Witchy New Ingredients From Around the Globe

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Latest research from the Mintel Global New Products Database highlights several new skin care products with ingredients that would not be out of place in a witch's spell. In fact, you may just find snake venom, snail slime or bee mucus in the lotions and potions in your bathroom cabinet. "There are now so many skin care products to choose from and manufacturers are increasingly having to look at the world around us in a new light to find bizarre, new ingredients to make their products stand out from the crowd. By using these off-the-wall formulas, manufacturers are playing on the hope that something this wacky might just work," explains Alexandra Richmond, senior beauty analyst at Mintel.

Syence Skin Care Laboratories' Skin Venom Memory Cream, an anti-wrinkle cream that contains Synake, based on a snake venom peptide claiming to relax wrinkles. The formula is said to mirror the effects of Botox, but without using a needle as it controls the skin's nerve endings and slows reflexive facial muscle movement, so stopping the skin contracting to create wrinkles.

Although bees are normally associated with a painful sting, its mucus has now been added to a new skin product in China. Profael Speciality Skin has launched Nourishment, a balancing and anti-wrinkle essence. It contains natural bee mucus extract, collagen, a balancing gene from nectar and an active anti-wrinkle essence. The product is said to tighten and smooth the skin.

Now for something a little less painful, but no less unpleasant for those of a squeamish disposition: purified snail slime. In Columbia, Bonnie Baba de Caracol Crema Humectante para Manos y Cuerpo (Moisturizing Cream) contains extract of purified snail slime, and is rich in collagen and elastin to regenerate and recover the skin.

The deep sea is seen by many as the final earthly frontier, but many manufacturers are now casting their lines to reel in the next big ingredient. In China, Yameina Shark Oil Hand Cream contains shark oil essence to help deeply moisturize the skin, while also whitening and eliminating melanin. Meanwhile, in Vietnam, Mengdilina Shark Egg White Squalane Refining Mask is said to stimulate the blood vessels of skin nerves and promote blood circulation. Still in the Far East, Vital Spirits EX from Kose in Japan contains hydrolysed squid ink extract, a richly moisturizing beauty essence that claims to rejuvenate and hydrate the skin.

In Italy, Angelo Caroli has launched Angelo Caroli Cosmetica, a range of natural skin care products. The brand's Seppia Crema Filtrante Antiaging (Anti-Ageing Sunscreen Cream) is formulated with a new-generation sunscreen extract from cuttlefish, also said to have anti-aging properties.

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