NIYO & CO

Category

Beauty

The wider view — culture, business and ideas shaping the beauty industry.

Skin

What Makes a Great Vitamin C Serum?

Vitamin C is one of the most inconsistent categories in skincare because formulation quality varies so widely. Here's what actually separates a well-made serum from a weak one.

2 min read

Hair

Why Scalp Care Is Becoming the Next Skincare Category

Scalp care is being reframed as an extension of skincare rather than a hair-care afterthought — and the formulation logic is following that shift.

2 min read

Skin

The New Generation of Korean Sunscreens

Korean sunscreen formulation has led the category on texture and wearability for years. Here's what's changed in the latest wave of releases.

2 min read

Beauty Lab

Retinol vs Retinal: What Is the Difference?

Retinaldehyde (retinal) has been positioned as a faster, gentler alternative to retinol. Here's what actually separates the two vitamin A derivatives.

2 min read

Beauty Tech

Are LED Face Masks Worth It?

LED masks are one of the most visible beauty-tech categories on the market. Here's an editorial look at how they're generally understood to work and what to weigh before buying one.

2 min read

Beauty Tech

AI Is Coming for the Beauty Counter

Shade-matching, skin analysis and personalized routine builders are the leading edge of AI in beauty — and the technology is genuinely useful in narrower cases than the hype suggests.

2 min read

Beauty Tech

The Rise of Biotech Beauty

Lab-grown and fermentation-derived ingredients are moving from niche formulation talk to mainstream shelf claims. Here's what 'biotech beauty' actually refers to.

2 min read

Fragrance

Why Gourmand Fragrances Are Still Growing

Vanilla, caramel and cocoa-forward fragrances keep outperforming predictions that the gourmand trend would fade. Here's the editorial case for why it's sticking around.

2 min read

Fragrance

The New Rules of Fragrance Layering

Fragrance layering used to mean matching a body lotion to a perfume. The current approach is more like building a wardrobe than picking a single scent.

2 min read

Beauty Lab

Peptides Explained: What They Actually Do in Skincare

Peptides are everywhere in skincare marketing, but the term covers a wide range of ingredients with different jobs. Here's a plain-language guide.

2 min read

Skin

Why Skin Barrier Care Became the New Skincare Essential

Barrier care went from a dermatology term to a skincare-aisle staple. Here's what the skin barrier actually is, and why formulators started designing around it.

2 min read

Trends

The Beauty Trends Defining 2026

From barrier-first skincare to AI-assisted product discovery, here's an editorial read on where beauty is actually heading — not just what's loud on social feeds.

3 min read