As always the companies showcasing their new brands put much of the inspiration behind product development down to the integral link between the beauty and fashion industry.
However, as the metallic colours evolve from the standard silver and gold tones of the past, and diversify into colour ranges incorporating pinks, purples, greens and blues, Cathy Laporte from the In-Cosmetics team said that many companies are now also drawing inspiration from the automotive industry.
Colour cosmetic leaders Erkhart showcased a dramatic stand at the show, with a wall colour chart resembling that of a car show room, with round plastic wall hangings portraying the colours in the new Visionaire Metallic Pigment range.
Katrin Steinbach, technical service manager for Erkhart, told CosmeticsDesign-Europe that "Fashion is always a main driver for our colour ranges - and is paramount to our new metallic colour range, which has also drawn inspiration from the motor trade.
"We have moved on from the standard colours by mixing pigments, which has created a second generation pigment range for the natural and glamour looks".
Despite the new route, the company is also sticking to the lucrative pull of gold effect pigments, thought to be a status symbol and highly desirable within colour cosmetics.
With many skincare products now also opting for visual effects alongside the traditional care results, the company is diversifying from the colour cosmetics and offering gold pigments across the personal care industry that have 'particular characteristics to meet special requirements'.
Likewise, specialty chemicals provider Ciba used In-Cosmetics to launch its Calisha range of colour cosmetic effect pigments. Its first foray into the Art Deco collection uses large OD pearl pigments, designed to give off a bold and colourful finish that has a sparkling effect.
The Romance collection consists of soft colours that offer coverage and opacity, with the Contemporary collection offering a warmer colour range that uses a larger particle size in order to give a more covered effect.
OD pearl pigments are said to be beneficial to the overall performance due to their ability to disperse quickly in the oil phase of formulation, therefore reducing dusting, in-turn minimizing cross-contamination of the colours.
