If you think Kansei is a measure of emotion, Kansei Engineering could be realized in the near future. This is because it would be possible to measure a Kansei-quality through the use of the Kansei-measure. Kansei-value is determined by the degree of the Kansei-quality. This gives you the idea that you can create a product of high Kansei-value by increasing the degree of the Kansei-quality. Currently, we are interested in the feeling of luxury, one of the Kansei-qualities. This Kansei-quality has a strong tendency toward quantitive variable, so it is easy to measure. In this paper, we introduce studies on the measurement of the feeling of luxury of skincare cosmetics and the text of pamphlets.

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The consumption of cosmetic products has been expanding in the Chinese market recently, so we think it is important to research the skin properties and skin-consciousness among Chinese women in order to offer cosmetic products to match the demands of Chinese women. In our study, we researched women in Beijing and Shanghai to represent China and the purpose of our study was to clarify the differences of skin surface properties (crow's feet wrinkles, skin surface texture, and stratum corneum properties) and skin-consciousness between Chinese women and Japanese women. We compared skin surface properties in three cities, Beijing, Shanghai, and Tokyo. Concerning crow's feet wrinkles, we recognized differences between the three cities with rising ages. It was shown that the crow's feet wrinkles of Shanghai women were significantly deeper than those of Beijing women over 50, judging from results of visual judgment and instrumental evaluation. Further it was shown that the skin surface texture of Shanghai women was significantly finer than that of Beijing women and Tokyo women. Moreover, concerning stratum corneum properties, the amount of thick abrasion of Shanghai women and Beijing women was less than that of Tokyo women on both the skin of cheeks and arms. There were also more nucleated cells for Shanghai women and Beijing women than for Tokyo women on both the skin of cheeks and arms. So we recognized the difference between Chinese women and Japanese women concerning stratum corneum properties. We compared Chinese women with Japanese women in the questionnaire survey. Further we divided Chinese women into Beijing women and Shanghai women, so we compared Beijing women with Shanghai women. It was shown that concerning skin conditions, Chinese women tended to feel less oily and sticky, to feel drier, to have less atopic dermatitis, and to have more wrinkle troubles around eyes than Japanese women. Moreover, Beijing women tended to feel drier than Shanghai women; however we could identify few other differences between Beijing women and Shanghai women in their responses.

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“Smoothness” is one of the keywords used for women's image of beautiful skin. In the present study, for the purpose of clarifying the components that contribute to visual skin smoothness, a survey of consumer consciousness, visual evaluation of skin by experts, and biophysical measurements were conducted in a multilateral manner. In the consciousness survey, factors contributing to the image of smooth skin were investigated. Those factors differed between subjects who considered their own skin to be smooth and those who thought that their skin was not smooth, indicating varying images regarding smooth skin. In the visual evaluation, the smoothness score was correlated with the scores for various skin conditions such as ‘uruoi’, while it was closely correlated with skin texture as demonstrated by furrows. The results of skin biophysical measurements suggested that smooth skin was characterized by high elasticity and fine texture, which provided optical characteristics of bright and transparent skin related to beauty. Our findings in both the consciousness survey and objective evaluations showed that skin smoothness is closely related to various skin conditions, of which fine texture is an important keyword.

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Inorganic pigments such as yellow iron oxide (α-FeO(OH)), red ocher (α-Fe₂O₃) and black iron oxide (Fe₃O₄) are generally used to lend color tones to base makeup cosmetics such as a foundations. However, there can be several problems when trying to use these pigments directly. For example, the color can change remarkably when the pigment is mixed with various kinds of oils such as sebum and the use of large quantities of pigment can make the product feel very bad on the skin. Therefore, it has become necessary to develop novel inorganic cosmetic materials. Lepidocrocite-type titanates, especially potassium lithium titanate (PLT), have been used as starting materials for the preparation of other shape-controlled functional materials. It was found that a tabular crystal of PLT, in an optimized condition, is useful as a cosmetic agent since it has excellent slipping characteristics and high transparency as well as UV-shield effects. In this research, we have studied the synthesis of Fe-doped PLT pigments, which lend brown and beige tones with superior slipping characteristics as well as a lesser tendency toward color change when mixed with oil. We have characterized these novel products. Furthermore, we have established a method to industrially manufacture Fe-doped PLT. We have successfully established a synthesis method and determined the most suitable composition of Fe-doped potassium lithium titanate, which possessed a brown and beige tone color together with a nice feel and natural luster for powdery foundation.

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Fragrances are used for various products such as cosmetic products, and are solubilized or emulsified by surfactants. It is known that the odor diffusion for the same fragrances varies according to the base; however there are few reports on the mechanism of the odor diffusion in aqueous surfactant solutions. In this study, we investigated that the odor diffusion of fragrances in aqueous polyoxyethylene alkyl ether (C_mEO_n) micellar solutions. The electronic nose measurement shows that the odor diffusion of d-limonene and linalool decreases with the alkyl chain length (C_m) of surfactants in water/C_mEO₂₀/frangance systems. It is considered that the tendency of the fragrance to solubilize more in the palisade layer becomes stronger, as C_m becomes longer, according to the results of the micellar particle diameter measurement.

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Cosmetic cotton is used mainly for patting or cleansing. Currently, there are abundant kinds of cosmetic cottons, not only used for patting but also as skin care packs. The cotton becomes an important item for skin care. In this study, we investigated the effects on skin care by having 30 women use cosmetic cotton for patting. As a result, it was recognized that the amount of moisture in the skin was maintained by patting. In addition, the significant skin care effects among the subjects' subjective reactions was confirmed.

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