Word association, a projective qualitative technique, was applied to the development of olive oil-based and olive leaf extract-supplemented cosmetic creams.One hundred twenty female respondents presented with five stimulus termsnamely, "nourishing cream," "antiaging cream," "olive oil-based cream," "olive leaf extract-supplemented cream" and "antioxidant-rich cream" -were asked to write down four images, associations, thoughts or feelings evoked by each of the different stimuli. Word associations made by the surveyed sample were then grouped into 14 categories. For each of the proposed stimuli, the frequency of mention of elicited words was analyzed according to and within each category.The use of word association enabled the identification of expected or desired sensory properties and efficacy of the studied cosmetic creams, as well as the concepts associated -in the minds of respondents -with each of the creams. The resulting information may be used to optimize the selection of new products and their denominations. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONSRelevant information regarding consumer perception of different aspects of prospective cosmetic creams, made available by application of a word association technique, enables the definition of major product development processes as well as the identification of most suitable marketing and communication strategies. bs_bs_banner Journal of Sensory Studies

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The influence of packaging and packaging elements on consumer perception of cosmetic creams was studied. Two groups, each consisting of 100 respondents, rated five face skin care creams (one of which was imported) and evaluated the unpackaged and the packaged product, respectively. Respondents rated each sample in terms of overall liking and provided a description of sample attributes by means of a check‐all‐that‐apply (CATA) question. Packaging elements like product composition, product information, and brand image influenced both overall liking ratings and the choice of attributes used by respondents to describe the samples. Interestingly, the sheer presence of certain packaging elements elicited mention of a greater number of attributes, which were not always claimed on the packaging. These results clearly suggest a stimulating effect of packaging on the perception of consumers. Practical applications This work provides information about the importance of packaging in consumers' perception of cosmetic creams. Packaging may provide information that leads consumers to focus on certain sensory attributes of products (such as odor and texture) even when these are not claimed explicitly. The choice of packaging elements can lead to either an improved or an impoverished appraisal of a cream's attributes and ultimately determine its commercial acceptability.

The aim of the present work was to study the main formulation variables that influence attributes of bioadhesive emulgels based on a combination of polymers, using response surface methodology (RSM). Bioadhesive products continue to gain attention in topical cutaneous administration as they allow long residence times on the application site, which is important when a long dermal action and a reduced product administration frequency are desired. A Box-Behnken design of experiments (DoE) was introduced to study the effect of formulation variables on quality attributes of the emulgels. The effects of concentration of carbomer interpolymer type A (Polym1), xanthan gum (Polym2) and mineral oil (Oil) on detachment force (Fdetch), spreadability (Spread), and phase separation by mechanical stress (PhSep) were investigated. RSM and desirability functions were applied for data analysis. Emulgels were further characterized by viscosity and extrudability measurements. Polym1 showed a positive effect on Fdetch, while the increase in concentrations of Polym2 and Oil decreased this property. Polym1 and Polym2 favored emulgel PhSep. However, their interaction effect decreased it. The combination of 0.4-0.6% of carbomer and 0.2-0.3% of gum was able to produce easy-to-spread bioadhesive emulgels with mineral oil as discontinuous phase in the presence of a low surfactant concentration. Based on the DoE results, value ranges for the variables, which could achieve for the experimental domain to get the critical quality attributes of emulgels jointly within the specification limits, were able to be identified using RSM supported by desirability functions.

The present study aimed to identify the main aspects involved in consumers' perception of four types of antiperspirants/deodorants (APDs); cream, aerosol, roll‐on and stick; and compared the findings by using projective techniques; word association (WA) and product personality profiling (PPP) tasks. To apply the PPP task, participants had to imagine that each type of APDs was a person and describe it by gender, age, marital status, children, physical complexion, personality, work/profession/occupation, transport used, physical activity performed, and diet type. The different terms obtained were grouped into 16 categories in the WA task and in 36 subcategories in the PPP task. Both techniques provided data on different and complementary aspects of the products studied. While WA provided information on the characteristics of the different forms of APDs, the PPP gave information about the image that consumers have of each product. Both techniques could be used independently or in a complementary way. Practical applications This work provides information about consumers' perceptions of different types of antiperspirants/deodorants. It is shown that each applied task provides information which can be used for different purposes. The word association task provided information which could be applied in the optimization and/or development of one of these cosmetic forms, while the product personality profiling task gave information that could be used in marketing, either to reaffirm it, to revert it or to introduce a new product into the market.