Make-Up Magic: Where Color Becomes Storytelling

Interview with Daniel Coelho,
Global Marketing Manager for Cosmetic Solutions at Evonik

How do you interpret the trend of “beauty as escape” in the current color cosmetics landscape, and how should brands translate this into product development?

I interpret “beauty as escape” as a consumer trend where color cosmetics deliver both a positive emotional experience and product performance. At Evonik, we have a formulation collection presented within a concept called “Make-Up Magic: A Beauty Tale”. 

This concept is designed to inspire and enable our customers to create solutions that can be framed around fantasy, nostalgia and emotional storytelling. Framing in this way is especially important in uncertain times where consumers are looking for beauty experiences that provide a momentary escape from digital fatigue, economic stress and global challenges. 

For formulators and product developers, the key point is that escapism should not remain only a communication layer. It needs to be translated into the product architecture itself: color choice, texture, application behavior, finish, sensorial afterfeel, packaging format, and additional functional benefits. In the Make-Up Magic concept, this translation is organized into four formulation platforms: Enchanted Armor for high-performance and multifunctional protection, Forest Whisper for high-natural-origin and water-conscious formats, Spellbound Textures for sensorial transformation, and Mystic Radiance for glow, comfort, and multi-zone radiance. This type of concept architecture allows brands to connect consumer emotion with cosmetic products.

How do social media platforms influence demand for multisensory or “transformative” textures? 

Social media has made texture a central element of product discovery. Consumers increasingly see products being swatched, blended, layered, melted, transformed, and evaluated in real time. This makes formulations that provide visible or tactile transformation during application even more relevant. In our Make-Up Magic concept, we identify “Joyful Multisensory Experiences” as a trend where consumers seek delight, play, mood uplift and sensorial surprise through products that turn beauty routines into more engaging rituals.

This has direct implications for formulation development. Textures such as serum, jelly, balm-to-powder, cream-to-cloud, oil-gel, and melt-in sticks are not only sensory descriptors; they require specific structuring systems, emollient selection, pigment wetting strategies, rheology control, and stability design. In the Spellbound Textures chapter, Amethyst Cloud Fusion Shimmer is described as an anhydrous compact solid eyeshadow with a high pigment load, waxes for structure, natural emollients for smooth payoff, pigment dispersants for color distribution, and antioxidant and ceramide-based ingredients that support a care-oriented formulation story.

How would you position the four “Fairy Tale Chapters” (e.g., Enchanted Armor vs. Forest Whisper) within a product portfolio strategy? 

I would position the four chapters as strategic storytelling lenses rather than rigid product categories. In practice, the same formulation can combine several attributes at once: strong performance, high natural-origin content, attractive sensory properties, skincare-inspired benefits, and inclusive application potential. What changes is the brand’s decision about which of these attributes should become the leading message.

For example, if a brand is primarily performance-led, it may choose to frame a formulation through the Enchanted Armor lens, emphasizing resilience, wear, coverage, protection, and multifunctionality. This does not mean that the formulation cannot also have high natural-origin content, a refined sensory profile, or care-related ingredients. It simply means that the brand’s portfolio strategy would place performance and multifunctionality at the center of the story.

If a brand has a stronger nature-forward or responsibility-driven positioning, the same kind of formulation logic could be expressed through Forest Whisper, highlighting natural-origin content, water-conscious or waterless formats, low-water systems, ingredient transparency, and responsible design. 

For brands that differentiate through creativity, sensorial, and emotional product experience, Spellbound Textures becomes a powerful lens. It allows the brand to emphasize transformation during application, playful textures, cream-to-cloud or melt-in formats, and the pleasure of use. And for brands centered on radiance, individuality, and self-expression, Mystic Radiance can help frame glow, soft-focus effects, multi-zone application, and complexion-enhancing formats.

The important point is that the chapters are not isolated boxes: they are different ways to bring forward the most relevant aspect of a formulation depending on the customer’s brand reality. In this sense, the Make-Up Magic concept gives customers a flexible framework to translate technical formulation strengths into brand stories that feel distinctive, credible, and emotionally engaging.

Which of these concepts do you think has the strongest commercial potential in the next 3–5 years? 

I would say that the greatest commercial opportunity lies in the convergence of the four themes. Future color cosmetic developments will likely not be driven by just performance, naturality, or sensorial. Consumers increasingly expect products to deliver several of these dimensions at the same time: visible makeup performance, enjoyable textures, care-inspired benefits, responsible formulation choices, and formats that support individual expression.

Each chapter highlights one possible entry point into this broader evolution. That is why, in the Make-Up Magic concept, the formulations are not designed to represent only one benefit. In the collection we see combinations of high natural-origin content, active or care-oriented ingredients, pigment dispersion and film-forming technologies, appealing textures, sensory refinement, stability considerations, and opportunities for adaptable use. A brand may choose to highlight one of these dimensions more strongly depending on its positioning, but the underlying formulation can still carry several of them together.

In the next three to five years, I believe the strongest commercial potential will come from products that allow brands to tell a focused story while delivering multiple benefits in the background. A performance-led brand may lead with long wear and multifunctionality. A nature-forward brand may lead with natural-origin content and water-conscious design. A sensory-led brand may lead with texture transformation. A glow-led or self-expression brand may lead with radiance and individuality. But the most compelling products will likely be those that combine these attributes in a technically robust way, allowing each brand to decide which aspect becomes the protagonist of its portfolio story.

Contact: daniel.coelho@evonik.com

Learn more about Evonik’s color cosmetics concept Make-Up Magic:
https://www.evonik.com/en/company/businesslines/cs/personal-care/caretrends/concepts/make-up-magic.html