The UK Society of Cosmetic Scientists officially rebranded as the Society for Cosmetic Science (SCS) in May 2026, with the new identity carried into the Annual Conference held in Liverpool on 1 July 2026. Newly installed SCS UK President Astrid Bodard, Senior Technical Manager UK at distribution group Azelis, framed the rename as more than cosmetic.

"It is designed to modernise and be more inclusive of all the different disciplines in the society and in the industry," Bodard told Cosmetics Business. "We all know that our industry is evolving constantly, and it feels really true lately where we have a massive shift in trends, when anti-aging is becoming longevity."

What did the conference actually put on the agenda?

The Liverpool programme concentrated four pressure points facing formulators, R&D leads and brand owners:

• AI-driven formulation development, with two dedicated presentations
• Skin longevity strategies replacing traditional anti-ageing claims
• Ethical test methods that reduce animal reliance
• The cosmetics–psychological wellbeing link, formally framed as a skin health axis

Featured speakers came from Coty, Elemis, Unilever and unnamed international R&D teams. Croda Beauty was the headline featured supplier, with Cutest Systems also surfacing in the directory tie-ins.

How seriously is SCS treating AI?

Bodard described the technology as central to the next product development cycle. "It is really mindblowing in terms of how it is going to change the way we work and the way we think about developing and testing products, and new ingredients," she said.

For procurement and formulation leads, that signals three near-term watch items:

• AI-assisted ingredient screening narrowing the bench candidates before lab work begins
• Predictive modelling for stability and compatibility replacing some bench iterations
• AI-driven claim substantiation workflows that could compress time-to-market for skin longevity ranges

Suppliers with structured INCI datasets and digital formulation archives stand to win disproportionate attention from brands piloting these tools.

Why is skin longevity displacing anti-ageing?

The terminological pivot matters for compliance and copy review. Anti-ageing claims face tightening scrutiny under EU and UK frameworks; longevity language shifts the narrative toward prevention and barrier integrity rather than correction. Elemis, whose Pro-Collagen Marine Cream anchors a well-known portfolio, was among the brands presenting on the shift.

For treatment providers and spa menus, the implication is service renaming: protocols framed around "longevity" or "skin healthspan" will likely replace anti-ageing facials across the next product cycle refresh.

What is the testing angle for compliance teams?

New ethical test methods were a recurring thread. The driver is twofold: regulatory pressure to phase out animal testing under retained EU law, and brand ESG reporting demands for non-animal alternatives. Formulators should track:

• In vitro barrier function assays replacing some in vivo claims work
• Reconstructed skin models for irritation and sensitisation endpoints
• Omics-based readouts supporting skin longevity claims

Croda Beauty's position as featured supplier suggests the company is aligning its specialty ingredient portfolio with these testing routes.

Who is leading SCS UK now?

Bodard's appointment as SCS UK President links the society's direction to Azelis, a major European specialty ingredient distributor. Her dual vantage — distributor-side technical management plus society leadership — places her at the intersection of supplier pipelines and independent formulation science. The organisation is also expected to refresh its education and membership offerings under the new name.

What should formulators and buyers do next?

Three concrete moves follow from the Liverpool agenda:

• Audit INCI decks for longevity vs anti-ageing language ahead of next label print runs
• Pilot one AI-assisted formulation or screening tool with documented benchmark data
• Map current safety assessment workflows against newly published ethical test methods

The next data point to watch is whether the society publishes a position paper on AI in formulation under the new Society for Cosmetic Science banner before end of 2026.