a preview of its 2016 Women of Worth campaign in Malaysia. Aimed at inspiring ordinary women, the campaign features six successful women thought leaders and their journey. L’Oreal Paris through the campaign created by digital agency Lion & Lion plans to offer real-time social content.

CPL Aromas announced the company’s Aromafusion line of in-house specialist ingredients for its perfumers. Developed by CPL Aromas, Aromafusion is a fragrance ingredient technology described by the company as made of high-quality materials not available anywhere else in the industry. According to the company, the ingredients are produced using an “innovative high tech process” that combine high-quality ingredients by molecular distillation, creating materials never used before by perfumers.

Hugo Boss introduced the Hugo Man Extreme and Hugo Woman Extreme lines of perfumes for men and women. Available in 60ml and 100ml bottles, Hugo Man Extreme perfumes come with a new “intense touch of green apple while the heart extends on new aromatic sensations with sage, lavender, and geranium,” creating a masculine fragrance. Hugo Woman Extreme Eau de Parfum comes in 30ml, 50ml, and 75ml bottles.

Dove introduced the Pure Care Dry Oils line of haircare oils. Made from first-pressed organic oils the company claims are absorbed instantly to nourish and pamper the hair, the line includes two products: Nourishing Treatment, which contains African macadamia oil; and Restorative Treatment, which comes with Anatolian pomegranate seed oil. Dove suggests three ways to use Dove Pure Care Dry Oils, including pre-washing of hair, post-washing, and as treatment enhancer.