What if the next breakthroughs in cosmetics did not come from chemistry, but from life itself?

For 3.8 billion years, nature has been designing, testing, and optimizing solutions to survive in every imaginable condition. Today, these biological strategies are inspiring a new generation of sustainable innovation in the cosmetics industry, from ingredient design to packaging and manufacturing processes.

Meeting Aïna Queiroz, the biologist bridging beauty and biodiversity

Biologist, speaker, and explorer of the living world, Aïna Queiroz has spent more than fifteen years in Research and Innovation, first at CNRS, then within major corporations, including cosmetics groups.

She studied biodiversity in the field, from gorilla self-medication to clownfish microbiomes, constantly seeking to understand how life has been solving problems for 3.8 billion years.

Her approach now goes beyond technology alone. Aïna also draws inspiration from behavioral strategies in nature, the leadership of a pigeon, the creativity of a sea slug, the empathy of a rat, to help companies collaborate better, innovate more effectively, and adapt faster.

A 360-degree vision of biomimicry, serving people as much as industry.

This scientific rigor and intellectual discipline are at the core of the collective book she coordinated and published with Cosmetic Valley Editions: Biomimicry and Bio-Inspiration in Cosmetics. Towards a Sustainable Revolution.

“Why Did You Write This Book?”

Aïna: “I wrote it because I was tired of seeing biomimicry used as a trendy concept, when behind it lies extraordinary scientific depth. Life is not just something that looks nice on a product label or in storytelling. It has been solving problems for 3.8 billion years.

Cosmetics have everything to gain from understanding these mechanisms rather than simply extracting active compounds. I wanted to bring that level of rigor back to the center. To show that drawing inspiration from life must go beyond marketing and rely on a truly scientific approach.”

The message is clear. Beauty and biodiversity are not opposed. They are inseparable.

As Aïna Queiroz puts it, we are entering the era of “beaudiversity”, the art of reconciling aesthetics and the living world.

A 60-handed book. A biomimetic experience in itself

More than 60 experts and forward-thinking brands contributed to this collective work, including Chanel, L’Oréal, Clarins, Pierre Fabre, Caudalie, Yves Rocher, Shiseido, and many others.

Thomas: “How did this unusual writing process unfold?”

Aïna: “It was a real challenge. We had to cooperate, create dialogue across disciplines, confront different perspectives, and maintain scientific rigor while building a coherent book. Each contributor came with their own expertise, vocabulary, and way of thinking.

In the end, it was almost a biomimetic experience in itself. A high diversity of individuals interacting. Each person contributed their specific competence, and together the whole became more intelligent than the sum of its parts.”

An organic form of collective intelligence. A direct illustration of what biomimicry can bring to any organization.

What the book covers. Innovation across the entire value chain

The book highlights how biomimicry and bio-inspiration can transform every layer of the cosmetics industry:

• Bio-inspired ingredients and active compounds
• Sustainable and biomimetic packaging
• Manufacturing processes inspired by living systems and AI-augmented R&D
• Responsible communication and organizations inspired by biological systems

“I hope it will encourage the industry to go further. To innovate with more rigor, more respect, and greater ambition in facing the challenges ahead.”

Asteria’s approach: turning biological knowledge into innovation with AI

Eliot Graeff and Nikolay Tchakarov, co-founders of Asteria, also contributed to the book, drawing on their experience building France’s first AI-augmented biomimicry platform, designed specifically to address the challenges of the cosmetics sector.

Their contribution tackles a key industry constraint. Nature represents a vast library of innovation strategies. Yet this knowledge is fragmented across millions of scientific papers and biotechnology studies, often inaccessible to R&D teams working on cosmetic and sustainable product development.

At Asteria, our mission is to make this knowledge searchable, comparable, and actionable.

How the Platform Works

1. You define your R&D challenge.
   Example: “How can we protect the skin from UV without synthetic filters?”
2. Asteria’s AI analyzes more than 680,000 biological strategies and 1 million scientific publications.
3. You receive operational insights and technical briefs to translate these strategies into formulations or materials.

Examples from the Living World

• Corals use photostable molecules to naturally filter UV radiation.
• Marine mucus contains self-assembling polymers with adaptive textures.
• Bamboo fibers inspire structures that are resistant, lightweight, and flexible.

Each of these strategies can fuel sustainable and high-performance cosmetic innovation, from next-generation UV filters to adaptive skincare textures.

Already partners of L’Oréal, Clarins, and Pierre Fabre, we equip R&D teams with tools to explore, validate, and deploy bio-inspired solutions faster and more reliably.

From AI to biodiversity. Redefining the future of cosmetic innovation

By combining artificial intelligence, biomimetic design, and data-driven research, Asteria helps cosmetic brands move from incremental innovation to systemic and sustainable innovation inspired by life.

This convergence between AI, biology, and sustainability marks a turning point for the cosmetics industry. An innovation model that regenerates rather than extracts.

Go Further

• Discover Biomimicry and Bio-Inspiration in Cosmetics. Towards a Sustainable Revolution, published by Cosmetic Valley Editions.
• Follow Aïna Queiroz on LinkedIn or via her Podcast Bioinspi
• Explore the Asteria platform to see how AI, biomimicry, and biotechnology can accelerate your R&D and unlock sustainable cosmetics inspired by life.

More information on our website or by booking a demonstration with our team.

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