Cosmoprof Bologna 2025 was a resounding success: According to the organisers, this year’s edition of the world’s leading beauty trade show hosted 3,128 exhibitors (representing over 10,000 brands) from 65 countries, and over 255,000 attendees from 150 countries visited the fair from 20th to 23th March 2025. A definite increase compared to Cosmoprof Bologna 2024.
As always, the fair consisted of two sections: Cosmopack (packaging, ingredients, OEM/ODM etc.) and Cosmo Perfumery & Cosmetics (retail beauty) took place from 20th-22nd March; Cosmo Hair & Nails & Beauty Salon (salon cosmetics, salon hair, nails; beauty, equipment and tech) took place from 20th-23rd March.
If you’re interested in my other Bologna show reports, they are here: Cosmoprof Bologna 2016, Cosmoprof Bologna 2017, Cosmoprof Bologna 2018, Cosmoprof Bologna 2019, Cosmoprof Bologna 2022 and Cosmoprof Bologna 2023.
The fair was super busy during the three days of the (Cosmoprof/Cosmopack) show, despite the 24-hour city-wide bus strike on the second day which obliged me – and, I would imagine, around half of all visitors who were based in the city – to walk to the trade show centre. It wasn’t too bad actually, I walked with a bunch of other visitors/exhibitors that I met at my bus stop and it was only 40 mins. No rain that day.
Anyway, Cosmoprof Bologna 2025 was a fantastic show with great energy all round, the halls were hopping! During an average trade show I’ll usually post around 20 brands on my Instagram grid, if it’s really interesting I might go up to 25 posts (I think last year’s Cosmoprof Bologna was a 25-post event for me). For this year’s Bologna show I posted 31 brands which is a lot, even for me! I’ll be covering the most interesting of these 30-odd brands/launches in this article; feel free to check out my Instagram grid (@annika_trendtraveller) for additional show coverage. I also assembled my Instastories, live videos and so on from the trade show into a Highlight.
Cosmoprof Bologna is so big and diverse that it’s difficult to group brands and launches into trend themes (except for the broadest of categories). Therefore I’ll do what I usually do with my Cosmoprof Bologna coverage and list the brands in no particular order, starting with the host country, Italy.
COSMOPROF BOLOGNA 2025: INNOVATION FROM ITALY
EXTRALANDIA (Italy)
As you can see, the key visual of Extralandia’s exhibition booth is striking: A shot of brand founder Christian Filippi’s face taking center stage. Filippi (@damn.tee on Instagram) is a very VERY well-known makeup TikToker – in fact, he turned up at the booth while I was there for a meet & greet with fans and within the space of not even a minute, the booth and the entire aisle area were mobbed by Filippi’s (mostly female) followers. I kind of fled and returned two hours later and there was still a queue of fans waiting to get selfies with and quick makeovers from Filippi.
Extralandia was launched in 2021, the compact gender-free product line-up offers liquid primer/foundation hybrids in 18 shades (ranging all the way to darkest brown), shimmer body/face powders (ten shades), mascaras and eyeliner, loose powder (nine shades), two seriously beautiful nude powder eye shadow palettes and a liquid-to-powder shot serum/primer. Products are priced at around 20-22 Euro and distribution (I assume) is primarily on social media and online.
MEWE (Italy)
Another domestic makeup brand, this time in Cosmoprime’s Extraordinary Gallery of newcomer and indie brands. I absolutely loved the innovative drive of Mewe, the brand offers some seriously cool products. Magic Wand, for example, is a solid foundation with colour-adapting pigments pressed into an egg-shaped facetted crystal. It’s creamy but leaves a powdery finish; you can buy refills which are packaged in little egg cartons, simply screw the new “egg” onto the handle and voilà, it’s ready to use.
There is also a Magic Wand Lip & Cheek Tint which works the same way; I forgot to take pictures which is a pity because the pH-reactive product has a striking blue-ish black colour. Once you rub the lip/cheek egg over your skin, the formula reacts to the skin’s individual pH and turns into a rosy/red colour (at least on my skin).
Mewe‘s line-up also includes the Mascara Regenerating Potion, a highly-pigmented black liquid formulated with emollient plant oils. You can drip a few drops of the potion into any water-soluble black mascara to make the mascara formula more moisturising. Also works well on mascaras that are already dried up a bit; drip the Potion into the “old” mascara tube, mix it with the applicator brush and it’ll become creamy again.
The all-over-shimmer highlighters have a cool dual-ended applicator – one side has a little comb to you can use the shimmer on lashes and eyebrows, the other side is a regular soft rounded applicator to apply the product onto the skin. I also liked the Secret Glow highlighter/primer/serum which had a great texture.
Mewe products are priced between 18-30 Euro and the range is sold online and offline, primarily through independent perfumeries and so on but the brand is also available in Italy’s La Rinascente department store chain.
BIANCAMORE (Italy)
This was the first time I met a beauty brand whose key active is buffalo milk. Biancamore is from Paestum in the South of Italy, the company runs a buffalo farm and all products in the 15+ sku range of skin, body and hair care contain buffalo milk. Apparently, buffalo milk has a high fat content so it’s very moisturising when applied to the skin.
Biancamore’s product range is priced between 9-45 Euro, it is sold online and offline (through selected retailers) and the company was at Cosmoprof Bologna to expand its offline distribution
DERMASELF (Italy)
Indie brand Dermaself was part of the Italian Start-Up brand pavillion which Cosmoprof Bologna inaugurated last year. The brand was launched in 2023 and they offer personalised cosmetics but with a twist: Dermaself specialises in beauty products for acne skin.
I’m not talking about a few pimples and impurities here but about the actual, diagnosable skin illness. Acne comes in many different varieties; it can be bacterial, funghal, viral; it progresses/develops differently on every skin and treatments can take years. Thank goodness I’ve never had acne but I know several people who did when they were younger and it can be such a battle.
The founder of Dermaself is herself an acne sufferer so she developed an AI-driven diagnostics database that covers all the different versions of acne, taking into account pore size, diameter of pustules, depth of comedones and many other parameters. Based on these results, Dermaself develops a version of its standard night cream specifically targeted at the needs of each customer’s skin.
Customers sign up for a subscription type service and each month, they repeat the online self-diagnosis/analysis process. The individual cream formula is regularly updated to accommodate the changes in the sufferer’s individual acne progression.
The brand started out with its own 2-sku product range of night cream and pimple patches but what I find particularly interesting is that the Dermself database can also recommend suitable products from other medicated/retail brands. An interesting cross-category (and cross-retail) brand concept.
PROKE (Italy)
Proke was another newcomer brand in the Italian Start-Up pavillion and while they’re not a beauty brand in the classic sense, their digital/beautytech product definitely slots into the Beauty & Personal Care category.
Proke offers app-based 3D body measuring. Customers are dressed in skin tight clothing which is equipped with markers. The person is then scanned with the Proke app on your smartphone and it builds a 3D body image with pictures and precise measurements that are sent directly to your phone.
Proke started out in the fashion industry but the brand’s technology is also used in the medical field (for example, to measure for compression clothing or protheses), in the professional/competitive sports industry and increasingly, in beauty. I was told that salons and spas are particularly interested in Proke’s digital tech because that way they can prove that beauty/body/slimming treatments actually work.
COSMOPROF BOLOGNA 2025: INNOVATION FROM FRANCE
LABORATOIRES BIARRITZ (France)
Organic sun screen brand Laboratoires Biarritz was a first-time exhibitor at Cosmoprof Bologna 2025. The company has excellently formulated certified organic SPF products which are widely available in Germany, online as well as offline – for example, the German Alnatura organic supermarket chain carries some of the Laboratoires Biarritz product ranges.
Amongst Laboratoires Biarritz‘ 2024 launches are a range of organic sun screens with synthetic filters – the five face and body sun protection products (SPF 30/SPF 50) have an organic formula but instead of mineral filters, the products contain the latest generation of reef-safe synthetic filters. Great textures; I particularly liked the SPF50 stick. Price range: 15-25 Euro. Last October, the brand also introduced its first straight-up face care product, the Crème de Biarritz (19 Euro), and last month, a matching body lotion (15 Euro) joined the range.
EAU THERMALE JONZAC/SO BIO/BOHO (France)
Like Laboratoires Biarritz, the French Léa Nature group used to exhibit at Vivaness trade show in Nuremberg each February. Back when Vivaness was still a well-managed organic beauty trade fair. Since the death of Vivaness, I’ve kind of gotten used to catching up with Léa Nature’s beauty brands at Cosmoprof Bologna. Thank goodness the company is still exhibiting here!
In its home market, Léa Nature owns at least a dozen health and beauty brands plus around half a dozen food/supplements labels but its best-known cosmetics ranges are probably So BiO étic and Eau Thermale Jonzac (still the only certified organic thermal water brand that I know of!).
At Cosmoprof Bologna 2025, Léa Nature showcased its So BiO, Jonzac and Boho Green Makeup range as well as the Natessance line. I usually concentrate on So BiO and Jonzac but this year, I also checked out Boho Green Makeup.
And here are the novelties in the three brands: In So BiO étic, there are a new Vitamin C serum and cream in the Hydra Aloe range; the Lait d’Anesse (donkey’s milk) line was extended with a serum and a night cream and there are also two new hair care products in the Shea range (a milky conditioning spray and an intensive hair mask).
Eau Thermale Jonzac introduced a Pigment Control Serum with mallow extract as the second ingredient (the first, as always, is the thermal water from the Jonzac spring). Finally, the Boho Green Makeup now offers an 8-sku range of face and body care products including several shimmering body lotions and oils, two makeup removers and a body butter. Luscious textures and great scents.
MELVITA (France)
Another first-time exhibitor at Cosmoprof Bologna 2025, Melvita doesn’t need an introduction. The organic beauty brand has a significant international retail footprint – especially in Asia – and I must admit it’s been a while since I last looked at their product ranges in more detail. There was a lot to discover here, and not just the fairly recent packaging relaunch which also included reformulations of several of Melvita’s standard products.
I was particularly interested in the new refillable pack design of the Melvita face creams. Traditionally these are packaged in heavy glass jars. The new packaging concept is retaining the glass jar but the creams are now filled into capsules (single-material plastic with an alumium foil cover, they look a bit like Nespresso-style coffee capsules) that can be slotted into the jar. When the cream is all used up, you can simply buy a refill capsule of any of the Melvita creams (there are three variants in total, in the Source de Roses, Nectar Sublime and Argan Bio-Active ranges).
The brand also launched two new body care products, a serum and a dry oil to flank its famous Gold Body oil.
COSMOPROF BOLOGNA 2025: INNOVATION FROM THE UK
BARKIN & MEOWSON (UK)
Such a fun – and highly segmented – pet care brand! Barkin & Meowson launched last year and the brand’s line-up includes some 20+ shampoos, detangling sprays, eye and ear cleansers, teeth and mouth cleansers and various other care products for cats and dogs, including a hypoallergenic care and cleansing range for dogs with sensitive skin/hair and/or puppies. There is also a range of pet supplements (vitamins/minerals to keep the coat glossy, boost the immune system, regulate the prostate and so on).
I was particularly impressed by the sheer number of different dog shampoos – there are products for long double coats, short double coats, long or short single coats, curly hair, long hair, dark hair, white hair… toothbrush, paste and mouthwashes, micellar waters to cleanse eyes, ears and paws, conditioning/detangling sprays for the coat, moisturising balms for paws and nose, household cleansing products against dog hair, urine etc.
Also liked the over-the-top advertising visuals : )
HAPPY PAUL (UK)
Mood-boosting fragrance/lifestyle brand Happy Paul was an exhibitor in the Extraordinary Gallery at Cosmoprime. Named after the brand founder (who has struggled with mental health issues), the 7-sku Happy Paul product range is built around a mood-lifting fragrance blend of bergamot, pink pepper and spearmint, a heart of petitgrain, jasmine and rosemary and a base of calming woods.
The line-up includes a foaming face cleanser, a hair and body wash, an aromatherapy roll-on, perfumes sprays and a soy wax candle, a facial moisturiser and a face scrub. Products retail for around 13-15 GBP for the face and body care, around 45 GBP for the fragrances.
In the UK, the Happy Paul products are sold online as well as offline (UK offline retailers include men’s fashion retailer Moss Bros and various spas and salons) and 10% of all product retail sales go to UK mental health charity Young Minds. An impressive beauty brand.
SENTIER (UK)
Luxury fragrance brand Sentier’s latest launch is a range of six alcohol-free fragrances – which seemed to be a bit of a trend at Cosmoprof Bologna, incidentally. Customers with sensitive skin are finally receiving some attention from beauty manufacturers and this also includes some perfume houses. Although alcohol-free fragrances also work to attract other demographics – they can easily be made halal, for example. Alcohol-free also means much less risk of phototoxicity, i.e. you can wear the perfumes in the sunshine without risking hyperpigmentation.
However, Sentier’s alcohol-free fragrances were primarily created to appeal to consumers preferring a lighter fragrance experience, or those who have allergy-prone skin. There is also a range of soy candles which was introduced quite recently. Sentier was launched in 2022, the brand’s perfumes are primarily sold online, through its own webshop as well as retailers such as Lookfantastic. 100ml EdP retail for around 120 GBP.
COSMOPROF BOLOGNA 2025: GLOBAL INNOVATIONS
AERLIG (Denmark)
Another interesting indie fragrance brand. Aerlig (the Danish word for “honest”) offers six non-phototoxic luxury perfumes formulated with wheat-based alcohol which is less drying to the skin so fragrances can be worn in the sun without risking skin discolouration.
The company also says that its perfumes are free from over 70 fragrance components that can cause allergic reactions. The scent molecules used in the creation of the Aerlig fragrances are all lab-manufactured and completely synthetic, making them suitable for customers who have allergy-prone or sensitive skin. Of course, you can still react negatively to certain fragrance compounds – every skin is different – but the Aerlig fragrances really cut down the risk of triggering skin allergies quite a bit, as far as I can tell.
Aerlig was launched in 2020 and 100ml EdP retail for 110 Euro. In Denmark, the perfumes are sold through independent retailers (lifestyle stores, concept stores etc.) as well as spas. And online, of course. I was also told that Aerlig had just signed a distribution agreement with Beauty Alliance, one of Germany’s independent luxury beauty retailer associations, so the Aerlig fragrances should appear in selected luxury perfumeries across Germany soon.
SANDAWHA (Korea)
Several very cool launches from organic Korean beauty brand Sandawha – like the two new solid fragrances! The two scented twist-up stick balms are Cosmos Natural-certified. There will also be a spicule needle shot in the Sandawha Camellia range which I am really excited about.
I never thought my skin would like needle shots but at Cosmoprof Asia last year I received several Noste needle shot samples (Noste is another Skincure brand) and tried them out at home, and as a once-a-week treatment they work really well on my barrier-impaired sensitive ageing skin. Finally, there are two new body Sandawha body scrubs – one scented with green tea notes, the other with the classic Sandawha camellia fragrance.
TIMAGE/PROYA (China)
I last met Chinese beauty manufacturer Proya at one of the China Beauty Expo shows that I attended in Shanghai before the pandemic – such a long time ago! Cosmoprof Bologna 2025 was Proya’s first European trade show appearance ever; last autumn the company opened an innovation centre in Paris and they are really pushing forward their European brand expansion.
In its domestic market, Proya has around a dozen beauty brands targeting different demographics – their most famous range is the original Proya line which launched in 2001 – and at Cosmoprof Bologna 2025, they presented three of their best-known brands, including the beautifully packaged Timage which you can see in the pictures.
Timage was founded in 2014 by (I think he’s a makeup artist?) Tang Yi, with packaging inspired by traditional Chinese aesthetics, calligraphy and, of course, beautiful pale-green jade. The lipstick packaging is particularly pleasant to handle, the caps and sleeves even feel slightly heavier than usual.
I also liked the pack design of the liquid foundations – the bottle cap contains a small jar of matching concealer which is a great idea. Proya’s brand don’t have Instagram accounts yet but hopefully there’ll be a European social media presence soon. I really look forward to seeing more Chinese beauty brands over here.
CORE BY URANG (Korea)
My other favourite organic beauty brand from Korea is Urang Naturals – and at this year’s Cosmoprof Bologna, Urang presented an entirely new functional beauty brand. Core by Urang carries a lower price tag, while the products are not certified organic (like Urang’s classic range) the INCIs are still beautifully high quality, clean and compact – check out the pics for sample INCI.
There are four sku in the line-up: The Apple Honey Gentle Cleanser gel (key ingredients include apple extract and tea tree oil), Sea Kelp Soothing Toner (butterfly pea flower and kelp extract), Panthenol Milky Cream moisturising lotion (this is a very liquid moisturiser with a great texture) with panthenol, sunflower oil, NMN and squalane and Radiance Serum with panthenol, niacinamide and biotine.
Products are priced from 10-20 Euro and the new range should be rolled out to Urang’s usual international markets in a few months or so.
ANDMETICS (Austria)
Andmetics had such a fun-looking brand pavillion. The Austrian beauty brand offers some seriously innovative products, such as the HOCl Spray, a blend of water and hyprochlorous acid which can be sprayed into injured or inflamed skin (or even on the gums) and helps to soothe and heal the tissues.
The range also includes two sun care products: A clear SPF50 spray for face, body and hair (there are very few multipurpose sun sprays on the German market and even fewer UV care products that are suitable for hair!) and a transparent SPF50 sun protection gel which goes on smoothly and looks and feels like silicone primer but without silicones. Great texture. I also liked the Magic Eye Stick, a cooling and hydrating stick serum.
The Andmetics range also includes shaped wax strips for brows, face, lips and body; ready-to-use eyebrow colourants in convenient sachet form (available in four colours) and a brow lamination kit.
Although the brand was launched in 2024, products will be rolled out next month. In Austria, Andmetics‘ range will be sold in dm, Bipa and Müller drugstores, in Germany the line will also be available through Müller’s stores. Products are priced under 20 Euro so very suitable for the mass market. Stylish, colourful packaging. I’ll look forward to seeing the products in-store soon.
PAESE (Poland)
Polish makeup brand Paese also had some cool new launches at the show. I discovered Paese at the Bologna show a couple of years ago and really like the brand’s plant powder-based loose face powder range – Paese has a Bamboo face powder, for example, which includes finely milled bamboo leaf powder. The line also includes a rice powder and, as the latest addition, there is now Olive Powder which contains milled olive leaf powder.
I also saw a new SPF50 protection spray that can be misted over makeup. It’s a very light formula that leaves a barely-there protective film, or at least that’s what it felt like on my hand. Just a hint of fragrance. I like these kind of all-over UV sprays.
JOIK (Estonia)
Ever since Estonian organic brand Joik stopped attending Vivaness trade show (their last Vivaness appearance was since before the pandemic) I’ve kind of lost track of the brand. Although their products are fantastic. Joik used to be available much more widely in Germany, both offline and online. I met the brand for the first time in ages at last year’s Cosmoprof Bologna and was very happy to reconnect with Joik this year.
So! Lots of new launches, specifically in the face care category. There are three new face ranges which launched in September 2024: Re/Boost Collagen for mature skin (cleansing balm, day cream, face/neck/decolleté night cream, eye cream, oil serum), Moisture Magnet for dehydrated skin (cleansing foam, micellar water, serum, day cream, night cream toner and cream face mask) and Re/Boost Glow for tired skin (cleansing gel, brightening toner, exfoliating peeling mask, rose water and serum hydrogel; except for the rose water all products are formulated with BHA, AHA and PHA).
I particularly liked the Moisture Magnet range, the products are based on birch sap (such a classic Northern European ingredient!). Products are priced at between 20 Euro and 50 Euro.
AJSENS (Canada)
This was one of my favourite brand discoveries at this year’s Cosmoprof Bologna because it is such a unique product. It took me a minute to figure out what Canadian start-up brand AJSens was offering: Prescription eyewear for short-sighted/sight-impaired people to help them with makeup application or other close-up beauty treatments.
A note for non-glasses wearing readers (or if you only need to wear glasses occasionally, for driving or reading): There’s a good chance you won’t see the point of this product. However, for those of us who have to wear glasses all day because we are unable to function without our prescription lenses, and/or who are very short-sighted or otherwise sight-impaired – and who enjoy wearing/applying makeup – the AJSens frames make so much sense!
Because the brand’s titanium frames can be unlatched in the middle. There’s a small hinge, you press on it and the frames come apart into two pieces, with a lens and earpiece each. You can then wear, say, the left section of the glasses on your left eye whilst doing the makeup on your right eye (or tweeze your brows or whatever) without having to hang over the bathroom sink to get as close as possible to the mirror.
Me, I travel with a small foldable mirror for precisely this situation, hotel rooms rarely have mirrors that are easily accessible. Frequently, the mirror is in the bathroom over the sink which means that you have to contort yourself quite a bit to get the face close enough to the mirror surface to actually see what you’re doing. I usually do my makeup one-handed, mirror in one hand, makeup product in the other.
The AJSens frames allow you to do your makeup whatever the mirror situation. The frames are available in three colours, they are very light when you wear them and would make great back-up glasses (another issue for us very short-sighted people; we need to take a second pair of glasses with us when travelling, in case something happens to our usual glasses…). The frames are retailed at 575 USD, you need to get the prescription lenses sorted out yourself.
I really really keep my fingers crossed that AJSens will find distributors and/or retailers for its awesome product, such innovation needs to be rewarded! I really like these glasses.
QPEARL (Romania)
An interesting innovation from Romanian start-up brand Qpearl: Shampoo, body wash and hair conditioner in the form of marble-sized packaging-free balls.
The formula with the surfactants, active ingredients and so on is enveloped in a protein-based bio material shell. Contact with water won’t dissolve it, you need warm water and friction – put a pearl into the palms of your hands under running water and start rubbing your hands together.
The pearl will slowly melt down/decrease into what feels like a highly concentrated gel-type cleansing formula. It generates quite a bit of creamy foam as you continue to wash your hair or body with the pearl – I don’t like to use the word “dissolve” because it makes the pearls sound like powder/tablet cleansers which they are not.
The brand says that one pearl is enough to wash shoulder-length hair or an entire body, the size of the pearl will decrease slowly until only a sliver is left. According to Qpearl, the pearls can be customised with other ingredients (the company is currently experimenting with a body lotion pearl) and I saw mock-ups of wall-mounted pearl dispensers for hotel/private bathrooms. You’ll twist the bottom half of the dispenser and it releases one pearl whilst keeping the rest of the spheres dry.
Qpearls was launched in November 2024, at the moment the pearls are available in two different fragrances and the anticipated RRP will be 10-15 Euro for a pack of seven pearls.
STRÖME (Netherlands)
A charming organic beauty brands from the Netherland, Ströme was launched in early 2024. The brand’s line-up currently offers eight stylishly packaged face, hair and body care products with an additional three shea butter-based solid perfume balms coming soon. The perfume balms will be packaged in little rectangular tins, check out the pictures for the mockup of the packaging.
The standard range includes a birch sap cleanser and toner, a day cream and facial oil, frizzy hair serum and repairing hair oil, undereye oil roll-on and a body oil. I currently use the birch sap toner and really like the formula.
At the moment, Ströme is primarily sold online but in its home market the brand is also available offline in Douglas perfumeries and Holland & Barrett’s health food stores, and there are also selected stockists in Switzerland, Finland, Sweden, Taiwan and Hong Kong. Products are priced from 15 Euro to 30 Euro.
I forgot to take individual pictures of Ströme’s signature products packaging: They use mycellium (mushroom) fibres-based outer packaging – you can kind of see the beige-white outer packaging in the picture above.
And this is it from this year’s Cosmoprof Bologna, I’ll leave you with some more picture of the show. Thanks for reading!
TRENDS. TRAVELS. AND BERLIN 