SynopsisCosmetic development is not exclusively guided by notions of rational effectiveness but also by notions of sensoriality. Thus, the sensorial properties of a cosmetic product are studied using internationally recognized discriminating or descriptive methods. Descriptive sensory profiling is an essential tool in this process as it allows an experienced panel to assess the qualitative and quantitative characteristics of a product. The results obtained with this method enable to get a more accurate image of the product. However, given the new demands of the industrial world and the new innovation paths (shorter development times, complex products or willingness to include the consumers in the process) a need to access new methods has arisen. These 'alternative' methods that offer product positioning, ratings and attribute citation frequency, can be implemented with either a panel of experts or with consumers. The flash profile, the pivotâ profile or the check all that apply (CATA) are just a few of the methods that the cosmetic professionals have started to test. This article reviews the methods used in the sensory assessment of cosmetic products. The analysis carried out shows that the complementarity application of sensory assessment is essential in the upstream innovation phase of a product.R esum e Le d eveloppement des cosm etiques n'est pas guid e exclusivement par des notions rationnelles d'efficacit e et de s ecurit e mais egalement par des notions de sensorialit e. Ainsi, les qualit es sensorielles des produits cosm etiques sont etudi ees au moyen de m ethodes discriminatives ou descriptives reconnues internationalement. Le profil sensoriel descriptif est l'outil essentiel de cette d emarche puisqu'il permet l' evaluation des caract eristiques sensorielles qualitatives et quantitatives d'un produit par un panel entrain e. Les r esultats obtenus par cette m ethode permettent d'obtenir une image sensorielle tr es pr ecise du produit. Cependant face a de nouvelles exigences du monde industriel et des nouvelles voies d'innovation: temps plus court de d eveloppement, produit complexe ou volont e d'int egrer les consommateurs dans le processus, un besoin a emerg e pour avoir acc es a de nouvelles m ethodes. Ces m ethodes dites alternatives proposent des positionnements produits, des classements, des fr equences de citation des attributs, elles peuventêtre mises en place avec des panels experts ou des consommateurs. Le profil flash, le profil pivot â et le check-all-that-apply (CATA) sont autant de m ethodes que les professionnels de l'univers cosm etique ont commenc e a tester. Cette revue fait le point sur ces m ethodes appliqu ees dans l' evaluation sensorielle des produits cosm etique. L'analyse effectu ee permet de montrer l'int erêt de la compl ementarit e de leur utilization pour les phases amont d'innovation produit.

Objectives The purpose of this article was to present an original standardized tool assessing the medicine's acceptability whichever their characteristics and the patient features. Methods An acceptability map was built with objective measures from medicine use assessments collected in real-life conditions. Multiple correspondence analysis (MCA) was used for the mapping process. Hierarchical classification on the principal components (HCPC) of the MCA was performed for the clustering process corresponding to distinct acceptability profiles. Key findings The results presented here focus on 234 evaluations issued from the paediatric population and gathered in four clusters: 'well-accepted' (50%), 'accepted' (19%), 'poorly accepted' (25%) and 'not accepted' medicines (6%). The first one was characterized by a dose fully taken, in a short time, with a patient's positive reaction; the second by a longer administration time, a neutral reaction and the use of methods to achieve administration (reward, divided dose). Differentiation between the two last clusters was, respectively, originated by a required dose partially taken or not taken. Conclusions The acceptability profile of each medicine can be evaluated with the map position of the related patient's assessments barycentre. This tool should satisfy expectations in terms of methods for appropriate acceptability evaluation and standardized comparison among medicines.

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ObjectivesOur novel tool to standardise the evaluation of medicine acceptability was developed using observational data on medicines use measured in a paediatric population included for this purpose (0–14 years). Using this tool, any medicine may be positioned on a map and assigned to an acceptability profile. The present exploration aimed to verify its statistical reliability.MethodsPermutation test has been used to verify the significance of the relationships among measures highlighted by the acceptability map. Bootstrapping has been used to demonstrate the accuracy of the model (map, profiles and scores of acceptability) regardless of variations in the data. Lastly, simulations of enlarged data sets (×2; ×5; ×10) have been built to study the model's consistency.Key findingsPermutation test established the significance of the meaningful pattern identified in the data and summarised in the map. Bootstrapping attested the accuracy of the model: high RV coefficients (mean value: 0.930) verified the mapping stability, significant Adjusted Rand Indexes and Jaccard coefficients supported clustering validity (with either two or four profiles), and agreement between acceptability scores demonstrated scoring relevancy. Regarding enlarged data sets, these indicators reflected a very high consistency of the model.ConclusionsThese results highlighted the reliability of the model that will permit its use to standardise medicine acceptability assessments.

Following the analysis of the different values obtained during the experimentation, there seems to be a correlation between the aw and the selected parameters aforementioned. An application of this relationship could be to define the aw of cosmetic products by using the formula, thus avoiding the evaluation of this parameter with a measuring device.