Field of the Invention

Cosmetic colour sets comprising high-fidelity cosmetic basic colourants are disclosed for the use in high-throughput cosmetic colour mixing machines. The high-fidelity cosmetic basic col- ourants within the set have an overall maximal allowable weight-deviation error (MaxErrorOfX) of least 2%. Furthermore, the pigments for each high-fidelity cosmetic basic colourant are mixed in a way that the minimum mass to be dispensed per base colourant X (MinOfX) and the maxi- mum mass to be dispensed per base colourant X (MaxOfX) is optimized for each colour blend. Optionally the high-fidelity cosmetic basic colourant comprises at least one coverage modifier which improves the MaxErrorOfX further. As a result, the cosmetic colour set comprises high fidelity basic colourants which enable the production of colour mixes having a delta E (dE2000) of less than 2 when used in high-throughput cosmetic colour mixing machines.

Background of the Invention

A trend in cosmetics is towards customization of the cosmetic product to the individual skin tone as well as the individual taste of the wearer. Colour is one parameter of such a customization.

However, it would be not economically practicable to produce a large range of very specific col- ours in bulk in order to match any individual skin tone, since the demand for certain colours may vary significantly.

Furthermore, in conventional colour mixing methods the bulk-container needs to be cleaned for each colour mix corresponding to a different colour blend. Thus, if a range of 1000 colour blends needs to be produced, the machine needs to be cleaned 1000 times.

Thus, in recent years, cosmetic colour mixing machines have been developed, which allow the individual mixing of cosmetic colour mixes based on cosmetic basic colourants, in order to pro- vide a large range of individual colour mixes adjusted to the individual skin tone.

Known colour mixing machines in the prior art are for example described in WO 2014/043018, WO 2017/111589 or WO 2018/187151.

Although colour mixing machines have advantages over prior art bulk-production methods, they also give rise to a number of new problems, which were identified during the preparation of the present invention.

Detailed Description

A first problem of colour mixing machines is that they produce significantly smaller quantities of individual colour mixes as compared to conventional bulk production methods, since they pre- pare the colour mix within the primary package. Normally such a primary package comprises less than 100g of cosmetic composition. However, with such small volumes the problem arises that already small errors in the basic colourant (for example errors in pigment weight or colour volume distribution) can result in colour mixes which differ between different preparations (i.e. different batches of colour mixes of the same colour produced by the same machine, but at dif- ferent time-points). Such deviations, however, are not accepted by the final customer for whom it is of great importance to receiving always the same colour blend.

A second problem of colour mixing machines is that the machines can only distribute a basic colourant within a certain volume range (i.e. mass range). However, some basic colours need to be distributed in very low volumes/masses in light colour blends, but in significant higher vol- umes/masses in darker colour blends. Thus, the error-margin problem, as outlined above, in- creases even more in cases in which only little amounts of the basic colourant are needed.

A third problem of colour mixing machines is that the “colour gamut”, i.e. the colour space which can be represented by the colour mixing machine, should be as high as commercially feasible. Thus, a wide range of colour mixes needs to be provided. However, having many different re- ceptacles comprising a wide range of different basic colourants, maybe even in different dilu- tions per colourant, are commercially not feasible.

A fourth problem, especially with high-throughput colour mixing machines, is that the filling pro- cess needs to be sufficiently quick in order to produce a commercially acceptable number of colour mixes per minute (e.g. 20/min or more). This high throughput, however, can only be achieved, if the numbers and volumes of the cosmetic basic colourant necessary for each col- our mix do not differ too much from each other.

A fifth problem of colour mixing machines is that the volume needs for the basic colourants within a colour mix must not exceed the minimum volume that can be precisely handled by the machine or maximum volume of the primary packaging. If, for example, a basic colourant needs to be diluted so much in order to represent a certain colour blend that it exceeds the maximum volume of a primary packaging, such a basic colourant is not useful for a colour mixing ma- chine. Cosmetic basic colourants in the prior art do not fulfil all necessary criteria in order to be usable in high-fidelity and high-throughput colour mixing systems with satisfying results.

The present invention provides new cosmetic colour sets consisting of high-fidelity basic colour- ants which are suitable for use in high-fidelity and high-throughput cosmetic colour mixing ma- chines.

In a first aspect the present invention provides a cosmetic colour set comprising at least four high fidelity cosmetic basic colourants for the production of colour blends in a given colour gamut for use in high-throughput cosmetic colour mixing machines, wherein each of the basic colourants comprises at least a colour pigment and at least an- other pigment selected from the group consisting of a colour pigment, a special effect pigment and a coverage modifier pigment and/or a combination thereof; wherein at least two, preferably at least three, most preferably four of the basic colourants comprise a coverage modifier pigment; and wherein each of the at least four cosmetic basic colourants represents a corner of a polyhe- dron in a given colour gamut.

The term “cosmetic colour set” as used herein refers to a set of basic colourants, which can be used alone and/or mixed in any combination in order to achieve a “colour blend” within a given “colour gamut” in a defined colour space, for example within the CIE*L*a*b colour space.

A “cosmetic colour set” may for example comprise a set of at least four, preferably at least five, but less than 10, preferably less than 8, most preferably less than 7 basic colourants, represent- ing colour blends within the given colour gamut from which any other colour blend within a given colour gamut can be mixed. Thus, each of the at least four cosmetic basic colourants repre- sents a corner of a polyhedron in a given colour gamut. In a preferred embodiment the “cos- metic colour set” comprises between 4 to 6 basic colourants, most preferably five basic colour- ants. More than ten basic colourants are not cost effective, since each of the basic colourants needs to be mixed and kept chemically stable over a longer period of time. Less than three basic colourants are not suitable either, since they normally cannot be used to create a suffi- cient number of colour blends within a given colour gamut.

The correct choice of basic colourants in order to achieve a certain colour blend is known to the skilled person, however, in the prior art rather base colours comprising the primary colours and maybe additionally a dark and a white base colour were used in order to create a colour blend, wherein the inventive method provides a set of novel basic colourants which comprise at least two different pigments and/or are one of the representative colour blends themselves, and thereby are more suitable for high-throughput cosmetic colour mixing machine, because they reduce the error made per colour blend and allow faster mixing of colours, etc.. Thus, the set of inventive basic colourants is adapted to the specific problems faced when using high-throughput cosmetic colour mixing machines, such as errors in dispension, repeatability, achieving many different colour blends with a small number of basic colourants, etc.

Thus, in one aspect, the prerequisite for each basic colourant within the cosmetic colour set is that each of the basic colourants comprises at least two pigments, one selected from a colour pigment and at least a second pigment selected from a group consisting of a colour pigment, a special effect pigment and a coverage modifier pigment and/or a combination thereof.

In some embodiments the pigment may be a colour pigment having also some kind of “special effect” to it (such as glitter or colour-changing effect) in such a case the pigment is considered a “colour pigment” and counted as such.

In a second aspect, at least two, preferably at least three, most preferably at least four of the basic colourants and up to five, up to six, or up to all colourants comprise a coverage modifier pigment, such as talc, mica and/or silica.

Thirdly, each of the at least four cosmetic basic colourants represent a corner of a polyhedron in a given colour gamut, wherein all the other representative colour blends lie either on a corner, edge, plane or within said polyhedron. In case of four basic colourants this is a tetrahedron, in case of five basic colourants it may be in some embodiments a pentahedron, etc.; in other em- bodiments the fifth, sixth or more basic colourant may also lie inside the tetrahedron defined by the at least four first basic colourants. It is important that the at least four basic colourants are chosen so that they encompass all other representative colour blends within a given colour gamut, i.e. the coordinates within the colour space all lie either on the corners, edges and planes of the polyhedron or within the polyhedron spanning between the at least four basic col- ourants.

In yet another aspect the ratio of the sum (in wt-%) of pigments without coverage modifier pig- ment between the most covering of the basic colourants and the least covering of the cosmetic basic colourants is more than 1 and less than 5, in some embodiments between 1 and 4, in fur- ther embodiments between 1 and 3, preferably less than 2, even more preferably less than 1.5, but more than 1 and more than 1.25. This is in contradiction to the prior art prejudice that all col- ours in a colour mix need to have a coverage ratio of about 1. As will be explained in more de- tail below, lifting to some extent the constraints on the coverage of all basic colourants results in a better adaptability to the problems of high-throughput-machines (for example allows to in- crease the allowable variation error of each colour and better repeatability), surprisingly without any visible negative effects on the colour blends.

In yet a further embodiment, additionally the difference of the minimum mass (wt-%) to be dis- persed per cosmetic basic colourant X (MinOfX) in a first colour blend and the maximum mass (wt-%) to be dispersed per cosmetic basic colourant X (MaxOfX) in a second colour blend has a MaxOfX/MinOfX-ratio of less than 50. In further embodiments said ratio less than 40, less than 30, less than 25, but at least 5, at least 10, at least 20, In some embodiments the ratio is be- tween 5 to 50; more preferably between 10 and 40, more preferably between 20 and 20, most preferably about 25 or less.

This MaxOfX/MinOfX-ratio helps to keep the overall mass (respectively volume) which needs to be dispended by the high throughput cosmetic colour mixing machine within a reasonable range. Too high mass (respectively volume) differences result in to high differences in dispens- ing time, i.e. if the MaxOfX/MinOfX-ratio is too high, for example about 100 or higher, some blends are dispensed much faster than other blends, which is disadvantageous in a high- throughput setting. Also the costs of goods is kept lower with lower MaxOfX/MinOfX-ratios. However, there is also an optimum, since too low MaxOfX/MinOfX-ratios of less than 5 prevent the production of an acceptable number of colour blends, since the variability of mixtures is re- duced.

How the MaxOfX/MinOfX-ratio can be improved is explained throughout this application.

In yet another embodiment the MaxErrorOfMachineG, as will be explained in this application, refers to the maximum dispensing error the machine makes when dispensing a basic colourant. Such an error is averaged over all errors and described as dimensionless percentage.

In one embodiment, for measuring the MaxErrorOfMachineinG, 30 dispensions were made each for 1 wt.-%, 5 wt.-%, 25 wt.-%, 50 wt.-%, 75 wt.-%, 95 wt.-%, 99 wt.-%, 100 wt.-% of the maximum mass of the colour to be dispensed in one receptacle (30 ml / 33g). The maximum deviation in percentage is then taken as MaxErrorOfMachineinG.

In yet another embodiment the MaxErrorOfX, as will be explained in this application, refers to the maximum mass-deviation can be tolerated in a colour mix before a visual difference be- comes recognizable, represented by the dE2000-value. Thus, in yet a further embodiment, the percentage of the MaxErrorOfX of each basic colourant- combination needs to be equal and/or larger than the percentage of the MaxErrorOfMachine- inG. This is tested by a comparison of each combination of basic colourants, starting by a 1:1- (wt/wt)-mix and by varying the mixture until the visual appearance of the two basic colourants differs from each other, i.e. the dE2000 is ³ 2. Preferably the MaxErrorOfX should result in a maximum colour deviation of a dE2000 of 2 or less, preferably of a dE2000 of 1.5 or less, most preferably of less than 1. By this the variation is defined as a dimensionless percentage for each basic colourant-combination which still results in the same visual colour appearance.

For example, a mixture of a first basic colourant 1 with 10.25 mg and a second basic colourant 3 with 9.75 mg results in a dE2000 of exactly 2 as compared to a 1:1 mixture of the two basic colourants. In such a case the MaxErrorOfX for this specific basic colourant combination is about 5 % (± 2.5 %) since even with a difference of 5 % (± 2.5 %) the two colour blends still look the same (i.e. have a dE2000 £ 2). In order to find the MaxErrorOfX of a full set of basic colour- ants, each of the 1 ^-combinations need to be tested as explained above and the lowest allowa- ble variation is used as MaxErrorOfX of the set of basic colourants.

In case of four basic colourants, six 1: 1-combinations need to be tested; in case of five basic colourants, ten 1: 1-combinations need to be tested, in case of six basic colourants, fifteen 1:1- combinations need to be tested, etc.

For example:

If in this example the MaxErrorOfMachineinG is 1.8 % and the MaxErrorOfX is 2.0 %, then it is guaranteed that the colour set is suitable to be used in said machine. Since the MaxErrorOfX is tested with 1: 1-ratio it also includes the maximum allowable mass- variation of all other combinations, for example in case of a colour mixture with a 95:5-ratio, the MaxErrorOfX is usually highest for the 1:1-mixture.

The MaxErrorOfX may be given as dimensionless % or as weight-% since it represents the maximal allowable error of basic colourants in a 1: 1-mix within a set of basic colourants. For comparison with the MaxErrorOfMachineinG a dimensionless % is preferred.

It becomes apparent that the MaxErrorOfX-value within a cosmetic colour set of basic colour- ants should be always higher than the dispensing error of the high-throughput machine (MaxErrorOfMachineinG). Since otherwise the dispensing errors of the machine will result in vis- ible colour variations. It should be clear to the skilled person that in a high-throughput machine with a small MaxErrorOfMachineinG a cosmetic colour set with a low MaxErrorOfX-value is suf- ficient to fulfill this requirement, whereas in machines with a higher error also the MaxErrorOfX- value needs to be higher.

Normally the MaxErrorOfMachineinG is between 0.1 to 2 %; normally the MaxErrorOfX of the inventive basic colourants is about 2% - 5% or even higher, thus, the basic colourants of the present invention are suitable for a large range of different high-throughput dispensing ma- chines.

How the MaxErrorOfX can be improved depending on the MaxErrorOfMachineinG is explained throughout this application. In short, in some embodiments the MaxErrorOfX can be improved by adding coverage modifier pigment in order to increase the volume of the basic colourant to be dispersed per colour mix, thereby increasing the MaxErrorOfX. In other embodiments, the pigments within the basic colourant need to be changed or a different basic colourant within the representative colour blends of the defined colour gamut is chosen.

In that respect it needs to be noted that one of the inventive finding is to not use a set of basic colourants which just comprise one pigment, i.e. represent a primary colour (as one may for ex- ample one finds in printers), because in that cases the MaxErrorOfX cannot be optimized throughout the whole colour set and not all colour blends, especially for skin colours, and can- not be mixed with sufficient reliability, either. It also keeps the number of necessary basic col- ourants low, which is commercially advantageous.

In yet another aspect concrete examples of useful cosmetic colour sets according to the inven- tion are disclosed consisting of cosmetic basic colourants selected from a list comprising: a basic colourant of composition C1 : a basic colourant of composition C2: a basic colourant of composition C3: a basic colourant of composition C4: and a basic colourant of composition C5:

; and any combination thereof.

In yet another aspect concrete examples of useful cosmetic colour sets according to the inven- tion are disclosed having a MinOfX/MaxOfX-ratio of below 50 and with a MaxErrorOfX of at least 2 %, consisting of cosmetic basic colourants selected from a list comprising: a basic colourant of composition C1 : a basic colourant of composition C2: a basic colourant of composition C3: a basic colourant of composition C4: and a basic colourant of composition C5:

; and any combination thereof.

In one embodiment the cosmetic colour set with basic colourants having a MinOfX/MaxOfX-ratio of below 35 and with a MaxErrorOfX of at least 5 % consists of: a basic colourant of composition C1 : a basic colourant of composition C2: a basic colourant of composition C3: a basic colourant of composition C4: and a basic colourant of composition C5:

In further embodiments the pigments may include also a “special effect pigment” as explained in this specification.

In a further aspect the invention pertains to a cosmetic composition comprising the cosmetic colour set according to any of the previous claims, and further comprising at least one cosmetic acceptable excipient and/or additive selected from the list of an emulsifier, an oil, an ointment, an anti-ageing agent, an exfoliation agent and/or a whitening agent. Further excipients and/or additives are described throughout the application.

In another aspect the invention pertains to a method for producing a cosmetic colour set for use in a high-throughput cosmetic colour mixing machine, comprising the steps of a. Define a colour gamut within a CIE-L*a*b colour space; b. Define a starting set of at least 10 representative colour blends within said colour gamut, c. Chose out of these at least 10 representative colour blends at least four basic colourants representing the corners of a polyhedron comprising all 10 repre- sentative colour blends, in the CIE-L*a*b colour space within the defined colour gamut, d. Dispense each of the representative at least 10 colour blends with a high- throughput cosmetic colour mixing machine; e. Measure the ratio of the mass (in wt-%) of basic colourant to be dispensed for each of the at least 10 representative colour blends; f. If the ratio of the minimum mass (in wt-%) of basic colourant to be dispensed for a first colour blend (MinOfX) and the maximum mass (in wt-%) of the same basic colourant to be dispensed in a second colour blend (MaxOfX) as calculated by the formula is greater than 50, then chose a different basic colourant from the at least 10 rep- resentative colour blends representing a corner in the CIE-L*a*b colour space within the defined colour gamut and repeat steps d to f; g. If the ratio of the sum (in wt-%) of pigments without coverage modifier pigment between the most covering of the basic colourants and the least covering of the cosmetic basic colourants is more than 5; i. add coverage modifier in order to improve the cove rage- ratio; ii. if this not possible chose a different basic colourant from the at least 10 rep- resentative colour blends representing a corner in the CIE-L*a*b colour space within the defined colour gamut and repeat steps d to g; h. Measure the maximum weight-error the machine makes when dispensing each basic colourant at least 10 times in a range of masses between 0 and maximum dispensible mass (MaxErrorOfMachineinG); i. Create a 1 : 1 (wt/wt) combination for each combination of the at least four basic colourants and measure the maximal variation of weight-% which still results in a dE2000 of less than 2 (MaxErrorOfX); j. Compare MaxErrorOfMachineinG with the MaxErrorOfX: i. If the MaxErrorOfMachineinG > MaxErrorOfX then the coverage modifier within the basic colourant needs to be increased and steps e. to h. need to be repeated; ii. if MaxErrorOfMachineinG is £ MaxErrorOfX, then carry on to the next step; k. Obtain a set of high-fidelity basic colourants with excellent properties to be used in a cosmetic colour set for a high-throughput cosmetic colour mixing machine. As explained before, for measuring the MaxErrorOfMachineinG, in one embodiment 30 dispen- sions were made each for 1 wt.-%, 5 wt.-%, 25 wt.-%, 50 wt.-%, 75 wt.-%, 95 wt.-%, 99 wt.-%, 100 wt.-% of the maximum mass to be dispensed in one receptacle (30 ml / 33g) and measur- ing the maximum error.

In this application wt (in kg) can be calculated from volume (in cm ³ ), and vice-versa, by using an average density of the colours of 1.1 g/cm ³ .

The “representative colour blend” within a colour gamut can be chosen according to the experi- ence of the skilled person. Absence of other indicators, the skilled person may choose at least 10, preferably at least 15, preferably at least 20, more preferably at least 30, and up to 100, up to 200 or even up to 1000 representative colour blends, which are equally distributed over the whole colour spectrum within the defined colour gamut by varying L, a and b in equal steps (please see the examples, especially example 1.2 for details). A larger number of representative colour blends may enhance the granularity of the definition of the colour gamut, but is more cost- and labour intensive.

Further variations of the inventive method can be derived from other parts of this application, in- cluding the examples and figure 1.

In another aspect the invention pertains to a high-fidelity basic colourant obtained by the meth- ods according to the present invention.

In another aspect the invention pertains to a method for producing a cosmetic composition fol- lowing the steps of: a. Measure the skin colour of a subject with a skin scanner device; b. Defining a CIE L*a*b colour space corresponding to the skin colour as measured in step a; c. Obtain a set of high-fidelity cosmetic basic colourants as described in the previous method corresponding to the CIE L*a*b colour space defined in step b; d. Mixing the high-fidelity cosmetic basic colourants obtained by the previous method in a high-throughput colour mixing machine in order to receive the colour blend matched to the skin colour as measured in step a; e. (Optionally) adding at least one excipient and/or additive to the cosmetic colour set of basic colourants; f. Obtain the cosmetic composition.

In further aspects the invention pertains also to a use of the inventive cosmetic colour set com- prising the inventive high-fidelity basic colourants in a cosmetic composition.

In further aspects the invention pertains also to a high-throughput cosmetic colour mixing ma- chine comprising inventive cosmetic colour set comprising the inventive high-fidelity basic col- ourants, and/or the cosmetic composition.

Such high-throughput cosmetic colour mixing machines are described in the art, however, gen- erally speaking such a machine at least comprises metering pumps, which move a precise vol- ume of liquid in a specified time period providing an accurate volumetric flow rate.

In yet a further aspect the invention pertains also to a kit of parts comprising the cosmetic basic colourants according to the invention, and/or the cosmetic composition according to the inven- tion, and any combination thereof, wherein the kit further comprises at least one component se- lected from a skin scanner, a mixing device, a syringe, an applicator, a colour scheme, a man- ual, a mirror, make-up removal, syringe detergent, skincare boosters, and/or any combination thereof.

In a further embodiment the present invention provides high-fidelity cosmetic basic colourants for use in high-throughput cosmetic colour mixing machines, wherein the cosmetic basic colour- ant has a MaxErrorOfX of at least 1.5 % or more, at least 2% or more, at least 3% or more, at least 4% or more, at least more preferred of at least 5% or more, and up to 10%, or up to 20%.

In particular embodiments the MaxErrorOfX is between 1.6 and 2.1%; between 1.8 and 2.3%, and/or about 1.8%, about 2.1%, about 5.1%.

In a further embodiment of the present invention the pigments for each high-fidelity cosmetic basic colourant are mixed in a way that the minimum mass to be dispensed per base colourant X (MinOfX) and the maximum mass to be dispensed per base colourant X (MaxOfX) is opti- mized, so that the ratio MaxOfX/MinOfX is less than 50, even more preferred less than 40, even more preferred less than 35, most preferred less than 30.

In a further embodiment of the present invention the high-fidelity cosmetic basic colourant com- prises also a coverage modifier which improves the MaxErrorOfX even further.

In a further embodiment, as a result, the colour mixes produced by the high-fidelity basic colour- ants disclosed herein have a delta E (dE) of less than 2 and a weight-deviation of less than 2 wt.-% when used in a high-throughput cosmetic colour mixing machine. The term “cosmetic basic colourant” as used herein, refers to a colourant which comprises at least one colour pigment and, optionally, a coverage modifier pigment which is suitable for cos- metic use, i.e. does not pose a health risk to the final customer. Thus, each cosmetic basic col- ourant according to the present invention comprises at least two pigments.

At least two cosmetic basic colourants are mixed together in order to result in a “colour mix” which may be used in a cosmetic composition.

The term “cosmetic colour mixing machine” as used herein refers to any machine being able to produce a cosmetic colour mix during filling inside the primary packaging. As such the cosmetic colour mixing machine differs from conventional methods where the bulk is prepared for the fi- nal colour in comparable large volumes before it is filled into the primary packaging.

In some embodiments, however, also a manual or automated “colour mixing device” may be used to mix the basic colourants, for example as part of a kit provided with instructions to the final customer. The high-fidelity basic colourants can therefore also be used in such “colour mix- ing devices”.

The term “colour mix” (or “cosmetic colour mix”) is used herein as kind of “umbrella term”, in some embodiments it refers to the cosmetic colour set with separate basic colourants, in other embodiments it refers to a mix of at least two high-fidelity cosmetic basic colourants mixed to- gether in the primary packaging by the colour mixing machine or device.

Each colour within that range is called a “cosmetic colour blend” and refers to a specific colour mix which has been associated with a specific colour within the colour gamut. Such a “cosmetic colour blend’ as used herein, is a colour within the convex hull described by a tetrahedron in- side the space between the corners A, B, C, D. Wherein the corners A, B, C, D refer to corners of the CIELab colour space in a defined colour gamut.

The term “CIELab colour space” (also known as CIE L*a*b* or sometimes abbreviated as simply "Lab" colour space) as referred herein is a colour space defined by the International Commis- sion on Illumination (CIE) in 1976. It expresses colour as three values: L* for the lightness from black (0) to white (100), a* from green (-) to red (+), and b* from blue (-) to yellow (+). CIELAB was designed so that the same amount of numerical change in these values corresponds to roughly the same amount of visually perceived change. The CIELAB colour space values dis- closed in this document are related to the standard illuminant D55 and 2 degree measurement angles. The Lab colour values of cosmetic colour blends or colourants have to be intended as the average colour appearance of a 1 ml sample stored in a black coloured receptacle of the shape of a hemisphere the volume of which is roughly 1 ml (15.6mm x 15.6mm and 7.8mm deep) of such cosmetic colour blends of colourants when they are still liquid and the sample is fully opaque.

The term “dE”, “delta E”, “dE2000” as used herein, is the in general visual difference or distance between two colours. Common definitions make use of the Euclidean distance in a device inde- pendent colour space. The preferred definition of dE2000 makes use of a more sophisticated concept of distance in a quasi-metric space, which has been adapted to solve the perceptual uniformity issue.

The nearest neighbour distance of those cosmetic blend colours, expressed in dE2000 should be less than 2, even more preferably less than 1, most preferably less than 0.5. In cases of a distance between the nearest neighbours of significant less 0.5, for example in cases of 0.25 or less, the human eye is not able anymore to differentiate between two cosmetic colour blends. In cases of a distance much higher than 2, e.g. 3 or more, the distance between different colour blends is too scarce to satisfy the customer.

Both, the basic colourants of the present invention as well as the colour mixes produced thereof in a colour mixing machine, do have MaxErrorOfX which is defined by a dE2000 of less than 2, preferably less than 1.

The “MaxErrorOfX” as used herein defines the maximal deviation of weight of basic colourant X within a colour mix which is still visually accepted as the same colour. Or, in other words, the higher the “MaxErrorOfX” is, the higher is the deviation in percentage of two basic colourants within a colour mix may be and would still be visual acceptable to the customer as the same col- our, i.e. which still results in a dE2000 of less than 2, preferably less than 1.

Thus, a high-fidelity basic colourant suitable for colour mixing machines shows a MaxErrorOfX of at least 2%, in one embodiment 3%, in yet another embodiment 4%, in yet another embodi- ment 5% or more. Basic colourants with a MaxErrorOfX of less than 1% are not useful for colour mixing machines since they fail to be accurately dispensed or a commercially disadvantageous number of basic colourants needs to be applied in the machine. Basic colourants with a MaxErrorOfX of more than 20% are less preferred either, since they may result in a need for more basic colourants in order to cover a high number of colours within the full colour gamut. The “MaxErrorOfX” may be a combination of several effects:

1. the error deviation of the machine during filling;

2. dE2000 of the basic colourants;

3. MaxOfX/MinOfX;

4. Results of the tolerancing test.

However, the “MaxErrorOfX” can be improved easily when following the methods of the present invention as described (see also the example section).

As a mathematical model of “MaxErrorOfX” the following explanation is disclosed:

In one embodiment, the MaxErrorOfX is the minimum of the maximum possible acceptable er- rors of colourant X in all colour mixes of the target gamut (i.e. MaxErrorOfX = in MaxErrorOfAforX) .

The MaxErrorOfAforX is the maximum possible acceptable error of basic colourant X within the colour mix A (i.e. a colourmix of the gamut G) and is calculated as such:

MaxErrorOfAforX = Min({(Lim-> dE (A,Bi)= T) AbsoluteValue fiA,Bi)) | Bi belongs to B}) where f/(x,y)=1-(ConcentrationOfXiny/ConcentrationOfXinx), x and / colour mixes, X basic colour- ant dE (x,y) is the dE2000 between two colour mixes x and y,

B is a set of any colour mix Bi of the gamut such as that dE(A,Bi)<T and T is a target acceptable visual error and is measured in dE2000.

As explained before, T is preferably 2, preferably 1.5, preferably less than 1 and more than 0.5.

In order for a machine ( Machine ) to be able to accurately dispense all colour mixes A of a given gamut G, being the gamut G a set of colour mixes, and exist a convenient G* set of subsets of the gamut G, G*= {G1, G2, G3, ..., Gn}, such as that G = G1 U G2 U G3 U...U Gn (“U” is the Boolean Union), then the following requirement must be met: MaxErrorOfMachineinGx < MaxErrorOfX = Min({MaxErrorOfAforX | for every A that belongs to Gx}) for every subset Gx of G that belong to G* being MaxErrorOfMachineinGx the maximum error of the Machine that dispenses colourant MaxErrorOfMachineinGx is measured after completing a meaningful amount of dispenses of colourant X (more than 10, preferably more than 100, preferably close to 1000) of the minimum possible concentration v in which colourant X appears in the colour mixes of gamut Gx.

After a meaningful amount of dispenses has been performed, the expert would have a set of volumes \/={v1, v2, v3, ..., v1000} which are all close to the target volume v, which corresponds to the critical concentration of the basic colourant X for the gamut Gx: MaxErrorOfMachineinGx = Max AbsoluteValue(V-Min \/))/AbsoluteValue(V-Max \/))).

In order to create a convenient set of gamuts G*= {G1, G2, G3, ..., Gn} such as that the process of calculating MaxErrorOfMachineinGx is convenient (fast), it is sufficient to start with G*={G}. If the MaxErrorOfMachineinG < MaxErrorOfX = MinMaxErrorOfAforX) is not yet satisfied for some A*=A1, ..., Aj of the gamut G, then a new set of gamuts G*={G1,G2} is created which may be suboptimal, as for instance by defining G1-G-A* and G2-A* with the use of the CIELab co- ordinates of every colour mix of the gamut G.

If MaxErrorOfMachineinGx < MaxErrorOfX = Min (MaxErrorOfAforX) , for every x being either 1 or 2, is not yet satisfied, a new set G*={G1,G2,G3} is created which may be suboptimal and so on, until G* is the optimal set.

The optimal set of gamuts G*= {G1, G2, G3, ..., Gn} such as above, is obtained by checking the corresponding values (in CIELab) of the colour mixes C*={C1, C2, C3, ..., Cn} such as that the colour mixes in Gx correspond to an CIELab value in Cx for every 0 <x<n+1 and that Max({dE a,b)| for every a, b that belongs to Cx, 0<x<n+1 })<T and T is a target acceptable vis- ual error and is measured in dE2000. T is preferably 2, preferably 1.5, preferably less than 1 and more than 0.5.

Any suboptimal set of gamuts G*= {G1, G2, G3, ..., Gm}, m<n is obtained by checking the cor- responding values (in CIELab) of the colour mixes C*={C1, C2, C3, ..., Cm} such as that the colour mixes in Gx correspond to an CIELab value in Cx for every 0 <x<m+1 and that Max({dE(a,b)| for every a, b that belongs to Cx, 0<x<m+1})=t and t>T, where T is the target ac- ceptable visual error of above and is measured in dE. T is preferably 2, preferably 1.5, prefera- bly less than 1 and more than 0.5. In one embodiment the pigments for each basic colourant are mixed in a way that the minimum mass to be dispensed per base colourant X (MinOfX) and the maximum mass to be dispensed per base colourant X (MaxOfX) for each colour blend is optimized. Contrary to the prior art, at least two of the inventive cosmetic basic colourants within a colour mix comprise two or more pigments in such a way that the ratio of MaxOfX/MinOfX is less than 50, in a preferred embodi- ment less than 40, in an even more preferred embodiment less than 35, in a most preferred em- bodiment 30 or less, resulting in an improved ratio MaxOfX/MinOfX and consequentially in an improved MaxErrorOfX.

A low MaxOfX/MinOfX ratio does not add to improving the overall MaxErrorOfX, but also allows a high-throughput use of the basic colourants, since the volume-spread between the smallest volume needed for example for a very light colour blend and the largest volume needed for a very dark colour blend is reduced. Thus, the time needed for dispatching even large volumes like for example 30ml is kept within reasonable boundaries. In one embodiment dispatching times of less than 0.5 sec / ml are preferred, even more preferred less than 0.2 sec / ml or most preferred less than 0.15 sec / ml.

The high-throughput may also be measured in finally filled primary packages (bottles) per mi- nute. Thus, in one embodiment a high-throughput machine is defined as being able to fill at least 30 packages/min., more preferred 40 packages/min., even more preferred 50 pack- ages/min. or even up to 100 packages/min..

In another embodiment the cosmetic basic colourant comprises a coverage modifier which al- lows to reduce the colouring power of said basic colourant, thereby increasing the MinOfX and as a result to further improve the error tolerance MaxErrorOfX. For example if a cosmetic basic colourant has a coverage of about 10% and a second cosmetic basic colourant of the same col- our, but with a different coverage modifier has a coverage of 3.3%, the MaxErrorOfX is im- proved by replacing the first colourant with the second improved colourant from ± 1.6% to ± 5%. Furthermore, the use of the coverage-modifier instead of a simple dilution has the advantage that the volume and the rheological properties of the cosmetic basic colourant can be kept con- stant as compared to conventional dilution techniques.

Furthermore, the content of coverage modifier within each cosmetic colourant may be the same or different from each other and, consequentially, the resulting colour mix may be made of cos- metic basic colourants with the same or different content of coverage modifier. Thus, further embodiments pertain to basic colourants comprising at least one coverage modifier which amount differs from the coverage modifier of at least one other basic colourant within a given colour mix. Thus, in yet another embodiment, the cosmetic colour mixes representing different cosmetic colour blends, possess different concentrations of the coverage modifiers.

It was a belief in the prior art that the coverage of the cosmetic basic colourants needs to be kept constant within all basic colourants. This is because it was believed that the higher the pig- ment amount in the mass, the more saturated the colour looks.

It is, however, one of the inventive findings of this application that the advantage of a modified concentration of coverage modifier in the colours of the present invention outweighs the disad- vantages of a less saturation. One advantage of different concentrations of the coverage modi- fier is that it improves the MaxErrorOfX of the basic colourant as well as of the colour mix. It was further found that darker colours can be made with less coverage and more translucency, as compared to lighter colours, but still result in cosmetic colour blends which cover sufficiently the whole colour gamut.

The modification of the colouring power does not only further improve the overall MaxErrorOfX of the basic colourant, but also further improves the applicability of high-throughput use of the basic colourant, since instead of simple dilution of the cosmetic basic colourant, the coverage modifier is used to adapt the colouring power of the colourant. Thereby keeping the volume and chemical behaviour of the basic colourant almost constant.

With such an improved MaxErrorOfX colour mixes and/or cosmetic compositions within a pri- mary packages with an volume of between 1ml to 250ml, in some embodiments of between 5ml to 150ml, of between 10ml to 100ml, of between 25ml to 50ml can be prepared with high relia- bility (i.e. repeatability).

The optimization of the basic colourant including the choice of colour pigments and amount of coverage-modifier pigment are outlined in the example-section.

Thus, the term “high-fidelity” as used herein refers to a cosmetic basic colourant which shows high-fidelity, i.e. a high-reproducibility in a colour mixing machine. As such, whenever such a high-fidelity cosmetic basic colourant is used in a colour mixing machine for producing a colour mix, the colour deviation between one batch of colour mix and a second batch of colour mix has a dE2000 of less than 2, more preferred of less than 1, even more preferred of less than 0.5 and a weight-deviation of less than 5 wt.-%, more preferred of less than 2 wt.-%, even more preferred of less than 1 wt.-% and most preferred of less than 0.5 wt.-%. In one embodiment this is not only true when comparing at least one colour mix with another colour mix of the same colour, but remains within the acceptable error-margins over the whole range of colour mixes (i.e. cosmetic colour blends) within a selected colour gamut. The term “high-throughput” is used herein for colour mixing machines which are able to produce at least 25, more preferred at least 30, more preferred at least 35, more preferred at least 40, more preferred at least 50, most preferred at least 60 or more different colour mixes (i.e. cos- metic colour blends) and/or cosmetic compositions per minute.

The properties of the cosmetic basic colourants of the present invention possess high-fidelity, i.e. reliable repeatability, and are suitable for a reasonable production time and speed in high- throughput colour mixing machines, rendering them especially useful for such machines.

A typical colour cosmetic emulsion is composed by components selected from a list consisting of an oil phase, a water phase, emulsifiers and pigments; or any combination thereof.

The oil and water phases can be mixed together by physical means, but will start to separate again. The separation of the two phases can be delayed by the use of emulsifiers (which keeps the internal phase, i.e. the phase in the lower volume, separated from the outer phase in mi- celles thanks to their tensioactive properties) and/or rheology additives, which, on a general level, create a mesh around the particles of one of the two phases, hence modifying drastically its rheological behaviour and the adequate manufacturing processes comprising 4 phases:

• mixingto the required hydration

• primary homogenization to the formation of the emulsion

• secondary homogenizationto reduce the particle size

• cooling

The “pigments” as used herein may be any “pigment” which is certified for cosmetic use, for ex- ample a “colour pigment”, a “special effect pigment” and/or a “coverage modifier pigment”.

Colour pigments are solid, finely grinded materials which are dispersed (in case they are not soluble in one of the two phases) or diluted (in case they are soluble in one of the two phases) in the emulsion.

The colour pigments are the components of the emulsion that give the colour to the emulsion, however the other components, being not fully transparent, may influence the colour of the final emulsion as well.

There are many different pigments available in the market that differ from each other because of manufacturing process and optical properties (colour and appearance). Such colour pigments may be of natural organic origin (e.g. animal or plant) or inorganic origin (e.g. minerals), or they may be of synthetic (i.e. chemical) origin. Examples include lapis lazuli, raw or burnt sienna, raw and burnt umber, red ochre (anhydrous Fe2C>3), hydrated yellow ochre (Fe ₂ 0 _3* H ₂ 0), charcoal or carbon black, blue frit (Egyptian Blue), calcium copper silicate, verdi- gris, indian yellow, cadmium red, prussian blue, ultramarine, cobalt blue, cerulean blue, phthalo blue, royal blue, mauveine, pigments based on azo and diazo compounds, titanium di-oxide, zinc-oxide, black oxide, red oxide, yellow oxide, pearl pigments, etc. In general any colour pig- ment listed in the colour index international which is certified for cosmetic use, can be used within this invention.

A “special effect pigment” is used to add effects to a cosmetic colour, such as sparkle, matte ef- fects, shimmer, pearl effect, silky effect, colour enhancing effects and/or low luster. They may consist of bismuth chloride (BiOCI), metal oxide coated substrates, boron nitride and/or syn- thetic substrates. Based on the substrates available, a large diversity of effects can be obtained by additional variation of the particle size.

The general structure of a pearlescent pigment is a flaky substrate core and a coating. In some embodiments an even substrate like e.g. mica or silica (e.g. calcium aluminum borosilicate) functions as a base for the precipitation of one or more metal oxides layers. The pigment parti- cle sizes vary and are classified in different fractions. The smallest of these fractions is 1 - 15 microns. As the particle size decreases, the specular surfaces get smaller in relation to the amount of the scattering edge portions of the particles. Consequently, pigments based on the 1 - 15 microns fraction have the least luster and the highest opacity. In contrast to this, the larger particles show much less scattering but greater brilliance, transparency and glitter as well.

Such “special effect pigments” may also comprise “shifting colour effects” (also called “colour travel”) or may add to the application or wearing performance.

The term “coverage” as used herein refers to the coverage of a colour cosmetic formulation as the % of basic opaque pigments to the total mass of the colour cosmetic formulation. The cover- age of a formulation can be reduced without changing the formulation itself, by replacing a cer- tain amount of opaque pigment with the same amount of coverage modifier ingredient.

As such “coverage” or “most covering basic colourant” or, respectively, “least covering basic col- ourant” are defined by a direct comparison test: For example 1 ml of a colour such as for exam- ple cosmetic basic colourant with a number of dilutions from 1:100 to 1:2 is spread out equally on a paper surface with 5 cm ² size and with a black and white grid printed upon. A trained ex- aminer assesses the coverage of each of the colours in a direct comparison and orders them according to their coverage of the black and white grid. Since the number of basic colourants to be compared according to the present invention is between 4 to 6, preferably 5, the assessment of coverage can be done rather quickly.

Thus, a “coverage modifier” or “coverage modifier ingredient” or “coverage modifier pigment” is defined as a nearly colourless and nearly transparent pigment added to a formulation in order to reduce coverage. Those pigments are also called sometimes “functional fillers”. In this way about the same amount of solid powder is dispersed in the emulsion, but, at the same time, the amount of coverage is decreased. The advantages of using coverage modifiers are that the vol- ume and the chemical properties can be kept nearly constant and thus, the colouring power can be adapted with neither changing the emulsifying properties nor the filling-speed of the basic colourant. In general any ingredient with the function of emphasizing the colour rendition (for ex- ample mica, talc, silica, etc.) may be called “coverage modifier” within this invention. Those in- gredients can be replaced by the formulator instead of a pigment, without changing the equilib- rium of the emulsion.

This is one important finding of the present invention that changes necessary to adapt the fea- tures of the basic colourants to the needs of the specific high-throughput-machine can be made without changing the overall rheology of the basic colourant composition just by increasing or decreasing the amount of coverage modifier pigment within the basic colourant.

Suitable coverage modifier may be preferably selected from the mica group. The “mica group” as used herein refers to the mica group of sheet silicate (phyllosilicate) minerals including sev- eral closely related materials having nearly perfect basal cleavage. All are monoclinic, with a tendency towards pseudo-hexagonal crystals, and are similar in chemical composition. The nearly perfect cleavage, which is the most prominent characteristic of mica, is explained by the hexagonal sheet-like arrangement of its atoms.

Chemically, micas can be given the general formula X ₂ Y _4-6 Z ₈ O ₂₀ (OH, F) ₄ , in which

• X is K, Na, or Ca or less commonly Ba, Rb, or Cs;

• Y is Al, Mg, or Fe or less commonly Mn, Cr, Ti, Li, etc.;

• Z is chiefly Si or Al, but also may include Fe ³⁺ or Ti.

Structurally, micas can be classed as dioctahedral (Y = 4) and trioctahedral (Y = 6). If the X ion is K or Na, the mica is a common mica, whereas if the X ion is Ca, the mica is classed as a brit- tle mica.

Thus, the coverage modifier pigment may be selected from the list comprising: dioctahedral mi- cas, such as muscovite, paragonite; trioctahedral micas such as common micas, biotite, lepido- lite, phlogopite, zinnwaldite; brittle micas, such as clintonite; interlayer-deficient micas, such as very fine-grained micas, which typically show more variation in ion and water content (informally termed "clay micas"), they include hydro-muscovite with H ₃ O ⁺ along with K in the X site; lllite with a K deficiency in the X site and correspondingly more Si in the Z site; phengite with Mg or Fe ²⁺ substituting for Al in the Y site and a corresponding increase in Si in the Z site; and/or se- ricite, which is the name given to very fine, ragged grains and aggregates of white (colourless) micas. In one embodiment Mearlmica ^® CF (Bayer) is used.

In another embodiment also talcs may be used a coverage modifier pigments, as long as they are approved for cosmetic use (i.e. with less than 1% AIO ₃ and free of asbestos and lead), such as for example ImerCare® SheerSilk, ImerCare® Velluto, ImerCare® Dolce, ImerCare® Opal- ine, lmerCare® 4T, ImerCare® 11T, etc.

A “stable emulsion” and the terms "stable", "stability" and grammatical variations thereof, indi- cate a macroscopic homogeneous substance that doesn't have variation in texture or varying phases physically noticeable. In addition, microscopically the emulsion of the composition has the appearance of being homogeneous within the droplets and no dynamic changes in the mi- croscope image are visible. Examples of compatibility that result in a stable efficacious cosmetic composition include ingredients that have compatible pH, such that the combination of the in- gredients do not provide esterification, crystallization, separation, and precipitation or other in- compatible effects. In addition, compatibility may include ingredients that have compatible solu- bility that result in a stable emulsion, wherein the ingredients do not readily break into phases.

In addition, compatibility may include ingredients that retain efficacy of individual ingredients when combined with the other ingredients remain present in the formula over time periods and exposures to varying temperature.

For example, as an incompatible combination, a hydroalcoholic base is not compatible with reti- nal (as a second grade anti-aging agent) because the combination results in an incompatible pH and results in separation of phases. In another example, glycolic acid, lactic acid and sodium phytate (as a second grade exfoliation agent) are not compatible with the aqueous emulsion be- cause the combination results in crystallization of the booster components. In another example, glycolic acid, lactic acid and sodium phytate (as a second grade exfoliation agent) are not com- patible with tranexamic acid and urea (as a second grade whitening agent) because of a pH in- compatibility.

A “good cosmetic emulsion” is considered an emulsion in which on one hand the components are stable within the emulsion and, on the other hand, is balanced in colour and composition to achieve the right organoleptic properties that the client requires. Preferably such a “good cos- metic emulsion” should also be easy to manufacture with high-throughput.

Mixing two different emulsions which formulas are not compatible, as explained above, might result in an emulsion which does not fulfill the criteria of a “good emulsion” as defined above. Such a “suboptimal” emulsion may for instance not be stable or show an inhomogeneous colour distribution.

Thus, another problem of colour mixing machines is that the basic colourants need to be com- posed in a way that they result in “good emulsions” over the whole range of the colour gamut within the primary packaging.

The present basic colourants fulfill this criteria, since each high-fidelity cosmetic basic colourant is compatible with all other ones. That is they can be prepared with the same proportion ratio of oil phase / water phase, the amount of dispersed pigments is similar (in some embodiments the coverage modifier serves as kind of a “replacement pigment” in the emulsion), rheology addi- tives, etc. and are produced with the same manufacturing process.

The cosmetic composition comprising the basic colourant and/or the colour mix may comprise an array of excipients that can be mixed to achieve a custom colour, coverage and finish. Other additives may contain UV protective ingredients, vitamins, or other skincare ingredients.

Exfoliation excipient

In one embodiment, the excipient selected may be an ingredient that provides exfoliation to im- prove skin appearance. For example, in one embodiment, the actives corresponding to an ex- cipient corresponding to an exfoliation agent include one or more of glycolic acid, lactic acid, so- dium phytate, 4-(2-hydroxyethyl)-1-piperazineethanesulfonic acid (HEPES), hydroxyethyl urea, salicylic acid, citric acid, capryloyl salicylic acid, and other components that provide improve- ment to skin appearance, and combinations thereof.

Efficacious concentrations of the excipient selected include concentration of excipients suffi- ciently high to provide exfoliation. For example, efficacious concentrations of from 1 wt% to about 15 wt% of glycolic acid, lactic acid, and sodium phytate; from 0.5 wt% to about 5 wt% 4- (2-hydroxyethyl)-1-piperazineethanesulfonic acid; from 2 wt% to about 10 wt% hydroexyethyl urea; from 0.05 wt% to about 0.04 wt% salicylic acid, from 1 wt% to about 15 wt% citric acid; and from 0.01 wt% to about 0.5 wt% capryloyl salicylic acid. In one embodiment, the excipient in a cosmetic composition may include 6% 4-(2-hydroxyethyl)-1-piperazineethanesulfonic acid and 5.45% hydroxyethyl urea by weight of the skin care composition. In yet another embodiment, the excipient may include 6.7% glycolic acid, 3.3% lactic acid and 1.7% sodium phytate by weight of the skin care composition.

Whitening excipient

In one embodiment, the excipient selected may be an excipient that provides skin whiteness.

For example, in one embodiment, the actives corresponding to an excipient corresponding to an whitening agent may include one or more of niacinamide, kojic acid, licorice extract, mulberry extract, tranexamic acid, urea, phenylethyl resorcinol, ascorbic acid, and other components that provide improvement to skin whiteness, any other suitable soluble/dispersible targeted active ingredient, and combinations thereof. Efficacious concentrations of the excipients include con- centration of active excipients sufficiently high to provide whitening.

For example, efficacious concentrations of from 0.01 wt% to about 2 wt% of licorice extract; from 0.001 wt% to about 0.5 wt% mulberry extract; from 0.25 wt% to about 10 wt% niacinamide; from 0.5 wt% to about 5 wt% koiic acid; from 0.01 wt% to about 1 wt% phenylethyl resorcinol; from about 0.1 wt% to about 4 wt% tranexamic acid; and from about 1 wt% to about 15 wt% acorbic acid. In one embodiment, the excipient may include 0.1 % licorice extract; and 0.0025% mulberry extract, by weight of the skin care composition. In one embodiment, the excipient may include 3% niacinamide and 1 % kojic acid by weight of the skin care composition. In one em- bodiment, the excipient may include 0.5% phenylethyl resorcinol by weight of the skin care com- position.

Anti-Aging excipient

In one embodiment, the excipient selected may be an ingredient that provides anti-aging. For example, in one embodiment, the actives corresponding to an excipient corresponding to an anti-aging agent may include one or more of C-beta-D-xylopyranoside-2-hydroxypropane (Pro- Xylane), retinal, peptides, caffeine, and other components that provide improvement to skin tex- ture, any other suitable soluble/dispersible targeted active ingredient, and combinations thereof. Efficacious concentrations of the excipient may include concentration of active ingredients suffi- ciently high to provide anti-aging. For example, efficacious concentrations of from 0.5 wt% to about 10 wt% of C-beta-D-xylopyranoside-2-hydroxypropane; from 0.1 wt% to about 1.1 retinal; from 0.5 wt% to about 10 wt% ascorbic acid; from 0.1 wt% to about 1 wt% hyaluronic acid; from 0.01 wt% to about 1 wt% peptides; and from 0.1 wt% to about 1 wt% caffeine. In one embodi- ment, the excipient may include 3.5% C-beta-D-xylopyranoside-2-hydroxypropane, by weight of the skin care composition. In one embodiment, the excipient may include 0.1 % or 0.3% or 0.5% or 1.0% retinal, by weight of the anti-aging booster composition.

Further excipients

The cosmetic compositions noted above may further include additional excipients. For example, the cosmetic compositions may include humectants, such as glycol and glycerin, soothing ingre- dients, essential oils, Vitamin E, emollients or other ingredients for skin enhancement, solubili- zation or other beneficial or efficacious purpose.

In an embodiment, the composition of the disclosure may also contain excipients that are com- mon in cosmetics, such as preserving agents, antioxidants, complexing agents, solvents, fra- grances, bactericides, odor absorbers, vitamins, moisturizers, self-tanning compounds, and other active agents. The amounts of these various adjuvants are those conventionally used in the field under consideration, for example, from 0.01 % to 20% of the total weight of the compo- sition. In one embodiment, the excipients and/or additives would be added to the cosmetic for- mulations to functionalize them for specific targeted treatments/needs.

Additive base composition

In addition to the plurality of excipients, additive base compositions are also provided.

Aqueous Alcohol Base Composition

One base composition suitable for use in the cosmetic compositions includes an aqueous alco- hol base composition. The aqueous composition includes an aqueous composition, comprising, consisting essentially of or consisting of an alcohol, such as ethanol or denatured alcohol. In one embodiment, the base composition includes an aqueous alcohol base composition com- prising about 35 wt% alcohol, balance water.

Aqueous Emulsion Base Composition

One base composition suitable for use in the cosmetic compositions includes an aqueous emul- sion base composition. The aqueous emulsion base composition includes an aqueous composi- tion, comprising, consisting essentially of or consisting of an emulsifier, such as polyacrylate crosspolymer-6. In one embodiment, the base composition includes an aqueous emulsion base composition comprising about 0.6 wt% polyacrylate crosspolymer-6. In another embodiment, the base composition includes an aqueous emulsion base composition comprising the following composition:

The base compositions may include components suitable for providing skin care benefits, such as moisturization, protection of skin barrier, or other skin benefit. In one embodiment, the base compositions are contained in dispensing dosing receptacles.

The concentration of the ingredients for the base compositions in the dispensing dosing recep- tacles is preferably at the concentrations indicated in table 1, wherein the base compositions in- clude ranges of ingredients that permit dilution of the cosmetic compositions to their efficacious concentrations, while maintaining the benefits of the cosmetic composition.

Table 1 - Exemplary depiction of base compositions

In one embodiment the present invention also pertains to the method for producing a cosmetic composition according to the following the steps: a. Measure the skin colour of a subject with a skin scanner device (e.g. in RGB from a CCD chip or as the spectral reflectancy map from a spectrometer); b. Matching colour in the L*a*b colour space to the skin colour (e.g. in RGB or as a spectral reflectancy map) as measured in step a; c. Identifying the cosmetic basic colourants resulting in a colour mix corresponding to the point in the L*a*b colour space defined in step b; d. Mixing the above mentioned cosmetic basic colourants in a high-fidelity and high- throughput cosmetic colour mixing machine in order to receive the cosmetic col- our mix matched to the skin colour as measured in step a. e. (Optionally) adding at least one excipient to the cosmetic colour mix f. Receiving the cosmetic composition.

Dispenser System

In one embodiment, a system for forming a cosmetic composition is provided. The system in- cludes a dispensing module in selective fluid communication with a plurality of dispensing dos- ing receptacles mounted on a movable carousel. The dispensing module is configured to selec- tively dispense a plurality of the basic colourants, optionally together with additional excipients, resulting in a pharmaceutical formulation corresponding to a compatibility profile and consumer skin condition.

In another embodiment, a colour management system, including a device configured to extract one or more significant colour features corresponding to one or more skin colours captured in a plurality of digital images or by a camera sensor. In another embodiment, the skin care system includes circuitry configured to generate cosmetic formulation compatibility information based on one or more inputs associated with extracting the one more significant features. In another embodiment, the skin care system includes circuitry configured to virtually display user-specific compatible cosmetic formulation information based on at least one parameter associated with colour information and the cosmetic formulation compatibility information. In another exemplary embodiment, a system for selecting and dispensing a cosmetic material is provided. The system includes a dispensing module configured to hold a plurality of dispensing dosing receptacles, the plurality of dispensing dosing receptacles include at least two cosmetic basic colourants and, optionally, an excipient. The dispersing arrangement being arranged and disposed to dispense at least two cosmetic basic colourants and, optionally, at least one excipi- ent into a receiving receptacle. The system further includes a user interface configured to re- ceive a skin profile from a user and circuitry configured to receive the skin profile received at the user interface, determine a skin colour from the skin profile, and generate a compatibility profile, determine a formulation of at least two cosmetic basic colourants and, optionally, at least one excipient, that satisfies both the skin condition and the compatibility profile, transmit the formula- tion to the dispensing apparatus, and control the dispensing apparatus to dispense the formula- tion from the plurality of dispensing dosing receptacles.

In another embodiment, a system for forming a cosmetic composition is provided. The system includes a dispensing module in selective fluid communication with a plurality of dispensing dos- ing receptacles. The dispensing module is configured to selectively dispense a plurality of cos- metic basic colourants with, optionally, an excipient in a controlled manner responsive to one or more inputs associated with a compatibility profile. The system further includes a skin profile module comprising skin information regarding a target skin area of a user. The system also in- cludes a skin condition module including circuitry configured to determine a skin condition re- sponsive to one or more inputs indicative of consumer-specific skin condition. The system fur- ther includes a target formulation including circuitry configured to determine and generate a for- mulation including at least two cosmetic basic colourants, and, optionally, at least one excipient, corresponding to the target skin condition determined by the skin condition software module.

The system further includes a device driver module including circuitry configured to direct the dispensing module to dispense the formulation to form a stable composition having efficacious concentrations of active ingredients, such as colours and, optionally, further excipients.

In another exemplary embodiment, a method for managing colour mixing system based on a skin colour and/or condition, including generating, a user interface including one or more visual representations of a categorical skin colour, each of the visual representations corresponding to a colour defined in a colour gamut within the CIE L*a*b-colour space. The method additionally includes generating, one or more additional scores responsive to one or more inputs indicative of a user-selected categorical skin condition. The method additionally includes generating a skin treatment regimen information including a cosmetic composition based on one or more inputs associated with the skin colour and one or more inputs indicative of a compatibility information associated with one or more cosmetic composition. The one or more inputs indicative of a user-selected categorical skin condition may determine scores for categories of concern, such as, for example: pigmentation concern, sensitivity, com- plexion, wrinkles, texture, hydration, or oily/dry skin. In one particularly suitable embodiment, consultation from a skin care professional may be utilized. The skin care consultant may provide direction relating to the consumer's current regimen, skin type, skin concerns and lifestyle. To assess top skin concerns, diagnostic tools which may include, but are not limited to, a combina- tion of a special prescription card (ranking of concerns) and reference pictures (skin atlas) are utilized. In addition, the skin information and the skin condition may be determined utilizing auto- mated systems. For example, different devices for performing the skin diagnosis are readily un- derstood in the art, such as the Lancome Diagnos ABS, HR Skinscope, Biotherm Bluesmart, Kiehl's Skinprofiler V.O, CA Dermanalyzer, and the Vichy Vichyconsult.

The method to achieve the detection of skin colour, in order to determine the colour of a cos- metic product adapted to the skin of a wearer of the cosmetic product, may include the following steps:

• supply data related to the colour appearance of the wearer's skin (e.g. by using a skin colour detection device as disclosed for example in application: FR1915511 and FR1915512)

• determine the colour of the cosmetic product by using a correspondence function ap- plied to data about the colour appearance of the wearer's skin, the correspondence func- tion associating a wearer's skin colour with a colour of the cosmetic product, the corre- spondence function having at least three reference associations, a reference association associating a predetermined cosmetic product colour with a predetermined wearer skin colour within a tolerance, the tolerance being equal to a distance of 6 in the CIE L*a*b* colour space and the at least three associations being chosen from the group of associ- ations composed of: o a first association associating the colour of the cosmetic product with coordinates in the CIE L*a*b* colour space equal to (25.9; 10.1; 14.0) with a wearer's skin colour with coordinates in the CIE L*a*b* colour space equal to (25.9; 10.1; 14.0) +/- (3.5; 3.5; 3.5), o a second association associating the colour of the cosmetic product with coordi- nates in the CIE L*a*b* colour space equal to (36.9; 14.0; 22.7) with a wearer's skin colour with coordinates in the CIE L*a*b* colour space equal (36.9; 14.0; 22.7) +/- (3.5; 3.5; 3.5), o a third association associating the colour of the cosmetic product with coordi- nates in the CIE L*a*b* colour space equal to (50.9; 16.2; 23.7) with a wearer's skin colour with coordinates in the CIE L*a*b* colour space equal to (50.9; 16.2; 23.7) +/- (3.5; 3.5; 3.5), o a fourth association associating the colour of the cosmetic product with coordi- nates in the CIE L*a*b* colour space equal to (50.6; 22.4; 35.5) with a wearer's skin colour with coordinates in the CIE L*a*b* colour space equal to (50.6; 22.4; 35.5) +/- (3.5; 3.5; 3.5), o a fifth association associating the colour of the cosmetic product with coordinates in the CIE L*a*b* colour space equal to (79.7; 10.7; 18.7) with a wearer's skin colour with coordinates in the CIE L*a*b* colour space equal to (79.7; 10.7; 18.7) +/- (3.5; 3.5; 3.5).

According to particular embodiments, the determination method comprises one or several of the following characteristics taken in isolation or in any technically possible combination:

• the correspondence function has at least three reference associations, each reference association representing a predetermined cosmetic product colour with each predeter- mined wearer's colour, within a tolerance, the at least five associations being chosen from the group of associations;

• the tolerance is equal to a the nearest neighbour distance of each cosmetic blend col- our, expressed in dE2000 at less than 6, preferably less than 2, preferably less than 1, even more preferably less than 1, most preferably less than 0.5. distance in the CIE L*a*b* colour space;

• skin data are RGB-measurements made on one or several areas of the wearer's skin;

• the number of skin areas measured is greater than or equal to 3.

The use of the high-fidelity cosmetic basic colourants in a high-throughput colour mixing ma- chine is encompassed, as well as the use of the cosmetic basic colourants and the colour mix to produce a cosmetic composition.

The cosmetic basic colourant, the colour mix and/or the cosmetic composition may be part of a kit. Such a kit may further include a receptacle and/or device in order to enable the customer to mix the basic colourant, colour mix or cosmetic composition to the customers final needs, e.g. by further adding basic colourants, colour mixes, cosmetic compositions, coverage-modifiers, excipients and/or additives, and combinations thereof, resulting in a final cosmetic composition. The kit may further comprise a device for application of the final cosmetic composition to the customer’s skin. The kit may further comprise one or more items selected from the group com- prising a manual or user guide, a skin scanning device, a colour scheme, a manual, a mirror, make-up removal composition, make-up removal fabrics (such as a mini-towel, a sponge, a cot- ton swab, a pad, etc.), detergents for cleaning the mixing device and/or applicator and skincare boosters; and any combination thereof.

Short Description of the Figures

Figure 1 - Flow chart of the production and optimization of the high-fidelity cosmetic basic col- ourants for use in high-throughput cosmetic colour mixing machines.

Examples

Example 1: Optimization of colourants from a given colour gamut and a given machine

In general the identification of the correct basic colourant is a multistep process.

In one embodiment the method for finding a high-fidelity cosmetic basic colourant consists of the steps: a. Defining the error-parameters of the high throughput colour mixing machine (doser volume, distribution error, speed, number of dosers, etc.), in order to de- fine the error-boundaries of the machine (corresponds to Example 1.1.) in the section below); b. Defining a colour gamut G, by selecting a finite number of colour cosmetic blends (e.g. by customer evaluation)

G = {G1, G2, G3, ..., Gn } each of them having average CIE Lab coordinates expressed by the colours C={C1, C2, C3, Cn} such as Gi has CIE Lab coordinates Ci for 0 < i < n+1 (corresponds to Example 1.2.) in the section below); c. Preparing preliminary basic colourant compositions:

Col = { Col1, Col2, Col3, Colk}, p < k < n suitable to cover the selected colour gamut, being n the number of colour blends of the gamut G and p the number of basic pigments comprised in all basic colour- ants and k being the number of basic colourants

A basic pigment can be one of the commercially available pigments or a mix of commercially available pigments premixed in a given ratio and always presents in this given ratio, with the purpose of being used as a standalone pigment; (corre- sponds to Example 1.3.) in the section below); d. Defining the visual error-boundaries in a tolerancing model based on the colour mixes within the colour gamut:

In order to do this, the preliminary colourants Col are checked whether they can reproduce the gamut G in a way that for every colour blend A of the gamut G there is always at least a recipe of basic colourants that results in a colour mix B, the colour of which is as close as possible to the colour of colour blend A. If B ex- ists then:

R (A, Col) = c1*Col1 + c2*Col2+...+ cn*Coln, d +...+ ck = FV

The linear combination of the colourants with parameters d , ... , cn , where ci is the concentration of colourant Col, is used to create the colour mix B for 0 < i < k + 1. FV being the filling volume of the receptacle. R (A, Col) is the recipe of A with colourants Col of concentrations d, ... , ck; (corresponds to Example 1.4.) in the section below); e. Identify the most critical colourant pairs A/B of all basic colourants within all col- our mixes of the colour gamut, based on which A/B pair violates most the error- boundaries of the colour mixing machine as defined in step a.) and/or violates most the error-boundaries of the tolerancing model:

Given the machine-error M of step a. the MaxErrorOfMinGx, for every Gx that belongs to G* G* being a subset of gamut G which is either optimal or subopti- mal as explained above (corresponds to Example 1.5.) in the section below). f. Modify the preliminary basic colourant compositions by improving the MaxErrorOfX in order to receive high-fidelity cosmetic basic colourants:

If MaxErrorOfX is not verified for a certain colourant which belongs to the pre- liminary set of colourants Co/, then increase MaxErrorOfX = Min(YMaxErrorOfAforX | for every A that belongs to G}), by improving the com- position of the colourant X.

This is done by obtaining the optimized colourant X’, such as MaxErrorOfMinGx < MaxErrorOfX’ = Min({ axErrorOfAforX’ | for every A that belongs to Gx}) for every Gx that belongs to G* as defined in step e. Hence creating a new set of col- ourants Co/’ such as X’ belongs to Col’ and Col’ contains all colourants of Col but notX. Proceed in this way:

Being R(A, Col), the recipe of colour blend A, to create X’ one must proceed as following:

1. Improve MaxErrorOfX of a factor f, f- MinOf M / MinOfX where MinOf M is the minimum volume v which can be dispensed by the machine M with an error E, such as E<MaxErrorOfX , by replacing X with X’, a colourant with a coverage 1/f times the coverage of X; Cov(X)=fCov(X’)

2. The following condition needs to be met:

MaxErrorOfMinGx < MaxErrorOf Coli, being Coli any colourant of Col which is notX

Being d’, ..., ck’ the parameters of the recipe R(A, Col , being d, ..., ck the parameters of the recipe R(A, Col) for a given colour blend A, then c1’+.. +ck’=c1+.. +ck=FV. Since MaxErrorOfMinGx< MaxErrorOf Coli depends on the concentrations of colourant Coli which belongs to Col’ across the colour blends of the gamut Gx, the concentrations ci’ are cal- culated as follow: ci’=ci*f=c where ci’ is the concentration of X’ in A cj’= ( cj*F V)/(Sum({ch I ch is the concentration of Colh in A and is not c})+c) where cj’ is the concentration of Colj in A, Colj different from X’

(corresponds to Example 1.6.) in the section below). wherein in step f.) at least one of the following optimizations is performed:

Improve the MaxOfX by adapting the pigments within the basic colourant composition, thereby keeping MaxOfX below the maximal allowable vol- ume (and/or mass, respectively).

Improve the MinOfX by adapting the concentration of the coverage modi- fier within the basic colourant composition, thereby keeping MinofX above the minimal allowable volume (and/or mass, respectively). g. (optionally) If MaxErrorOfX not verified for certain critical colour blends, the most critical colours Crit={Crit1, Crit2, Crit3, Critz}, Crit are considered as a subset of G, such as that, if Y belongs to Crit, then there is a colourant such as MaxErrorOfMinGx > MaxErrorOfYforX and, if Z is a colour blend of the gamut G such as that MaxErrorOfMinGx > MaxErrorOfZforX, then Z belongs to Crit .

Then the most critical colours are further improved by adapting the high-fidelity cosmetic basic colourants mixture based on a random walk approximation based on the basic pigments within the basic colourant.

This is possible because the preliminary colourants Col={Col1, Col2, Col3,

Colk}, where built such as that p<k<n, in particular p<k, where p is the number of the basic pigments and k is the number of basic colourants. Hence for a given colour blend which belongs to Crit, there are more than one representation of said colour blend expressed as linear combinations of the preliminary colourants (corresponds to Example 1.7.) in the section below).

In detail:

Example 1.1. The parameters of the colour mixing machine need to be defined.

Depending on the dispensing technology and the commercial targets the important parameters of the colour-mixing machine need to be defined, such as dispensing volume ranges, stroke and diameter (for a volumetric pump), tube size, engine, rollers geometry (in case of a peristaltic pump) etc.

For example, the dispensing error of the minimal volume will define the error margin of the basic colours which are to be dispensed in each colour gamut.

Another important parameter is the dosing speed when dispensing large volumes. Thus, the speed threshold defined the maximum volume a basic colour may have within any of the planned colour gamuts. Also the maximum number of available dosers belonging to the colour mixing machine need to be defined on commercial calculations and technical specifications.

The number of basic colourants should be the same or lower than the number of available dos- ers.

The behaviour of a certain high precision valve and its ability to reproduce a filling mass of 0.1 g (=0.09ml) and 0.01 g (=0.009ml) was observed in a filling test. The coefficient of variation was 6.4% (with 0.1g) and 37.7% (with 0.01 g).

The coefficient of variation of the high precision valve with pure medium like water or oil may be much better than the coefficient of variation of colourant medium itself. The colourant may show adhesion to the walls of the valve chamber and air bubbles trapped in the emulsion. These are, unfortunately, properties that are important to customer satisfaction, because they define, re- spectively, lasting and texture of the final mix.

Thus, the coefficient of variation (i.e. the error of the machine) needs to be tested either with a “dummy colourant” or otherwise adjusted to the real situation.

Example 1.2. A colour gamut and a “representative colour blend” is defined

The colour gamut, i.e. the ideal number and distribution of colours within a given colour range is defined and may be based on commercial interest and evaluation of customer’s expectations.

For defining a “representative colour blend” within a given colour gamut as convex subspace in the CIE L*a*b colour space, each blend is chosen so that the dE2000 between each blend is not less than chosen threshold and uniformly distributed within the given colour gamut.

For example the definition for a set of uniformly distributed representative colour blends within the given colour gamut is such that the minimum distance between one colour blend and a sec- ond colour blend is never less than a defined visual threshold (such threshold being something between dE2000=1 and dE2000=5) and that such representative colour blends are uniformly distributed within the defined colour gamut. With uniform distribution of the colour blend we mean that for every sphere with a diameter = threshold within the defined colour gamut, those spheres contain about one representative colour blend each..

For example, in one embodiment a threshold of dE2000 = 5 was chosen and resulted in 43 col- our mixes within a given colour gamut (6 independent test runs; D50-standard illuminant; 2°- standard observer angle): Then, an initial set of four basic colourants is chosen which allows that each blend within the colour gamut can be represented as a mix of such four basic colourants. When choosing the set of four basic colourants it should represent a tetrahedron in the CIE L*a*b colour space.

For example in one embodiment basic colourants {C1, C3, C4, C5} were chosen (see table above) as the smallest subset of colour mixes that form a tetrahedron in the CIE L*a*b colour space which allows the mixture of all other blends within the colour gamut.

Hence in the table below all “representative colour blend” could be represented as mixes of those initial choice of basic colourants:

In a further embodiment on could add a further basic colourant to this initial choice and calculate a new table like the one above, where all the “representative colour blends” are represented as mixes of five basic colourants within the colour space. This is done in cases in which some blends are difficult to mix with just four basic colourants.

Thus, for example, C2 can be added to the choice of basic colorants {C1 , C2, C3, C4, C5} re- sulting in the following table:

In certain embodiments it may help to use five instead of four colourants, since then the ma- chine error is spread and averaged across 5 components instead of 4 and may be kept better under control. However, the disadvantage of using too many different colourants, i.e. more than 10, is that cost of goods are normally less favourable.

Example 1.3. Preliminary basic colourants are defined

An expert colourist submits a proposal and created a set of preliminary basic colourants. It is important that the number of basic colourants is at least one more than the number of basic pig- ments used. As for instance colourant-set1 comprises C1, C2, C3, C4, C5 which contains pig- ments P1, P2, P3, P4 in the concentrations (wt.-%) as outlined in table 2.

Table 2.

C4 and C5 are, respectively, the pigments P1 and P4 dispersed in the emulsion of the final mixes in a roughly 10% concentration, while C1, C2, C3 are mixes of P1, P2, P3, P4.

It has been found that a minimum of 4 to 5 basic colourants is needed to avoid problems during the later tolerancing step and partly in the MinOfX.

Example 1.4. Reproduction of the gamut with the given colourants expressed in concen- tration (ml) of the given colourants

As outlined in table 3, the following colour gamut can be created from the basic colourants C1 - C5 depicted above.

Table 3.

Example 1.5. Definition of the MinOfX and comparing it with the Maximum Error Of the Machine (MaxErrorOfMachineinG) in the given Gamut

The machine error for small volumes (or masses, respectively) (MaxErrorOfMachineinG) is compared with the minimal volumes (or masses, respectively) of the basic colourants needed for a given colour (MinOfX). In case a given basic colourant is below the error threshold of the machine, the basic colourant needs to be adapted.

At the same time the volume (or masses, respectively) of the basic colourant must not exceed the MaxOfX of the machine.

Thus, for every setbetween MinOfX and MaxOfX (in wt.-%) per every colour (X) an assessment was done.

In conventional methods the Maximum Error Of the Machine in the given Gamut is assessed by an expert in the domain of the given filling technology by experimentation: given a target volume vto be assessed, a typical experimentation involves a series of n dispenses of volume vwith the machine, where n is may be equal or close to 1000 or more. Given the high number of vol- umes vthat needs to be assessed, it can be a costly and tedious process, which can break the budgetary/time constraints.

Thus, in one embodiment a representative set, for example of 1%, 5%, 25%, 50%, 75%, 95%, 99%, 100% of the maximum volume (e.g. given by the maximum volume of the receptacle) is dispensed for 30 times each and the maximum error is measured in order to define a MaxErrorOfMachineinG (%) (such that a significant part, in one embodiment 80%, in another embodiment 90%, in yet another embodiment 95% of all errors, i.e. the norm of all errors IIell, is ≤ MaxErrorOfMachineinG).

This method of the present invention simplifies the process of finding the machine error in re- ducing the number of volumes vthat needs to be assessed by the expert.

Example 1.6. Creation of a Tolerancing Model

The error margin of the machine may be acceptable if the colour variation resulting from said error is still accepted by the customer. Thus, a tolerancing model needs to be developed which defines the maximum tolerated error rather in a certain colour composition.

Thus, it is assessed whether a certain coefficient of variation might corresponds to a colour that is too different from what the customer expects. This is done by determining MaxErrorOfAforX for every colour blend A of the gamut for all colourants X. And once we have MaxErrorOfAforX for every colour blend A of the gamut, is possible to calculate

Min(MaxErrorOfAforX)=MaxErrorOfX for every colourant for every colour blend A of the gamut. To determine MaxErrorOf for certain A 1, A2, A3, ..., AM , colour blends of the gamut, a con- sumer test is done by submitting an amount of N Final Mixes being the different batches of M different colours A 1, A2, A3, ..., AM to C number of final users.

This is costly when M is as high as the total number of distinct colour blends of the gamut and N is high enough to be meaningful. This method of the present invention simplify this process by reducing the set A1, A2, A3, ..., AM to the most critical mixes.

Combined with the machine deviations the most critical mixes A/B were identified and analysed further.

In the case of the exemplary gamut, for every colourant pair dispensed in concentration of A and B and for every representative colour blend B1 , ... , B24 within the gamut we listed the ratio of those concentrations A/B (see table 4).

Table 4.

The critical mixes were the ones which were expected to be the most different from the ideal A/B ratio.

In some cases the machine cannot dispense accurately a second colour blend which comprise the first basic colourant and another basic colourant different from the first two. Therefore, among all possible A/B ratios, we picked the smallest (which in this case was 1), the maximum (which in this case was about 40) and the average of the most common ratios (which in this case was 1) for further analysis and improvement. Table 5.

A/B mixes were created of A=15ml; B=15ml and A=29.5; B=0.5 and different deviations D were simulated with a high precision scale. Then, when the mixes were finished it was assessed at which deviation D, one starts to notice a visible difference. It was assessed that the Maximum Accepted Deviation for Colourant C1 and C3 when C1/C3=1 is between 2% and 5% which is feasible by the machine.

The same was performed for A/B=1 and A/B=40 for every A, B and with deviation D=1%, D=2%, D=5%, D=10%, D=15%, D=20%, thus assessing a Maximum Accepted Deviation every time and checking if is feasible by the machine.

This Maximum Accepted Deviation for this limited amount of observation, sufficiently approxi- mates the MaxErrorOfX for every colourant X.

Example 1.7. Colourant Optimization.

In case of some the Maximum Accepted Deviation fail to meet the machine Deviation for a cer- tain Dispensing Target (see step: Tolerancing Model) or in case the machine cannot dispense certain Dispensing Target at all, it is possible to optimize the colourants.

In this case the Maximum Acceptable Deviation of +4%/-2% was too much for the mixes A/B=40, but at A/B=24 the machine starts to work at an acceptable level:

Table 6.

The reason of this improvement was because the machine has a deviation of +1.76%/-0.29% for the 0.8g.

To optimize a colourant the colourant was reformulated such as that MinOfX is never less than 0,8g.

First of all every colourant X was checked whether MinOfX was less than 0,8g and then the col- ouring power was reduced by a certain factor (K).

In general: The factor K for a colourant X means that during the process of making the colour- ant, 1/K of the total pigment mass of the original colourant is now a translucent pigment.

Example: For colourant C4, which contains, before optimization, 9.8% of pigment mass (which is 100% made of pigment P1) a K=2 means that after the optimization it will contain 4.9% of P1 and 4.9% of some translucent pigment.

However, in certain cases it may occur that one basic colour is optimized for one colour mix, but since the colours are interrelated in each colour mix this or another colour may have an unac- ceptable MinOfX.

For example, when trying to optimize C1 into C1* (with a Factor of K=2), this is not suitable, be- cause there are relationships between C4, C3 and C1: bringing MinOfC3 as high as 0.8g imply- ing that MinOfC1 is lowered to 0.5g for a certain colour mix. Thus, a further optimization of C1 is no more possible without coming back to the original point. This happens when a colour mix has a very low concentration of C1 and a very high concentration of C3 and at the same time a bot- tle cannot contain more than 30ml: so the expert must try to find a more convenient way to pro- duce the critical colour mixes. Example 2: Optimize the critical colour mix.

This is achieved by adaptation of the colour mix using a different concentration of basic colour- ants based on the pigment properties distributed in each basic colourant. In this aspect it is ad- vantageous that most of the basic colourants are composed of more than one basic pigment.

For example if a basic colourant A comprises black pigment and red pigment and basic colour- ant B comprises black pigment and yellow pigment, the black pigment in the colour mix can be improved by using more of basic colourant B instead of basic colourant A, if the latter show the optimization problems as explained above.

This is done by random walk approximation (highlighted with *) until an acceptable error is reached (highlighted with **), resulting in a novel improved composition for the colour mix.

In this example colour mix B7* was compared by eye by a colour expert with the initial colour mix B7. In visual assessment from an expert colourist no difference could be seen between the colour mixes.

Once proven that the colour mix B7* is visually identical to initial colour mix B7 the colour mix is optimized.

Example 3: Some examples for high-fidelity cosmetic basic colourant compositions ac- cording to the present invention.

The tables represent the lower and upper limits of certain pigments. It is obvious for the skilled person that the final concentration of pigments should always be 100%.

Basic colourant of composition C1:

Basic colourant of composition C2:

Basic colourant of composition C3:

Basic colourant of composition C4:

Basic colourant of composition C5:

Example 4: Measurement of skin colour

Measurement of skin colour of a subject was done with a skin scanner device, the skin scanner device comprises a smartphone camera, a software operated by the said smartphone proces- sor, a smartphone accessory, structurally and functionally associated to said smartphone, com- prising colour calibration targets which ensure optimal colour consistency for the application of colour calibration of a digital picture, said picture comprises said colour calibration targets. Ex- amples for such a device are disclosed in FR1915511 and FR1915512.

Example 5: Matching L*a*b colour to the skin colour.

This was done firstly by creating a database of at least 10, more preferably 100, more prefera- bly close or equal to 1000 colour blends, each colour blend being identified by an CIEL*a*b value, obtained by placing a spectrophotometer over a sample of said colour blend.

The sample of said cosmetic colour blends have to be intended as a 1ml of said colour blend stored in a black coloured receptacle of the shape of a hemisphere the volume of which is roughly 1ml (15,6mm x1 5,6mm and 7,8mm deep) of such cosmetic colour blends of colourants when they are still liquid and the sample is fully opaque. Then a map from the CIELab space to the colour blend space, such colour blend space is of di- mension k, and every colour blend is expressed as a point R={c1 , ... , ck} where d , ... , ck are the concentrations of colourants Col={Col1, , Colk} respectively, which are necessary to a colour expert to reproduce said colour blend with said colourants.

Such map is created by the means of an interpolation; ColourBlend(c1, ..., ck)=Lab_value. secondly a database of at least 100, more preferably 1000, more preferably close or equal to 10000 skintones belonging to as many different human beings, each skintone being identified by an CIEL*a*b value, obtained by placing a spectrophotometer over a sample of said skintone. The sample of said skintone have to be intended as a portion of that person neck of dimension 20mmx20mm, more preferably 3 portions of dimension 20mmx20mm of said person’s neck should be samples and their appearances, expressed as L*a*b value, should be averaged.

Then a map from the CIELab space to every individual is created; Skintone(individ- ual)=CIELab_value. Thirdly each of said individual is associated with their favourite colour blends, among a set of at least 10, more preferably 100, more preferably close or equal to 1000 colour blends, each colour blend being identified by an CIEL*a*b value as explained above. Lastly a correspondence function which maps any given skintone (identified by an CIEL*a*b value as above) of an individual to any given colour blend (identified by an CIEL*a*b value as above) with the means of a regression; Matc (individual)={c1 , ck} where d, ck are the concentrations of colourants Coll, Colk , which are expected to create the colour blend that will please such individual.

Example 5: Matching CIE L*a*b colour (colour blend) to colour mix

As a matter of an example, in the chart below are shown 40 randomly picked cosmetic blends, in particular liquid foundations, being evenly distributed in the tridimensional colour space CIE L*a*b. Every colour being characterized by a colour mix comprising different quantities of five high-fidelity cosmetic basic colourants: Light, Medium, Dark, Red, Yellow (L, M, D, R, Y). The sum of the base colourants is 30g because the primary packaging in which the coloured mass must be created cannot contain more than 30g of the liquid foundation.

Table 7: Correspondence between colour blend (depicted as CIE L*a*b-value) and colour mix (mixed from five high-fidelity basic colourants)

Example 6: Mixing of colourants in the primary packaging.

The mixing of the colourants take place preferentially within the primary packaging by the means of a plate which comprises several recesses, wherein those recesses are meant to be structurally associated with said primary packagings in such a way that they are jointly liable to said plate.

Said plate moves along one or more axis. Said movement of the plate causes the mixing of the colourants which are inside the primary packaging.

Preferentially the primary packaging comprises additionally at least one heavy element such as a metal ball or a metal ring which is able to freely move inside it within the mechanical con- straints of the inner cavity of the primary packaging itself.

Example 7: Kit for Customers.

Individuals may be allowed to create a new colour blend instead of choosing among the finite set of at least 10, more preferably at least 100, most preferably close or equal to 1000 colour blends. Said creation of a new colour blend is performed with a kit as described before. Example 8: Basic colourants with effect pigment

In one embodiment the cosmetic colour set with basic colourants having a MinOfX/MaxOfX-ratio of below 35 and with a MaxErrorOfX of at least 5 % consists of: a basic colourant of composition C1 : a basic colourant of composition C2: a basic colourant of composition C3:

a basic colourant of composition C4: and a basic colourant of composition C5: