I PHONE

WE LOVE IT! THE NEW COSMETIFIQUE APPLICATION FOR IPHONE

We’ve just heard about a new iPhone application which promises to inform cosmetic consumers about products that should be avoided. Cosmetifique uses a database of ingredient names (INCI) and a safety profile allotted to each ingredient, and can be used with both the iPhone and iPod Touch. It claims to have a searchable database of over 5,000 ingredients.

Results for ingredients searches come back highlighted as either red, orange or green, to denote whether - according to Cosmetifique’s criteria - the ingredient is good, acceptable or should be avoided.

According to application designer Alfredo Delli Bovi, the idea is to inform the consumer about whether the cosmetics they have bought or are planning to buy are potentially dangerous to their health or the environment.

Cosmetifique also allows favourite products to be saved with the name, brand and colour, which can then be shared with friends via email, facebook or twitter.
Delli Bovi explained that the ingredients suggested as good are natural and green ingredients. “We talked to make-up gurus and 90 percent of them preferred natural ingredients, so we don’t suggest chemical ones like dimethicone,” he said.
A local scientific agency provided much of the information for the application as did webservices, explained Delli Bovi.

The application is now available to purchase from Apple’s App Store at a price of $1.99.

Cosmetifique answers consumer demand for more information about a product’s ingredients and fits the green and natural trends that have been sweeping through the industry.

However, the industry is unlikely to welcome this addition to the consumer’s handbag. All products for sale in Europe have to comply with the European Cosmetics Directive which provides a list of ingredients banned from cosmetics and others for which concentration limits apply. If a product complies with the Directive and is therefore allowed for sale in the region, then, according to industry, it should be deemed safe.
There’s no doubt that consumers want more and more information about the products they use, and you’ll already know that that’s an approach that OSKIA supports and encourages. We’ve yet to see Cosmetifique app in action, but the principle is one we support. However, its usefulness will stand or fall on the quality of the data that it has gathered, so we only hope that their research has been competent and comprehensive.