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SAN DIEGO, March 26, 2025 鈥斅燨n the shelves of makeup counters and drugstores sits an array of foundations in various olive, ivory and fair shades. But for people with darker skin tones, finding the right foundation shade can be a challenge. Dark foundations on the market often fall flat, appearing gray-like once applied on the skin. But now, researchers report a blue cosmetic color additive that gives these foundations the warmth and depth they currently lack.聽
Gabriella Baki, associate professor of pharmaceutics and director of the cosmetic science and formulation design undergraduate program at the University of Toledo, will present her team鈥檚 results at the spring meeting of the American Chemical 中国365bet中文官网 (ACS). ACS Spring 2025 is being held March 23-27; it features about 12,000 presentations on a range of science topics.
Watch a聽Headline Science聽YouTube Short聽about this research.
鈥淥n the market and for the history of cosmetics, foundations have been created with three colorants 鈥� red, yellow and black iron oxide,鈥� says Raihaanah Zaahirah Safee, a former student in Baki鈥檚 lab and current graduate student at the University of Toledo.聽
However, using high concentrations of black iron oxide for darker foundations results in an unappealing gray and ashy look on the skin. White pigments used to lighten foundations, including zinc oxide and titanium dioxide, can also contribute to this phenomenon.聽
To expand the color range of foundations, some cosmetic companies have experimented with adding blue pigments. After learning about a blue pigment called ultramarine blue from a podcast, another student in Baki鈥檚 lab approached her about studying the pigment. 鈥淚f you think about traditional color theory practices in relation to the art world, red, yellow and blue are used in combination with black and white,鈥� says Zaahirah Safee. 鈥淲e built our research around this idea.鈥澛�
Previously, Zaahirah Safee and colleagues assessed the effects of the blue pigment on foundation color in loose powders. The team first developed a formulation for the foundation base, then an 11-pigment range for darker and lighter skin tones. The shade range was created by varying the black and blue pigment ratios and the type of white pigment used.聽
Three techniques were used to analyze the powder foundations: a spectrophotometer measured color differences; foundation swatches were pressed down on Leneta paper, black-and-white paper used to evaluate color on a solid background; and finally, the foundations were swatched on human participants鈥� skin through a consumer study approved by the University of Toledo鈥檚 Institutional Review Board.聽聽
鈥淲e realized that you can use ultramarine blue solely to create a deeper skin tone foundation, but you do need a little bit of black to create your intended value,鈥� says Zaahirah Safee. Ultramarine blue reduced gray cast, while zinc oxide reduced white cast and created warmer, redder hues in an ultramarine blue base.聽
Next, Karissa Richards, another student researcher in the Baki lab, evaluated the effects of ultramarine blue in stick foundations. This formulation proved trickier, given that extra variables like liquid moisturizers and skin-softeners called emollients were introduced into the foundation mixture. With stick foundations, 鈥渨e wet the pigments with the emollients,鈥� says Richards. 鈥淯pon developing the formulation, we noticed a lot of issues with the color not being uniform throughout the formulation, once we poured it into the mold to set the stick.鈥澛�
After figuring out the correct formulation, the team used the same pigment ratios as the loose powders for the new sticks. Then Richards analyzed the new products using the same three techniques. She measured similar color trends in the stick foundations as the loose powders.聽
The next project for Baki鈥檚 group is to study ultramarine blue in liquid foundations. She says this is the hardest of all foundation formulas to develop because the ingredients include water and oil, which don鈥檛 mix well with each other. However, liquid foundation is most used by consumers.聽
Baki says there aren鈥檛 any plans to commercialize their foundations, given the formulations are so simple. The loose powder and stick foundations are like 鈥渁 backbone, they have everything they need and nothing extra.鈥� Her ultimate hope is for chemists and manufacturers to see this team鈥檚 research and give ultramarine blue a try in commercial products.聽
Zaahirah Safee says this work is personally important to her. 鈥淲ithin my introduction into the world of makeup, I came across a lot of hurdles. Foundations wouldn鈥檛 show up on me as they would show up on other models,鈥� she says. As an aspiring cosmetic chemist, she hopes to introduce these new ideas at the formulation table. 鈥淐hanges can be made.鈥澛�
The researchers report no external funding for this work.
Visit the聽聽to learn more about this presentation, 鈥淓ffect of ultramarine blue on the color of powder and stick foundations,鈥� and other science presentations.
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