"We are now one of the top 3 European make-up manufacturers, and we are posting double-digit growth, thanks to our investments (a new laboratory, a new R&D resources) and expanded capacities in our three European production and filling sites," explains Jean-François Harpes, CEO of IL Cosmetics Group.
Since the mid-2000s, the Luxembourgish group has been able to diversify its activities to become a world-class color cosmetics manufacturer, with an extensive multi-product portfolio in the nail, eye and lip categories.
“Driven by reliability and transparency, we guarantee performances through a deep consumer centricity approach,” adds the manager.
Heading for North America
Today, IL Cosmetics Group provides beauty brands with turnkey products based on the latest technologies, the latest trends and high quality standards, with strong support at all stages of the project.
And the company can boast of great successes! "We are the manufacturer of one of the best-selling mascaras in the world and one of the biggest and best-selling lipgloss ranges in Europe," highlights Aurélie Ignaccolo, Head of Marketing Director at IL Cosmetics. “These worldwide top sellers have become real benchmarks for many brands, including in the United States.”
To accelerate its globalization strategy, the group thus intends to rely on the renowned international references that have opted for made-in-Luxembourg make-up. And logically, the United States are the first stop of the journey. IL Cosmetics Group will first open a sales office in the country and, in the medium to long term, the stated objective is to have a production site in North America.
All-round innovations
In the lips category, IL Cosmetics Group seeks to meet the demand for instant plumping products, which is growing strongly. The group successfully transposed instant plumping from usual lip gloss textures to a semi-matte liquid lipstick format. “At MakeUp in Los Angeles, we have introduced Demi Matt Plumper, an instant lip volumizer liquid lipstick that delivers opaque and intense one-swipe color with a non-dry satin finish. This product has already caught the curiosity of several brands,” says Laura Pereira, Senior Lips Product Manager.
In the eyes category, the consumer demand, driven by social media, is oriented towards mascaras that provide make-up results in just a few strokes. “Products need to deliver instant gratification through visible transformations that are ‘TikTok worthy’. Hence the need for products with fast volume like our Volume Maximizer that made a buzz in LA," emphasizes Juanita Parra, Marketing Manager Make Up. These innovations will of course also be visible at the next Cosmoprof show in Bologna, Italy, alongside a collection of mascaras that come in recycled packaging, have a bio-based brushes and are paired with performing formulas that have a high percentage of naturality.
Of course, IL Cosmetics remains a key player in the nail category, a market now driven by new hybrid technologies inspired by semi-permanent gels and available in retail thanks to new “HEMA-free and DI-HEMA-free” formulations which will be previewed at the Cosmoprof event (stand G13-F14 Hall 15).
