Method and device for providing a plurality of concentration ranges for cosmetic ingredients in a cosmetic ingredient composition

Abstract

The computer-implemented method (100) for providing a plurality of concentration ranges for cosmetic ingredients in a cosmetic ingredient composition, under constraint of variety comprises: - a step (105) of inputting at least one cosmetic ingredient digital identifier, - a step (110) of defining a primary target cosmetic ingredient composition property value, - a step (115) of retrieving, from a database, or predicting for each cosmetic ingredient digital identifier, at least one cosmetic ingredient composition property value, - a step (120) of computing, for each cosmetic ingredient digital identifier, a cosmetic ingredient concentration value, - a step (125) of calculating a secondary target cosmetic ingredient composition property value which corresponds to a degraded alternative to the primary target, - a step (130) of determining, for each cosmetic ingredient digital identifier, a cosmetic ingredient concentration value to maximize a distance value from the concentration computed during the step of computing, - a step (135) of providing at least one of the cosmetic ingredient concentration values computed and / or determined.

Description

[0001] METHOD AND DEVICE FOR PROVIDING A PLURALITY OF CONCENTRATION RANGES FOR COSMETIC INGREDIENTS IN A COSMETIC INGREDIENT COMPOSITION

[0002] TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0003] The present invention relates to a computer-implemented method for providing a plurality of concentration ranges for cosmetic ingredients in a cosmetic ingredient composition, and to a corresponding computer program product, computer-readable storage medium and device.

[0004] The present invention is applicable to the cosmetics design in, for example, the context of ultraviolet protection products.

[0005] BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0006] There is a growing awareness among consumers that the finite nature of traditional resources requires a shift toward renewable sources, ensuring long-term availability for generations to come.

[0007] This fuels a consumer preference for renewable source items, contributing to a growing market demand for sustainable, environmentally friendly goods.

[0008] Some industries reacted to this trend a few years ago. For example, electricity providers offer their customers various electricity mix options, including an electricity product exclusively from renewable sources such as wind, hydro and solar energy.

[0009] Until now, the sun protection industry had no renewable concepts to offer consumers. All raw materials used in UV filter production come from fossil oil or natural gas.

[0010] Many raw materials used for UV filter production are not exclusively produced for the cosmetic industry but normally in a much higher volume for other industries as well. They are typically produced in dedicated plants in multi ton scale.

[0011] Therefore, it is difficult to produce this material from renewable sources if the required amount for renewable ingredient does not exceed the critical quantity required for one production campaign.

[0012] This is especially the case when the concept of renewable UV filters is newly introduced to the market, when required amounts are still small, and the demand is slowly growing until the corresponding market is fully developed.

[0013] During this period, a mass balanced approach is the only way to give consumers the choice for sunscreen products with renewable UV filters. Mass balance is a chain of custody approach that allows tracking the net quantity of sustainable materials as they move through a system or supply chain and ensures an appropriate allocation of these materials to the finished goods based on auditable bookkeeping.

[0014] Mass balancing allows for sustainable and non-sustainable materials to be mixed in an industrial process, but the mass of the inputs and outputs of the system are recorded while also considering the process efficiency (the conversion factor). This ensures that a process is not producing more sustainable products than are possible given the amount of sustainable material feedstock.

[0015] As the net movement of material is the focus of the mass balance approach, it allows for material characteristics to be allocated to products produced in the form of “credits”, even if this does not align with the actual sourcing composition of the product.

[0016] The International Sustainability & Carbon Certification (ISCC) is a non-profit organization, which after a successful audit of the production facilities issues certificates that prove that a particular raw material was mass balanced produced from renewable sources.

[0017] In the rest of this patent application, “renewable" refers to as both: sourced from 100% renewable raw materials or sourced from mass balanced 100% renewable raw materials.

[0018] Modern sun protection must meet many requirements at the same time.

[0019] First, and most importantly it must efficiently protect against sunburn, which is primarily caused by UVB light. The effectiveness of the product’s protection against UVB light is measured in an in-vivo human study. Here the time is measured until UVB radiation causes an erythema on the skin, comparing unprotected and protected skin (e.g., according to ISO 24444). The resulting Sun Protection Factor (SPF) is indicated on the product packaging as a reference for consumers.

[0020] Sunscreens are also essential to protect against skin cancer associated with UVA light in addition to UVB light. Therefore, sufficient protection against UVA light (UVA Protection Factor, UVA-PF) is required too. The EU recommends a UVA-PF that is at least one third of the SPF.

[0021] Another particularly important feature is the skin feel of the sunscreen product, as it is the most important reason consumers choose one sunscreen product over another. Furthermore, studies have shown that consumers tend to apply less sunscreen when the skin feels worse and are therefore less protected.

[0022] The Minimal Oil Load is the sum of the concentrations of all filters in the oil phase plus extra solvent or solvent mixtures, which may be required to completely dissolve all solid filters. It is a good measure how much freedom a formator has with a particular filter combination to improve the skin feel of the cosmetic product.

[0023] For high protection products (SPF 30) the Minimal Oil Load is optimally not much greater than 20% to achieve good skin feel. For this type of product, the skin feel is still acceptable with a Minimal Oil Load of 40%. For the same reason products with very high protection (SPF 50) should have a Minimal Oil Load between 30 and 50%.

[0024] Finally, sunscreens are leave-on products and will therefore inevitably end up in the environment. Since UV filters make up a significant portion of a sun protection product, their environmental impact plays an important role. Thus, products are desired with UV filter combinations that show a minimal impact on the environment.

[0025] The Eco-Class as described in Kunze et al. Frontiers in Environmental Science Vol. 9 2021 is a particularly good measure of the eco friendliness of a sunscreen product in comparison to related products on the market. Thus, sunscreen products should at least achieve an Eco-Class C, preferably Eco-Class B and most preferred Eco-Class A.

[0026] To reach objectives set for a particular cosmetic composition, optimization algorithms may be used to select the solution which best matches these set objectives.

[0027] Such algorithms provide no variety to cosmetics designers looking for credible alternatives which match the objectives.

[0028] The selection of properties and their importance for the cosmetic product may greatly vary from one cosmetics designer to another (e.g. a cosmetic product designed for a luxury brand may compromise costs in favor to a lower Minimal Oil Load and therefore a better skin feel). Thus, it is impossible to provide a general best solution for a problem formulated in a general way.

[0029] SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0030] The present invention is intended to remedy all or part of these disadvantages.

[0031] To this effect, according to a first aspect, the present invention aims at a computer- implemented method for providing a plurality of concentration ranges for cosmetic ingredients in a cosmetic ingredient composition, under constraint of variety, which comprises:

[0032] - a step of inputting at least one cosmetic ingredient digital identifier, representative of a materializable cosmetic ingredient, to represent a materializable cosmetic ingredient composition,

[0033] - a step of defining a primary target cosmetic ingredient composition property value, said property corresponding to an empirically measurable property, - a step of retrieving, from a database, or predicting for each cosmetic ingredient digital identifier, at least one cosmetic ingredient composition property value of the type of the defined primary target, said cosmetic ingredient composition property value being associated with a cosmetic ingredient concentration value,

[0034] - a step of computing, for each cosmetic ingredient digital identifier, a cosmetic ingredient concentration value to maximize or minimize the primary target cosmetic ingredient composition property value,

[0035] - a step of calculating a secondary target cosmetic ingredient composition property value which corresponds to a degraded alternative to the primary target cosmetic ingredient composition property value,

[0036] - a step of determining, for each cosmetic ingredient digital identifier, a cosmetic ingredient concentration value to maximize a distance value from the concentration computed during the step of computing imposing the secondary target as a constraint, and

[0037] - a step of providing at least one of the cosmetic ingredient concentration values computed and / or determined.

[0038] Such dispositions allow for the provision of several compositions which, even if all are not the best to match a specific objective, all are only deviating from the best possible solution by the chosen acceptable degradation and at the same time are the most varied in nature.

[0039] In particular embodiments, the primary and secondary target cosmetic ingredient composition property value corresponds to a renewable carbon content value.

[0040] Such embodiments allow for the determination of environmentally friendly compositions.

[0041] In particular embodiments, the primary and secondary target cosmetic ingredient composition property value corresponds to a sensory perception value.

[0042] Such embodiments allow for the determination of compositions which provide intended sensory perceptions.

[0043] In particular embodiments, the primary and secondary target cosmetic ingredient composition property value corresponds to a minimal oil load value.

[0044] Such embodiments allow for the determination of compositions which provide a pleasant skin feeling for consumers.

[0045] In particular embodiments, the primary and secondary target cosmetic ingredient composition property value corresponds to a protection homogeneity value.

[0046] Such embodiments allow for the determination of compositions which provide all- around ultraviolet protection depending on the frequency of the ultraviolet light. In particular embodiments, the primary and secondary target cosmetic ingredient composition property value corresponds to an ultraviolet protection value.

[0047] Such embodiments allow for the determination of compositions which provide an intended ultraviolet protection.

[0048] In particular embodiments, each cosmetic ingredient digital identifier corresponds to an ultraviolet filter ingredient.

[0049] In particular embodiments, during the step of calculating, the secondary target cosmetic ingredient composition property value corresponds to an up to 10% reduction or increase from the primary target cosmetic ingredient composition property value depending on whether the primary target represents a maximum value or a minimal value, respectively.

[0050] In particular embodiments, the cosmetic ingredient composition corresponds to a cosmetic product which provides protection from ultraviolet light.

[0051] In particular embodiments, the method object of the present invention comprises a step of recording, in a database, at least one empirically measured property value associated to at least one cosmetic ingredient digital identifier and at least one cosmetic ingredient concentration value, said database being used during the step of retrieving or predicting.

[0052] In particular embodiments, the method object of the present invention comprises a step of measuring or predicting a property value of a cosmetic ingredient associated with a cosmetic ingredient digital identifier.

[0053] In particular embodiments, the method object of the present invention further comprises a step of sending a digital command representative of an instruction of materializing at least one cosmetic ingredient composition corresponding to the provided at least one of cosmetic ingredient concentration values computed and / or determined.

[0054] In particular embodiments, the method object of the present invention comprises a step of materializing at least one cosmetic ingredient composition corresponding to the provided at least one of cosmetic ingredient concentration values computed and / or determined.

[0055] According to a second aspect, the present invention aims at a computer program product which comprises instructions which upon execution by a computer cause the computer to execute the method object of the present invention.

[0056] According to a third aspect, the present invention aims at a computer-readable storage medium storing programming instructions which upon execution by a computer cause the computer to execute the method object of the present invention.

[0057] According to a fourth aspect, the present invention aims at a device for providing a plurality of concentration ranges for cosmetic ingredients in a cosmetic ingredient composition, under constraint of variety, which comprises: - means of inputting at least one cosmetic ingredient digital identifier, representative of a materializable cosmetic ingredient, to represent a materializable cosmetic ingredient composition,

[0058] - means of defining a primary target cosmetic ingredient composition property value, said property corresponding to an empirically measurable property,

[0059] - means of retrieving, from a database, or predicting for each cosmetic ingredient digital identifier, at least one cosmetic ingredient composition property value of the type of the defined primary target, said cosmetic ingredient composition property value being associated with a cosmetic ingredient concentration value,

[0060] - means of computing, for each cosmetic ingredient digital identifier, a cosmetic ingredient concentration value to maximize or minimize the primary target cosmetic ingredient composition property value,

[0061] - means of calculating a secondary target cosmetic ingredient composition property value which corresponds to a degraded alternative to the primary target cosmetic ingredient composition property value,

[0062] - means of determining, for each cosmetic ingredient digital identifier, a cosmetic ingredient concentration value to maximize a distance value from the concentration computed during the step of computing imposing the secondary target as a constraint, and

[0063] - means of providing at least one of the cosmetic ingredient concentration values computed and / or determined.

[0064] The second to fourth aspects of the present invention exhibit the same advantages as the related first aspect.

[0065] BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0066] Other advantages, purposes and particular characteristics of the invention shall be apparent from the following non-exhaustive description of at least one particular embodiment of the present invention, in relation to the drawings annexed hereto, in which:

[0067] [Figure 1] represents, schematically, a succession of steps of a particular embodiment of the method subject of the present invention, and

[0068] [Figure 2] represents, schematically, a computer system with which an embodiment of the method subject of the present invention can be implemented. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0069] This description is not exhaustive, as each feature of one embodiment may be combined with any other feature of any other embodiment in an advantageous manner. Also, various inventive concepts may be embodied as one or more methods, of which an example has been provided. The acts performed as part of the method may be ordered in any suitable way. Accordingly, embodiments may be constructed in which acts are performed in an order different than illustrated, which may include performing some acts simultaneously, even though shown as sequential acts in illustrative embodiments.

[0070] The indefinite articles ‘a’ and ‘an’, as used herein in the specification and in the claims, unless clearly indicated to the contrary, should be understood to mean ‘at least one’.

[0071] The phrase ‘and / or’, as used herein in the specification and in the claims, should be understood to mean ‘either or both’ of the elements so conjoined, i.e., elements that are conjunctively present in some cases and disjunctively present in other cases. Multiple elements listed with ‘and / or’ should be construed in the same fashion, i.e. ‘one or more’ of the elements so conjoined. Other elements may optionally be present other than the elements specifically identified by the ‘and / or’ clause whether related or unrelated to those elements specifically identified. Thus, as a non-limiting example, a reference to ‘A and / or B’, when used in conjunction with open-ended language such as ‘comprising’ can refer, in one embodiment, to A only (optionally including elements other than B); in another embodiment, to B only (optionally including elements other than A); in yet another embodiment, to both A and B (optionally including other elements); etc.

[0072] As used herein in the specification and in the claims, ‘or’ should be understood to have the same meaning as ‘and / or’ as defined above. For example, when separating items in a list, ‘or’ or ‘and / or’ shall be interpreted as being inclusive, i.e., the inclusion of at least one, but also including more than one, of a number or list of elements, and, optionally, additional unlisted items. Only terms clearly indicated to the contrary, such as ‘only one of’ or ‘exactly one of’, or, when used in the claims, ‘consisting of’, will refer to the inclusion of exactly one element of a number or list of elements. In general, the term ‘or’ as used herein shall only be interpreted as indicating exclusive alternatives (i.e. ‘one or the other but not both’) when preceded by terms of exclusivity, such as ‘either,’ ‘one of,’ ‘only one of’, or ‘exactly one of’. ‘Consisting essentially of,’ when used in the claims, shall have its ordinary meaning as used in the field of patent law.

[0073] As used herein in the specification and in the claims, the phrase ‘at least one’, in reference to a list of one or more elements, should be understood to mean at least one element selected from any one or more of the elements in the list of elements, but not necessarily including at least one of each and every element specifically listed within the list of elements and not excluding any combinations of elements in the list of elements. This definition also allows that elements may optionally be present other than the elements specifically identified within the list of elements to which the phrase ‘at least one’ refers, whether related or unrelated to those elements specifically identified. Thus, as a non-limiting example, ‘at least one of A and B’ (or, equivalently, ‘at least one of A or B’, or, equivalently ‘at least one of A and / or B’) can refer, in one embodiment, to at least one, optionally including more than one, A, with no B present (and optionally including elements other than B); in another embodiment, to at least one, optionally including more than one, B, with no A present (and optionally including elements other than A); in yet another embodiment, to at least one, optionally including more than one, A, and at least one, optionally including more than one, B (and optionally including other elements); etc.

[0074] In the claims, as well as in the specification above, all transitional phrases such as ‘comprising,’ ‘including,’ ‘carrying,’ ‘having,’ ‘containing,’ ‘involving,’ ‘holding,’ ‘composed of’, and the like are to be understood to be open-ended, i.e. , to mean including but not limited to. Only the transitional phrases ‘consisting of’ and ‘consisting essentially of’ shall be closed or semi-closed transitional phrases, respectively.

[0075] It should be noted at this point that the figures are not to scale.

[0076] In a general manner, the terms ‘digital identifier’ or ‘digital representation’ refer to any bijective digital representation of a physical item, such as a molecule. Such a digital identifier may correspond to, for example, an entry in a database. A digital identifier may refer to a label representative of the name, chemical structure or internal reference of an ingredient, for example.

[0077] In the context of the present description, the term “materialized” is intended as existing outside of the digital environment of the present invention. ‘Materialized’ may mean, for example, readily found in nature or synthesized in a laboratory or chemical plant. In any event, a materialized fragrance molecule digital identifier presents a tangible reality. The terms ‘to be materialized or ‘materializable refer to the act of materialization of a fragrance ingredient associated with a digital identifier.

[0078] As used herein, the terms “means of inputting” refer to, for example, a keyboard, mouse and / or touchscreen adapted to interact with a computing system in such a way to collect user input. In variants, the means of inputting are logical in nature, such as a network port of a computing system configured to receive an input command transmitted electronically. Such an input means may be associated to a GUI (Graphic User Interface) shown to a user or an API (Application programming interface). In other variants, the means of inputting may be a sensor configured to measure a specified physical parameter relevant for the intended use case. Examples of means of inputting are disclosed in regard to figure 2. As used herein, the terms “computing system”, “computer”, or “computer system” designate any electronic calculation device, whether unitary or distributed, capable of receiving numerical inputs and providing numerical outputs by and to any sort of interface, digital and / or analog. Typically, a computing system designates either a computer executing a software having access to data storage or a client-server architecture wherein the data and / or calculation is performed at the server side while the client side acts as an interface. Examples of such computing systems are disclosed in regard to figure 2.

[0079] In the context of the present invention a “cosmetic ingredient” refers to any molecule or compound suited for inclusion in a cosmetic product.

[0080] Typical cosmetic ingredients can be (not restrictive) cosmetic solvents, emollients, viscosity increasing agents, emulsifiers, dispersing agents, lubricants, film-formers, antifoaming agents, fragrance, preservatives, UV filters, hair dyes, styling polymers, conditioning polymers, humectants, sensory modifiers, complexing agent, chelating agent, silicones, water, ethanol, pH adjuster, emulsion stabilizers, skin care actives, anti-oxidants, surfactants, pigments, hair fixatives, SPF booster, opacifying agent, power gas, colors.

[0081] Cosmetic ingredients are widely known by persons skilled in the art of cosmetic manufacturing.

[0082] In the context of the present invention, a “cosmetic composition” refers to a mixture of at least one cosmetic ingredient.

[0083] In the context of the present invention, it should be noted that a “digital identifier” refers to a bijective digital representation, in a computing system, of a materialized or materializable item.

[0084] In the context of the present invention, it should be noted that “materializable” or “materialized” refers to the capacity of an item to exist in the physical world, either readily or through man-made production.

[0085] Figure 1 represents, schematically, a particular succession of steps of an embodiment of the method 100 object of the present invention. This computer-implemented method 100 for providing a plurality of concentration ranges for cosmetic ingredients in a cosmetic ingredient composition, under constraint of variety, comprises:

[0086] - a step 105 of inputting at least one cosmetic ingredient digital identifier, representative of a materializable cosmetic ingredient, to represent a materializable cosmetic ingredient composition,

[0087] - a step 110 of defining a primary target cosmetic ingredient composition property value, said property corresponding to an empirically measurable property, - a step 115 of retrieving, from a database, or predicting for each cosmetic ingredient digital identifier, at least one cosmetic ingredient composition property value of the type of the defined primary target, said cosmetic ingredient composition property value being associated with a cosmetic ingredient concentration value,

[0088] - a step 120 of computing, for each cosmetic ingredient digital identifier, a cosmetic ingredient concentration value to maximize or minimize the primary target cosmetic ingredient composition property value,

[0089] - a step 125 of calculating a secondary target cosmetic ingredient composition property value which corresponds to a degraded alternative to the primary target cosmetic ingredient composition property value,

[0090] - a step 130 of determining, for each cosmetic ingredient digital identifier, a cosmetic ingredient concentration value to maximize a distance value from the concentration computed during the step of computing imposing the secondary target as a constraint,

[0091] - a step 135 of providing at least one of the cosmetic ingredient concentration values computed and / or determined.

[0092] The step 105 of inputting can be performed using an input device 240 of a computing system 200 such as shown in figure 2. Such an input device 240 may correspond to a mouse and / or keyboard allowing a user to control a GUI of a computer software in which a user can select cosmetic ingredient digital identifiers from a list and / or add a cosmetic ingredient digital identifier to said list.

[0093] Such a cosmetic ingredient digital identifier may refer to, for example, the name of said ingredient, an entry identifier in a database, a digital representation of the chemical structure of said ingredient or any other suited digital representation.

[0094] During the step 105 of inputting, one or more cosmetic ingredient digital identifiers are selected to form a composition. Said composition may also be represented by a digital identifier.

[0095] Such a sunscreen composition corresponds to, for example: Example of a SPF 50 sunscreen

[0096] The step 110 of defining can be performed using an input device 240 of a computing system 200 such as shown in figure 2. Such an input device 240 may correspond to a mouse and / or keyboard allowing a user to control a GUI of a computer software in which a user can select a property digital identifier from a list.

[0097] Such a property may correspond to: a financial cost, an efficiency value, a renewable carbon content value, - a sensory perception value, a minimal oil load value, a protection homogeneity value, an ultraviolet protection value, and / or an ultraviolet filter ingredient. The step 115 of retrieving or predicting can be performed using a communication interface 260 of a computing system 200 such as shown in figure 2, said communication interface 260 being configured to access a database on a computer network.

[0098] In such a database, cosmetic ingredient digital identifiers are associated with at least one value for at least one property of a type which can be selected, or which is used during the step 110 of defining. At least one such value is associated with a cosmetic ingredient concentration value. Examples of such values are solubility in various solvents for the calculations of the minimal oil loads, costs, and UV spectra.

[0099] In configurations where the step 115 corresponds to a step of predicting, a computer program may be executed to predict a value for a physico-chemical parameter based on a predetermined input.

[0100] The step 120 of computing is performed, for example, by executing instructions representing a computer program upon a processor 210 of a computing system 200 such as shown in figure 2.

[0101] Such instructions correspond to an optimization algorithm which can be of any type for the particular nature of the data used to optimize a given composition property.

[0102] For example, in the context of maximum renewable carbon, the below equation may be used:

[0103] Where xi and MWi are the concentration and molecular weight of UV filter i, respectively. Ni is the number of Carbons in UV filter i, where Carbon renewable stands for only those carbons from renewable sourced raw materials.

[0104] For example, a UV filter combination comprising 3.0% of renewable EHS (C15H22O3, MW: 250.34 g / mol, 1 EH = 8 renewable carbons) and 2.0 % of renewable DBT (C44H59N7O5, MW: 765.98 g / mol, 2 EH = 16 renewable carbons) will give 46.7 % renewable carbon.

[0105] This optimization can be constrained to an SPF of 30 for high protection sunscreens or SPF 50 for very high protection sunscreens and a UVA-PF of 1 / 3 of the SPF.

[0106] Furthermore, the optimization can be constrained to a specific Eco-Class from C to A and a Minimal Oil Load of < 20% or < 40% for high protection sunscreens and < 30% or < 50% for very high protection sunscreens.

[0107] Other examples, relative to the minimal oil load and costs are provided in patent application EP3889963. The step 125 of calculating is performed, for example, by executing instructions representing a computer program upon a processor 210 of a computing system 200 such as shown in figure 2. Such a step 125 of calculating can further be associated with an unrepresented step of inputting a target degradation value, performed, for example, by a user upon an input device associated with a GUI.

[0108] This degradation, or relaxation, value can correspond to an absolute (expressed as a maximum renewable carbon value lower than the maximum renewable carbon value obtained during the step 120 of computing) or relative value (expressed as a percentage of the primary value, for example).

[0109] The step 130 of determining is performed, for example, by executing instructions representing a computer program upon a processor 210 of a computing system 200 such as shown in figure 2. This computer program is configured to, for example, run an optimization algorithm similar to the one used during the step 120 of computing, with the added constraint that the generated solutions must present the highest possible distance from the solution found during the step 120 of computing.

[0110] For example, in the context of maximum renewable carbon optimization, assuming a 10% degradation value, the equations regulating this optimization problem are:

[0111] Subject to:

[0112] Where Xj, MW and Nj have the same meaning as before and x* is the concentration of UV filter i in the composition with the maximal renewable carbon content obtained by the previously described optimization method. The SPF, LIVA-PF, Eco-Class, and Minimal Oil Load can be constrained in the same way as in the previous optimization.

[0113] This method provides a UV filter combination that is maximally different from the previous optimum with only 10% less renewable carbon content relative to the optimum.

[0114] The resulting concentration ranges can be considered as the optimal ranges for highly renewable UV filter combinations fulfilling all requirements mentioned above.

[0115] The step 135 of providing is performed, for example, by using an output device 235 of a computing system 200 such as shown in figure 2. This output device can correspond to, for example, a GUI displayed upon a computer screen which shows the concentration values computed, during the step 120 of computing, or determined, during the step 130 of determining.

[0116] Such a method 100 may be used for cosmetic ingredient compositions which correspond to a cosmetic product which provides protection from ultraviolet light.

[0117] For example, the following table illustrates results in which columns labelled 1 / 0 and 3 / 0 correspond to concentration values associated with primary value optimization and columns labelled 2 / A and 4 / A correspond to concentration values associated with secondary value optimization.

[0118] In such an example, the objective corresponds to finding optimal UV filter concentration ranges for high protection sunscreens (SPF rating = 30) - avoiding the use of nano material and of EHMC for highly photo stable UV filter combinations.

[0119] For columns indicated with O the optimization objective was the maximal renewable carbon content.

[0120] For columns indicated with A the optimization objective was the maximal Euclidean distance of the concentrations to the previous column constraint to the renewable carbon content which is 10% less than in the previous column.

[0121] All searches were constrained to SPF > 30 and UVA-PF / SPF > 0.33.

[0122] Additionally for columns 1-6 the Minimal Oil Load was constrained to < 40% and for columns 7-11 to < 20%.

[0123] For columns 1 and 2 the Eco Class was constrained to C, and for columns 3 and 4 to B.

[0124] In particular embodiments, the method 100 object of the present invention comprises a step 140 of recording, in a database, at least one empirically measured or predicted property value associated to at least one cosmetic ingredient digital identifier and at least one cosmetic ingredient concentration value, said database being used during the step 115 of retrieving or predicting.

[0125] Such a step 140 of recording is performed, for example, by using an input device 240 of a computing system 200 such as shown in figure 2. Such an input device 240 may be associated with a GUI which prompts a user to enter information relative to an empirical measurement performed on a cosmetic ingredient.

[0126] In particular embodiments, the method 100 object of the present invention comprises a step 145 of measuring or predicting a property value of a cosmetic ingredient associated with a cosmetic ingredient digital identifier.

[0127] Such a step 145 of measuring or predicting varies on the property to be measured, which a person skilled in the art of cosmetic ingredient analysis knows.

[0128] In particular embodiments, the method 100 object of the present invention comprises a step 150 of sending a digital command representative of an instruction of materializing at least one cosmetic ingredient composition corresponding to the provided at least one of cosmetic ingredient concentration values computed and / or determined.

[0129] Such a step 150 of sending can be performed, for example, by a communication interface of a computing system 200 such as shown in figure 2. Such a communication interface may be configured to send a message to a cosmetic composition materialization, or assembly, device. Such a cosmetic composition materialization device can correspond to any such device known to the field of cosmetic composition manufacturing.

[0130] In particular embodiments, the method 100 object of the present invention comprises a step 155 of materializing at least one cosmetic ingredient composition corresponding to the provided at least one of cosmetic ingredient concentration values computed and / or determined.

[0131] Such a step 155 of materializing can be performed by a cosmetic composition materialization, or assembly, device. Such a cosmetic composition materialization device can correspond to any such device known to the field of cosmetic composition manufacturing. It should be understood that the present invention also aims at a computer program product characterized in that it comprises instructions which upon execution by a computer cause the computer to execute the object of the present invention.

[0132] It should be understood that the present invention also aims at a computer-readable storage medium storing programming instructions which upon execution by a computer cause the computer to execute the method object of the present invention.

[0133] Figure 2 shows a particular embodiment of a device 200 object of the present invention. This device 200 for providing a plurality of concentration ranges for cosmetic ingredients in a cosmetic ingredient composition, under constraint of variety comprises:

[0134] - means 240 of inputting at least one cosmetic ingredient digital identifier, representative of a materializable cosmetic ingredient, to represent a materializable cosmetic ingredient composition,

[0135] - means 240 of defining a primary target cosmetic ingredient composition property value, said property corresponding to an empirically measurable property,

[0136] - means 255 of retrieving, from a database, or predicting for each cosmetic ingredient digital identifier, at least one cosmetic ingredient composition property value of the type of the defined primary target, said cosmetic ingredient composition property value being associated with a cosmetic ingredient concentration value,

[0137] - means 210 of computing, for each cosmetic ingredient digital identifier, a cosmetic ingredient concentration value to maximize or minimize the primary target cosmetic ingredient composition property value,

[0138] - means 210 of calculating a secondary target cosmetic ingredient composition property value which corresponds to a degraded alternative to the primary target cosmetic ingredient composition property value,

[0139] - means 210 of determining, for each cosmetic ingredient digital identifier, a cosmetic ingredient concentration value to maximize a distance value from the concentration computed during the step of computing imposing the secondary target as a constraint, and

[0140] - means 235 of providing at least one of the cosmetic ingredient concentration values computed and / or determined.

[0141] Figure 2 further represents a block diagram that illustrates an example computer system 200 with which an embodiment of the present invention may be implemented. In the example of figure 8, a computer system 205 and instructions for implementing the disclosed technologies in hardware, software, or a combination of hardware and software, are represented schematically, for example as boxes and circles, at the same level of detail that is commonly used by persons of ordinary skill in the art to which this disclosure pertains for communicating about computer architecture and computer systems implementations.

[0142] The computer system 205 includes an input / output (IO) subsystem 220 which may include a bus and / or other communication mechanism(s) for communicating information and / or instructions between the components of the computer system 205 over electronic signal paths. The I / O subsystem 220 may include an I / O controller, a memory controller and at least one I / O port. The electronic signal paths are represented schematically in the drawings, for example as lines, unidirectional arrows, or bidirectional arrows.

[0143] At least one hardware processor 210 is coupled to the I / O subsystem 220 for processing information and instructions. Hardware processor 210 may include, for example, a general-purpose microprocessor or microcontroller and / or a special-purpose microprocessor such as an embedded system or a graphics processing unit (GPU) or a digital signal processor or ARM processor. Processor 210 may comprise an integrated arithmetic logic unit (ALU) or may be coupled to a separate ALU.

[0144] Computer system 205 includes one or more units of memory 225, such as a main memory, which is coupled to I / O subsystem 220 for electronically digitally storing data and instructions to be executed by processor 210. Memory 225 may include volatile memory such as various forms of random-access memory (RAM) or other dynamic storage device. Memory 225 also may be used for storing temporary variables or other intermediate information during execution of instructions to be executed by processor 210. Such instructions, when stored in non-transitory computer-readable storage media accessible to processor 210, can render computer system 205 into a special-purpose machine that is customized to perform the operations specified in the instructions.

[0145] Computer system 205 further includes non-volatile memory such as read only memory (ROM) 230 or other static storage device coupled to the I / O subsystem 220 for storing information and instructions for processor 210. The ROM 230 may include various forms of programmable ROM (PROM) such as erasable PROM (EPROM) or electrically erasable PROM (EEPROM). A unit of persistent storage 215 may include various forms of non-volatile RAM (NVRAM), such as FLASH memory, or solid-state storage, magnetic disk, or optical disk such as CD-ROM or DVD-ROM and may be coupled to I / O subsystem 220 for storing information and instructions. Storage 215 is an example of a non-transitory computer-readable medium that may be used to store instructions and data which when executed by the processor 210 cause performing computer-implemented methods to execute the techniques herein.

[0146] The instructions in memory 225, ROM 230 or storage 215 may comprise one or more sets of instructions that are organized as modules, methods, objects, functions, routines, or calls. The instructions may be organized as one or more computer programs, operating system services, or application programs including mobile apps. The instructions may comprise an operating system and / or system software; one or more libraries to support multimedia, programming or other functions; data protocol instructions or stacks to implement TCP / IP, HTTP or other communication protocols; file format processing instructions to parse or render files coded using HTML, XML, JPEG, MPEG or PNG; user interface instructions to render or interpret commands for a graphical user interface (GUI), command-line interface or text user interface; application software such as an office suite, Internet access applications, design and manufacturing applications, graphics applications, audio applications, software engineering applications, educational applications, games or miscellaneous applications. The instructions may implement a web server, web application server or web client. The instructions may be organized as a presentation layer, application layer and data storage layer such as a relational database system using structured query language (SQL) or no SQL, an object store, a graph database, a flat file system or other data storage.

[0147] Computer system 205 may be coupled via I / O subsystem 220 to at least one output device 235. In one embodiment, output device 235 is a digital computer display or Human Machine Interface. Examples of a display that may be used in various embodiments include a touchscreen display or a light-emitting diode (LED) display or a liquid crystal display (LCD) or an e-paper display. Computer system 205 may include other type(s) of output devices 235, alternatively or in addition to a display device. Examples of other output devices 235 include printers, ticket printers, plotters, projectors, sound cards or video cards, speakers, buzzers or piezoelectric devices or other audible devices, lamps or LED or LCD indicators, haptic devices, actuators, or servos.

[0148] At least one input device 240 is coupled to I / O subsystem 220 for communicating signals, data, command selections or gestures to processor 210. Examples of input devices 240 include touchscreens, microphones, still and video digital cameras, alphanumeric and other keys, keypads, keyboards, graphics tablets, image scanners, joysticks, clocks, switches, buttons, dials, slides.

[0149] Another type of input device is a control device 245, which may perform cursor control or other automated control functions such as navigation in a graphical interface on a display screen, alternatively or in addition to input functions. Control device 245 may be a touchpad, a mouse, a trackball, or cursor direction keys for communicating direction information and command selections to processor 210 and for controlling cursor movement on display 235. The input device may have at least two degrees of freedom in two axes, a first axis (e.g., x) and a second axis (e.g., y), that allows the device to specify positions in a plane. Another type of input device is a wired, wireless, or optical control device such as a joystick, wand, console, steering wheel, pedal, gearshift mechanism or other type of control device. An input device 240 may include a combination of multiple different input devices, such as a video camera and a depth sensor.

[0150] In another embodiment, computer system 205 may comprise an Internet of things (loT) device in which one or more of the output device 235, input device 240, and control device 245 are omitted. Or, in such an embodiment, the input device 240 may comprise one or more cameras, motion detectors, thermometers, microphones, seismic detectors, other sensors or detectors, measurement devices or encoders and the output device 235 may comprise a special-purpose display such as a single-line LED or LCD display, one or more indicators, a display panel, a meter, a valve, a solenoid, an actuator or a servo.

[0151] Computer system 205 may implement the techniques described herein using customized hard-wired logic, at least one ASIC or FPGA, firmware and / or program instructions or logic which when loaded and used or executed in combination with the computer system causes or programs the computer system to operate as a special-purpose machine. According to one embodiment, the techniques herein are performed by computer system 205 in response to processor 210 executing at least one sequence of at least one instruction contained in main memory 225. Such instructions may be read into main memory 225 from another storage medium, such as storage 215. Execution of the sequences of instructions contained in main memory 225 causes processor 210 to perform the process steps described herein. In alternative embodiments, hard-wired circuitry may be used in place of or in combination with software instructions.

[0152] The term “storage media” as used herein refers to any non-transitory media that store data and / or instructions that cause a machine to operate in a specific fashion. Such storage media may comprise non-volatile media and / or volatile media. Non-volatile media includes, for example, optical or magnetic disks, such as storage 215. Volatile media includes dynamic memory, such as memory 225. Common forms of storage media include, for example, a hard disk, solid state drive, flash drive, magnetic data storage medium, any optical or physical data storage medium, memory chip, or the like.

[0153] Storage media is distinct from but may be used in conjunction with transmission media. Transmission media participates in transferring information between storage media. For example, transmission media includes coaxial cables, copper wire and fiber optics, including the wires that comprise a bus of I / O subsystem 220. Transmission media can also take the form of acoustic or light waves, such as those generated during radio-wave and infra-red data communications.

[0154] Various forms of media may be involved in carrying at least one sequence of at least one instruction to processor 210 for execution. For example, the instructions may initially be carried on a magnetic disk or solid-state drive of a remote computer. The remote computer can load the instructions into its dynamic memory and send the instructions over a communication link such as a fiber optic or coaxial cable or telephone line using a modem. A modem or router local to computer system 205 can receive the data on the communication link and convert the data to a format that can be read by computer system 205. For instance, a receiver such as a radio frequency antenna or an infrared detector can receive the data carried in a wireless or optical signal and appropriate circuitry can provide the data to I / O subsystem 220 such as place the data on a bus. I / O subsystem 220 carries the data to memory 225, from which processor 210 retrieves and executes the instructions. The instructions received by memory 225 may optionally be stored on storage 215 either before or after execution by processor 210.

[0155] Computer system 205 also includes a communication interface 260 coupled to bus 220. Communication interface 260 provides a two-way data communication coupling to network link(s) 265 that are directly or indirectly connected to at least one communication network, such as a network 270 or a public or private cloud on the Internet. For example, communication interface 260 may be an Ethernet networking interface, integrated-services digital network (ISDN) card, cable modem, satellite modem, or a modem to provide a data communication connection to a corresponding type of communications line, for example an Ethernet cable or a metal cable of any kind or a fiber-optic line or a telephone line. Network 270 broadly represents a local area network (LAN), wide-area network (WAN), campus network, internetwork, or any combination thereof. Communication interface 260 may comprise a LAN card to provide a data communication connection to a compatible LAN, or a cellular radiotelephone interface that is wired to send or receive cellular data according to cellular radiotelephone wireless networking standards, ora satellite radio interface that is wired to send or receive digital data according to satellite wireless networking standards. In any such implementation, communication interface 260 sends and receives electrical, electromagnetic, or optical signals over signal paths that carry digital data streams representing various types of information.

[0156] Network link 265 typically provides electrical, electromagnetic, or optical data communication directly or through at least one network to other data devices, using, for example, satellite, cellular, Wi-Fi, or BLUETOOTH technology. For example, network link 265 may provide a connection through a network 270 to a host computer 250.

[0157] Furthermore, network link 265 may provide a connection through network 270 or to other computing devices via internetworking devices and / or computers that are operated by an Internet Service Provider (ISP) 275. ISP 275 provides data communication services through a world-wide packet data communication network represented as Internet 280. A server computer 255 may be coupled to Internet 280. Server 255 broadly represents any computer, data center, virtual machine, or virtual computing instance with or without a hypervisor, or computer executing a containerized program system such as DOCKER or KUBERNETES. Server 255 may represent an electronic digital service that is implemented using more than one computer or instance and that is accessed and used by transmitting web services requests, uniform resource locator (URL) strings with parameters in HTTP payloads, API calls, app services calls, or other service calls. Computer system 205 and server 255 may form elements of a distributed computing system that includes other computers, a processing cluster, server farm or other organization of computers that cooperate to perform tasks or execute applications or services. Server 255 may comprise one or more sets of instructions that are organized as modules, methods, objects, functions, routines, or calls. The instructions may be organized as one or more computer programs, operating system services, or application programs including mobile apps. The instructions may comprise an operating system and / or system software; one or more libraries to support multimedia, programming or other functions; data protocol instructions or stacks to implement TCP / IP, HTTP or other communication protocols; file format processing instructions to parse or render files coded using HTML, XML, JPEG, MPEG or PNG; user interface instructions to render or interpret commands for a graphical user interface (GUI), command-line interface or text user interface; application software such as an office suite, Internet access applications, design and manufacturing applications, graphics applications, audio applications, software engineering applications, educational applications, games or miscellaneous applications. Server 255 may comprise a web application server that hosts a presentation layer, application layer and data storage layer such as a relational database system using structured query language (SQL) or no SQL, an object store, a graph database, a flat file system or other data storage.

[0158] Computer system 205 can send messages and receive data and instructions, including program code, through the network(s), network link 265 and communication interface 260. In the Internet example, a server 255 might transmit a requested code for an application program through Internet 280, ISP 275, local network 270 and communication interface 260. The received code may be executed by processor 210 as it is received, and / or stored in storage 215, or other non-volatile storage for later execution.

[0159] The execution of instructions as described in this section may implement a process in the form of an instance of a computer program that is being executed and consisting of program code and its current activity. Depending on the operating system (OS), a process may be made up of multiple threads of execution that execute instructions concurrently. In this context, a computer program is a passive collection of instructions, while a process may be the actual execution of those instructions. Several processes may be associated with the same program; for example, opening up several instances of the same program often means more than one process is being executed. Multitasking may be implemented to allow multiple processes to share processor 210. While each processor 210 or core of the processor executes a single task at a time, computer system 205 may be programmed to implement multitasking to allow each processor to switch between tasks that are being executed without having to wait for each task to finish. In an embodiment, switches may be performed when tasks perform input / output operations, when a task indicates that it can be switched, or on hardware interrupts. Time-sharing may be implemented to allow fast response for interactive user applications by rapidly performing context switches to provide the appearance of concurrent execution of multiple processes simultaneously. In an embodiment, for security and reliability, an operating system may prevent direct communication between independent processes, providing strictly mediated and controlled inter-process communication functionality.

Claims

CLAIMS1. Computer-implemented method (100) for providing a plurality of concentration ranges for cosmetic ingredients in a cosmetic ingredient composition, under constraint of variety, characterized in that it comprises:- a step (105) of inputting at least one cosmetic ingredient digital identifier, representative of a materializable cosmetic ingredient, to represent a materializable cosmetic ingredient composition,- a step (110) of defining a primary target cosmetic ingredient composition property value, said property corresponding to an empirically measurable property,- a step (115) of retrieving, from a database, or predicting for each cosmetic ingredient digital identifier, at least one cosmetic ingredient composition property value of the type of the defined primary target, said cosmetic ingredient composition property value being associated with a cosmetic ingredient concentration value,- a step (120) of computing, for each cosmetic ingredient digital identifier, a cosmetic ingredient concentration value to maximize or minimize the primary target cosmetic ingredient composition property value,- a step (125) of calculating a secondary target cosmetic ingredient composition property value which corresponds to a degraded alternative to the primary target cosmetic ingredient composition property value,- a step (130) of determining, for each cosmetic ingredient digital identifier, a cosmetic ingredient concentration value to maximize a distance value from the concentration computed during the step of computing imposing the secondary target as a constraint,- a step (135) of providing at least one of the cosmetic ingredient concentration values computed and / or determined.

2. Method (100) according to claim 1 , in which the primary and secondary target cosmetic ingredient composition property value corresponds to a renewable carbon content value.

3. Method (100) according to claim 1 , in which the primary and secondary target cosmetic ingredient composition property value corresponds to a sensory perception value.

4. Method (100) according to claim 1 , in which the primary and secondary target cosmetic ingredient composition property value corresponds to a minimal oil load value.

5. Method (100) according to claim 1 , in which the primary and secondary target cosmetic ingredient composition property value corresponds to a protection homogeneity value.

6. Method (100) according to claim 1 , in which the primary and secondary target cosmetic ingredient composition property value corresponds to an ultraviolet protection value.

7. Method (100) according to any one of claims 1 to 6, in which each cosmetic ingredient digital identifier corresponds to an ultraviolet filter ingredient.

8. Method (100) according to any one of claims 1 to 7, in which, during the step (125) of calculating, the secondary target cosmetic ingredient composition property value corresponds to an up to 10% reduction or increase from the primary target cosmetic ingredient composition property value, depending on whether the primary target represents a maximum value or a minimal value, respectively.

9. Method (100) according to any one of claims 1 to 8, in which the cosmetic ingredient composition corresponds to a cosmetic product which provides protection from ultraviolet light.

10. Method (100) according to any one of claims 1 to 9, which comprises a step (140) of recording, in a database, at least one empirically measured property value associated to at least one cosmetic ingredient digital identifier and at least one cosmetic ingredient concentration value, said database being used during the step (115) of retrieving or predicting.11 . Method (100) according to claim 10, which comprises a step (145) of measuring a property value of a cosmetic ingredient associated with a cosmetic ingredient digital identifier.

12. Method (100) according to any one of claims 1 to 11 , which further comprises a step (150) of sending a digital command representative of an instruction of materializing at least one cosmetic ingredient composition corresponding to the provided at least one of cosmetic ingredient concentration values computed and / or determined.

13. Method (100) according to claim 12, which further comprises a step (155) of materializing at least one cosmetic ingredient composition corresponding to the provided at least one of cosmetic ingredient concentration values computed and / or determined.

14. Computer program product characterized in that it comprises instructions which upon execution by a computer cause the computer to execute the method according to any one of claims 1 to 13.

15. Computer-readable storage medium storing programming instructions which upon execution by a computer cause the computer to execute the method according to any one of claims 1 to 13.

16. Device (200) for providing a plurality of concentration ranges for cosmetic ingredients in a cosmetic ingredient composition, under constraint of variety, characterized in that it comprises:- means (240) of inputting at least one cosmetic ingredient digital identifier, representative of a materializable cosmetic ingredient, to represent a materializable cosmetic ingredient composition,- means (240) of defining a primary target cosmetic ingredient composition property value, said property corresponding to an empirically measurable property,- means (255) of retrieving, from a database, or predicting for each cosmetic ingredient digital identifier, at least one cosmetic ingredient composition property value of the type of the defined primary target, said cosmetic ingredient composition property value being associated with a cosmetic ingredient concentration value,- means (210) of computing, for each cosmetic ingredient digital identifier, a cosmetic ingredient concentration value to maximize or minimize the primary target cosmetic ingredient composition property value,- means (210) of calculating a secondary target cosmetic ingredient composition property value which corresponds to a degraded alternative to the primary target cosmetic ingredient composition property value,- means (210) of determining, for each cosmetic ingredient digital identifier, a cosmetic ingredient concentration value to maximize a distance value from the concentration computed during the step of computing imposing the secondary target as a constraint, and- means (235) of providing at least one of the cosmetic ingredient concentration values computed and / or determined.

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