Beauty

Beauty giant Sephora has returned to the UK after nearly 20 years – by betting on AI and gen Z

Retrieved on: 
Thursday, April 18, 2024

Sephora, the French multinational retailer of personal care and beauty products, has made a comeback to the UK after an 18-year hiatus.

Key Points: 
  • Sephora, the French multinational retailer of personal care and beauty products, has made a comeback to the UK after an 18-year hiatus.
  • Back in 2005, Sephora decided to close its UK stores due to market challenges and fierce competition from homegrown retailers like Boots and Superdrug.
  • Sephora launched its online store in the UK in 2022 after acquiring Feelunique, a British online retailer.

The power of AI

  • Another factor that may have influenced Sephora’s decision is the growing power of artificial intelligence (AI) in the beauty industry.
  • Sephora has been at the forefront of this trend, leveraging AI to offer personalised skincare routines, virtual makeup try-on, and product recommendations based on individual preferences and skin types.
  • By harnessing the power of AI, Sephora may be able to provide a more engaging and tailored shopping experience to its UK customers.
  • The use of AI in beauty and fashion retail is a growing trend, with many companies recognising its potential to transform the shopping experience.

Back for good?

  • The retailer has been opening new stores in various regions, including China, Russia and the Middle East.
  • This international growth strategy could have given Sephora the confidence and resources to tackle the UK market once again.
  • But its return to the UK market after nearly 20 years is a bold move that reflects the changing dynamics of the beauty industry.


Nisreen Ameen does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

Snorkelling artists showcase Scotland’s diverse marine life in thought-provoking exhibition

Retrieved on: 
Thursday, April 18, 2024

In the vibrant ebb and flow of Glasgow’s Byres Road, a new residency of snorkelling artists shines a light on the hidden deep.

Key Points: 
  • In the vibrant ebb and flow of Glasgow’s Byres Road, a new residency of snorkelling artists shines a light on the hidden deep.
  • This exhibition showcases their diverse range of multimedia artworks, from illustration and printmaking to audio recordings of underwater seascapes and animation.
  • Installation artist Vicki Fleck’s work uses a variety of media while “exploring the fluid, spongy and colourful landscape” underwater.
  • She says she has been particularly inspired by the horizonless perspective of the snorkeller, “where everything comes up and towards”.


Internationally acclaimed wildlife artist and scientific illustrator Rachel Brooks’s detailed ink pieces capture the often-overlooked marine life found in UK coastal waters, while drawing on her expertise in zoology and marine biology.

  • This residency has also inspired poems and storytelling, exhibited with QR codes that direct people to podcasts and compositions by some participants.
  • Composer and sound artist Nicolette MacLeod creates work that invites people to listen to a series of compositions and podcast episodes made in response to the residency experience.

Hope spots

  • The goal is to create a global network of hope spots, as far flung as the Galápagos and the Great Barrier Reef, that together help protect the hugely unexplored, yet fragile, ocean habitats beneath the waves.
  • The Argyll Coast and Islands Hope Spot, on the west coast, is the first in Scotland and the only designated hope spot in UK coastal waters.


These residencies give artists access to new pastures of inspiration and discovery. By collaborating with marine scientists during this experience, the artists are encouraged to bring the mysteries and beauty of the largely unseen underwater worlds to a larger public. This can enlighten and educate people about the critical role that the ocean and its teeming-yet-threatened populations play in our own survival.

Visual storytelling

  • Using visual narratives to communicate information can help demystify and explain sometimes complex, inaccessible and unfathomable places and lifeforms that most people would not normally have access to, or knowledge of.
  • Visual narratives have a potency that supersedes textual formats.
  • This form of storytelling presents information, data and ideas in a more accessible, visual context that allows more people to see the bigger picture.
  • It can be hard for people to connect with the sea other than by looking out over its seemingly endless surface.
  • But art initiatives can unite people to engage with causes that might otherwise escape their notice, because visual storytelling brings this subject matter closer to home.


Chris Mackenzie does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

‘Pretty privilege’: attractive people considered more trustworthy, research confirms

Retrieved on: 
Wednesday, April 10, 2024

Beauty is not, as it is often assumed to be, “in the eye of the beholder” – but follows certain predictable rules.

Key Points: 
  • Beauty is not, as it is often assumed to be, “in the eye of the beholder” – but follows certain predictable rules.
  • The fascination for the perfect makeup or skincare is fired up by the impact of perfect faces displayed on social media and enhanced by image processing and filters.

Pretty privilege

  • Numerous studies have shown that attractive individuals benefit from a beauty bonus and earn higher salaries on average.
  • Beautiful individuals are consistently expected to be more intelligent and thought to be better leaders, which influences career trajectories and opportunities.

Does being attractive make you more trustworthy?

  • In our recent paper Adam Zylbersztejn, Zakaria Babutsidze, Nobuyuki Hanaki and I set out to find out.
  • Previous studies presented different portraits of individuals to observers and asked them about their beliefs about these people.
  • Each player’s payoff thus depended on their own actions and/or the actions of the other player:


If player A chooses “Left”, then regardless of player Bs’ choice:
If player A chooses “Right” and player B chooses “Don’t roll”:
If player A chooses “Right” and player B chooses “Roll”:

  • To do so they were presented with the abstract choice scenario explained above while individually sat in a cubicle.
  • If they decided not to trust, they were sure to receive a meagre 5-euro payout for their participation in the study.
  • However, once an A player decided to trust their B partner, their fate was in the B player’s hands.

Does gender come into play?

  • This implies that in our abstract economic exchange, beautiful individuals are more likely to benefit from the trust of others.
  • However, when investigating actual behaviour, we see that beautiful individuals are neither more nor less trustworthy than anyone else.
  • In other words, trustworthiness is driven by good old individual values and personality, which are not correlated with how someone looks.

Are beautiful people more suspicious of their peers?

  • However, we might wonder who is more likely to fall prey to this bias.
  • We constructed our study such that we could also investigate this question.
  • Specifically, the participants we recruited in Lyon to make their predictions also had their photos taken.
  • We thus knew how much they were influenced by the looks of others but also how conventionally good-looking they were themselves.


Astrid Hopfensitz ne travaille pas, ne conseille pas, ne possède pas de parts, ne reçoit pas de fonds d'une organisation qui pourrait tirer profit de cet article, et n'a déclaré aucune autre affiliation que son organisme de recherche.

EQS-News: The Platform Group AG: GMV, sales and earnings above forecast, positive outlook for 2024 confirmed, medium-term planning for 2025

Retrieved on: 
Wednesday, April 10, 2024

The Management Board of TPG is optimistic that the defined target of 1 billion euros GMV will be achieved in 2025.

Key Points: 
  • The Management Board of TPG is optimistic that the defined target of 1 billion euros GMV will be achieved in 2025.
  • Business activities are therefore always geared towards achieving positive operating results and also reporting positive net results as a Group.
  • At TPG, positive earnings figures go hand in hand with positive cash flows, which are actively invested.
  • The Platform Group AG is a software company that is active in 19 sectors with its own platform solutions.

Koh Aesthetics Launches in New York City, Elevating the Aesthetic Landscape

Retrieved on: 
Friday, April 5, 2024

New York, New York--(Newsfile Corp. - April 5, 2024) - Dr. Darby Koh proudly announces the 'Koh Aesthetics' official launch in aesthetic medicine.

Key Points: 
  • New York, New York--(Newsfile Corp. - April 5, 2024) - Dr. Darby Koh proudly announces the 'Koh Aesthetics' official launch in aesthetic medicine.
  • Koh Aesthetics debuted on December 1st, 2023, marking a new development in the aesthetic scene, domestically and globally.
  • Spearheaded by Dr. Darby Koh, a board-certified nurse practitioner with a diverse background, this mission is all about redefining norms and sparking a confidence revolution in their patients.
  • To achieve this, the clinic closely observes global best practices, merging advanced Korean aesthetic technologies (K-beauty) with American methods.

C.K. McWhorter Endows Van Cleef & Arpels With Esteemed McWhorter Family Trust Warrant Of Excellence

Retrieved on: 
Tuesday, April 9, 2024

McWhorter & McWhorter Family Trust grant a McWhorter Family Trust Warrant of Recognition to Van Cleef & Arpels for its exceptional commitment to Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) practices.

Key Points: 
  • McWhorter & McWhorter Family Trust grant a McWhorter Family Trust Warrant of Recognition to Van Cleef & Arpels for its exceptional commitment to Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) practices.
  • This prestigious accolade is a testament to Van Cleef & Arpels' innovative leadership in the realm of sustainable luxury jewelry manufacturing, mirroring the foundational ethos of the McWhorter Family Trust to champion investments that are both responsible and transformative within the luxury sector.
  • This recognition by the McWhorter Family Trust highlights Van Cleef & Arpels' pioneering role in promoting sustainability across its operations, from the sourcing of materials to the final creation of its iconic pieces.
  • Van Cleef & Arpels' active engagement in global sustainability initiatives and its ongoing efforts to enhance social responsibility and governance excellence stand as a beacon for the luxury industry.

WizMediBio Signs Contract with the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF) for Botulinum Toxin Strain

Retrieved on: 
Tuesday, April 9, 2024

The A1 botulinum toxin currently dominates the market and as a novel subtype, A6 presents itself as a challenger.

Key Points: 
  • The A1 botulinum toxin currently dominates the market and as a novel subtype, A6 presents itself as a challenger.
  • Therefore, the future course of the A6 strain as a BOTULINUM TOXIN provides a new opportunity in the botulinum field.
  • The company aims to capture the botulinum toxin market based on maximized utilization of its distribution network and experience.
  • "We will enhance the global market, especially the U.S., with novel botulinum toxin products," said Choi Yong-hoon, the CEO of WizMedi Bio.

El Pollo Loco Wraps Up Women's History Month with a Special Event Recognizing Women Who Lead, Inspire, and Empower

Retrieved on: 
Tuesday, April 9, 2024

She immigrated to the United States from El Salvador and joined the El Pollo Loco team at 17, nurturing a dream of becoming a franchisee.

Key Points: 
  • She immigrated to the United States from El Salvador and joined the El Pollo Loco team at 17, nurturing a dream of becoming a franchisee.
  • Women are indispensable in making El Pollo Loco the successful and thriving business it is today.
  • Earlier this year, El Pollo Loco announced a one-year collaboration with talented artist and entrepreneur LaLa Romero to celebrate and empower women.
  • Through this collaboration, El Pollo Loco and LaLa Romero are committed to creating a supportive and empowering space for women to come together and celebrate their strengths, accomplishments, and creativity.

Correction: A Musical About Self-Discovery Through Music | NYFA 2024 New Works Show “Paper Valley” to Stir Audiences this April

Retrieved on: 
Thursday, April 4, 2024

The show is part of the school’s long-standing “New Works Series” and is open to the public.

Key Points: 
  • The show is part of the school’s long-standing “New Works Series” and is open to the public.
  • The emotional journey follows Kate as she faces old memories, tough truths, and self-discovery through music.
  • The 2024 “New Works Series” is a long-standing series of original works created and performed by the New York City campus students of the NYFA Musical Theatre department.
  • For those interested in learning about studying musical theatre at NYFA, check out the school's degrees, programs, short-term workshops, and teens and kids camps on the musical theatre discipline page .

OTC Markets Group Welcomes DSM Firmenich AG to OTCQX

Retrieved on: 
Thursday, April 4, 2024

NEW YORK, April 04, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- OTC Markets Group Inc. (OTCQX: OTCM), operator of regulated markets for trading 12,000 U.S. and international securities, today announced DSM Firmenich AG (Euronext Amsterdam: DSFIR; OTCQX: DSFIY, DSMFF), a leading innovator in nutrition, health, and beauty, has qualified to trade on the OTCQX® Best Market.

Key Points: 
  • NEW YORK, April 04, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- OTC Markets Group Inc. (OTCQX: OTCM), operator of regulated markets for trading 12,000 U.S. and international securities, today announced DSM Firmenich AG (Euronext Amsterdam: DSFIR; OTCQX: DSFIY, DSMFF), a leading innovator in nutrition, health, and beauty, has qualified to trade on the OTCQX® Best Market.
  • DSM Firmenich AG upgraded to OTCQX from the Pink® Limited market.
  • DSM Firmenich AG begins trading today on OTCQX under the symbols “DSFIY and DSMFF.” U.S. investors can find current financial disclosure and Real-Time Level 2 quotes for the company on www.otcmarkets.com .
  • Upgrading to the OTCQX Market is an important step for companies seeking to provide transparent trading for their U.S. investors.