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CEW Honors Women in Science & Design with Innovator Awards

Thirty-one honorees were recognized in partnership with the New York Society of Cosmetic Chemists.

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By: Lianna Albrizio

Associate Editor

On Nov. 19 at Dream Downtown in New York City, 31 women from across the beauty industry were presented with CEW Innovators Awards by the Cosmetic Executive Women (CEW) in partnership with the New York Society of Cosmetic Chemists.

NYSCC Chair John Carola said the CEW’s Innovator Awards aligns with the NYSCC’s aim to advance cosmetic science through education and collaboration.

“We are especially proud to see science and creativity celebrated together, because it is at that intersection that true innovation happens,” he said. “The work of these 31 honorees not only raises the bar for products consumers use every day, but also inspires the next generation of scientists, chemists and industry professionals.”

The women tapped for this inaugural award are leaders in formulation, R&D, product innovation and product design.

Viral beauty influencer duo Alexis Androulakis and Dr. Christina Basias Androulakis, also known as The Lipstick Lesbians, presented the awards and delivered the keynote speech about social media’s profound role on consumer purchasing decisions. They also spoke of the imperativeness of education to generate honest, effective dialogue about innovative products to drive positive attention and sales.

“We’ve watched innovative launches go extremely viral,” said Alexis. “We also watched these same launches get ‘canceled’ within 24 hours. And the conversations that are happening are really because consumers didn’t even understand the innovation, and they actually disregarded that it was an innovation… We’ve watched the most brilliant of innovations get trampled on because of that cult following and gross misunderstanding. The way we summarize this in our understanding of beauty translators on this platform is it’s really the translation that failed.”

“This is why CEW’s commitment to honoring women in formulation, chemistry, product development, sustainability and emerging innovation is not just symbolic, its essential because you are the ones shaping the true future of beauty,” added Dr. Christina Basias Androulakis.

The 2025 CEW Innovators Award Winners are as follows:

Emerging Innovator

Ines Guien, Dossier
Amanda Lam, Azelis
Ellen Libby, 3V Sigma USA

Product Development and R&D

Eunice Cofie-Obeng, Nuekie

Jasmina Aganovic, Future Society
Hui-Lan Garbaccio, L’Oréal
Krupa Koestline, kkt_labs.
KC Locker, PhD, P&G Beauty
Katina Sarantakis, Perricone MD
Ellen Shepard, Unilever
Lauren Waldrum, Estée Lauder Companies

Ingredient Innovation

Yoanna Dvorzsak, Solésence
Mara Dumski, Pura
Polen Kocak, PhD & Merve Yildirim, PhD, SickScience
Lyndsay Leal, Dow
Jennifer Marsh, P&G Beauty
Lavinia Popescu, Olaplex
Dr. Sarah Reisinger, dsm-firmenich
Wei Sun, PhD, L’Oréal

Formulation & Cosmetic Chemistry

Dr. Jaime Emmetsberger, PhD, The Estée Lauder Companies
Julie Faitg, time—line
Rachel Johnson, The Charismatic Chemist
Esme Mancia, Esme Beauty Labs
Marisa Plescia, FemChem Beauty
Rose Sparacio, Innovia Research Labs

Sustainability

Oriele Frank, Elemis
Annie Jackson, Credo Beauty

CEW members can access the exclusive Innovators Report and join a January webinar for an in-depth discussion with several of the honorees.

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