Today’s consumer perception and expectations of personal care have gone beyond merely cleansing, moisturizing, and makeup products, focusing more on the reduction or elimination of signs of aging. Cosmeceuticals, developed to create a more youthful appearance, commonly contain substances with therapeutic and physiological effects. The development of cosmeceutical products containing peptides, biotic ingredients, and marine-based compounds has become a highly popular strategy to enhance anti-aging effects and better address consumer demands. Peptides are frequently used in anti-aging products due to their effects on enhancing fibroblast proliferation and collagen synthesis, contributing to the skin’s barrier function, and reducing skin pigmentation. Meanwhile, biotic components are extensively evaluated for their potential to improve barrier function by maintaining the balance of the skin microflora. On the other hand, the increasing interest of cosmetic consumers in natural and eco-friendly products, along with the rich biodiversity in the oceans and seas, has made marine-derived substances highly significant for the cosmetic industry. Marine polysaccharides are particularly valuable as biopolymers, offering useful properties for gel formation in cosmetic formulations. This review discusses scientific studies and commercially available products using peptides, biotic and marine-based compounds in cosmetic formulations, their cosmetic and cosmeceutical benefits, and the challenges in the formulation design of these products.

Although curcumin is a commonly used antioxidant in cosmetic and pharmaceutical products, the dermal efficacy of curcumin is limited due to its very low solubility and poor permeability. Considering dermal application, lipid-based nanocarriers (LbNs) are highlighted as promising delivery systems for enhancing the efficacy of active substances. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effect of the components of LbNs on the antioxidant activity of curcumin. For this purpose, the mixture of Precirol ® ATO5 and Tristearin was selected as solid lipid; while vitamin E, pomegranate seed oil (PSO) and Labrafac ® Lipophile WL 1349 were used as liquid lipids. Solid lipid nanoparticles (SLN), nanostructured lipid carriers (NLC) and nanoemulsion (NE) formulations were designed by using different combination of these lipids and Gelucire ® 50/13 as an amphiphilic surfactant. The particle size, PDI, zeta potential analysis, encapsulation efficiency and in-vitro release studies were performed as particle characteristics. The contribution of LbNs with different structures to the antioxidant capacity of curcumin was evaluated by in-vitro ABTS scavenging experiment. While SLN has an average particle size of 106.7 nm with negative zeta potential, the size of NLC and NE formulations were below 100nm. The highest curcumin release upon 24h was obtained by NLC formulation prepared with PSO. A significant contribution to the antioxidant activity of curcumin was obtained when vitamin E and PSO were used as liquid lipid in NLC and NE formulations. In conclusion, it is possible to improve the antioxidant effect of curcumin by the modification of the structure of LbNs.