Cosmetics company Shiseido has used artificial intelligence to help develop a mist combining fragrance, colour and sun protection. The product, Dual Blooming Mist UV, offers a concrete example of how AI can help researchers explore possible cosmetic recipes before deciding which to take forward. Shiseido (source, opens in new tab)
Shiseido資生堂、処方開発AI 「VOYAGER（ヴォイジャー）」を活用し第１号のユニークな化粧品開発に成功Open source (opens in new tab)
A formulation is more than an ingredient list: it specifies the quantities and processing used to make the finished cosmetic. Shiseido says its VOYAGER platform generates and evaluates tens of thousands of possible formulations, narrowing them to dozens for researchers to assess. The AI helps search through the possibilities; human researchers make the final assessment.
Dual Blooming Mist UV went on limited sale at fibona Lab in Shiseido Beauty Park on 25 August 2026, with a listed sun-protection rating of SPF20・PA++. Shiseido Beauty Park (source, opens in new tab)Shiseido Beauty Park資生堂研究所発「fibona（フィボナ）」が共創するビューティープロダクツ 「Dual Blooming Mist UV」発売Open source (opens in new tab)
The development account comes from Shiseido. It shows how the company reports using AI in a commercial product, but does not establish that the technology made development faster or produced a better mist.
Shiseido says VOYAGER’s formulation-development AI has been operating since 2024. It draws on more than 500,000 formulation-related data and knowledge items accumulated over more than 100 years of research, including expertise the company says had been difficult to digitise.
The mist used a newer recommendation function within VOYAGER. Shiseido describes it as its first case of using the AI to develop a product combining fragrance and colour—the product’s sensory qualities—with the functional requirement of sun protection.
The size of the knowledge base does not itself establish how accurately the system predicts a formulation’s properties. The public materials provide no controlled comparison with conventional formulation work. That leaves the AI’s contribution unquantified: the company has reported its use in a finished product, without showing how the development would have differed without it.
- Shiseido · Company release資生堂、処方開発AI 「VOYAGER（ヴォイジャー）」を活用し第１号のユニークな化粧品開発に成功corp.shiseido.com · opens in new tab
- Shiseido Beauty Park · Institution資生堂研究所発「fibona（フィボナ）」が共創するビューティープロダクツ 「Dual Blooming Mist UV」発売shiseidobeautypark.shiseido.com · opens in new tab
