Podcast: Episode 0, presentation

Audio episode, presentation of a chemist and cosmetologist

• Available on our podcast platform

Résumé

• Introducing Julie
• The role of Product Development Manager
• The cosmetics industry and consumer mistrust
• The promises of the Podcast

Episode Notes

• Website : MastelCosmetics

• The Instagram account: @mastelcosmetics

Don't hesitate to listen to the next episode on what is cosmetics.

Transcription

Hello and welcome to Les sous la Cosmétique, the Podcast that reveals and explains the world of cosmetics. In this episode 0, I would like to introduce myself and describe to you the topics that we will explore on this Podcast. My name is Julie Magand Castel, I am a biologist, chemical and cosmetologist specialized in natural cosmetics and I dream of setting up my own cosmetics brand.

But for now I work as a Product Development Manager for a Californian brand of organic cosmetics. I work in the San Francisco Bay area where I have lived with my husband Louis for over a year now. So my job is the development of cosmetic products. So I guess for some of you it might seem pretty blurry.

This means that I will imagine a new product concept, I will try to describe it as clearly as possible by specifying, for example, the desired texture, the raw materials to be used for the targeted skin benefit, the smell, the color and the in general all the communication around this new project. Then I will approach our laboratory and I will communicate my expectations to them and appreciate their suggestions. And from there, when we have agreed, the formulation work will begin, which takes several months depending on the difficulty, innovation and precision of the project.

They will do several tests, send them to me, I will evaluate them and give them my feedback so that they can improve the product so that it is as close as possible to the product that I would have imagined.

That's the heart of my job, but in general my team and I are the experts in terms of scientific knowledge related to our products. So if the other departments need clarification on the products, we are their main contacts. For example, it may happen that our after-sales service has received a technical question from a customer, that our marketing department would like to make a more technical post on the ingredients or the technologies that we use in such and such a product.

I love my job because I really have the possibility of mixing the creativity that I can have during the design and the scientific side when choosing active ingredients, for example. When choosing the assets, we review all the scientific tests that have been done to prove and evaluate the effectiveness of the asset. In addition to loving my job, I love the cosmetics industry. It fascinates me by the volatility it manifests with very changing trends, but also by the rigor that must be demonstrated to comply with the legislation. On the other hand, I have the impression that the beauty industry sees itself as the epitome of luxury and restricts their communication on all the less sexy aspects of the industry.

But in my opinion this lack of communication does not generate fascination or wonder in the consumer but rather mistrust. The media, moreover, have understood this very well, they play on this lack of confidence and feed it on certain points. A good illustration of this skepticism among consumers is the rise of mobile applications analyzing cosmetics. They are widespread and it is common to see people scanning products in supermarkets. But perhaps to your surprise, the cosmetics industry is highly regulated, especially in Europe. This is also a subject of one of the future episodes of this Podcast so if you are interested stay tuned.

And precisely because the cosmetics industry has very strict regulations in Europe which are based on scientific studies. I find it unfair the tabloid articles that accuse this or that ingredient without necessarily having done a real research work upstream. And that's what makes me want to share the Underside of Cosmetics, so that this industry is better understood and that you have the tools to make your choices in full awareness. I chose an audio format because it's a format I use every day, it's quick and convenient, I listen to Podcasts whenever I have the chance, in transport, cutting my onions, doing my laundry or getting ready in the morning. So if you like the audio format and want to know more about the ingredients that make up your cosmetics, about the different players in the industry, about cosmetic regulations, about the different tests carried out on cosmetics, this Podcast is made for you ! I hope you enjoy the next episodes, I can't wait to start!

The episodes will be released every Saturday and you can find the ratings for these episodes on mastelcosmetics.com in the Under Cosmetics section. Mastel is written MASTEL and is the contraction of my two surnames Magand Castel.

Do not hesitate to react in the comments, to ask your questions or to indicate what you would like to hear next. I would really like to create a link and a sharing relationship that I am sure can be beneficial to everyone. With this in mind, I am planning question / answer episodes so do not hesitate to share your impressions and your questions.

You can now subscribe to the Podcast Les sous de la Cosmétique on various Podcast platforms including Spotify and follow its news on Instagram with the username mastelcosmetics.

Also and of course feel free to share this Podcast with your friends if you think they might enjoy it - thank you and see you Saturday.