16 INTERVIEW Richard Scott – Editor, Personal Care Magazine
Giorgino (Gino) Macalino was elected Chair of the New York Society of Cosmetic Chemists in 2019. He received his Bachelor of Science in Chemistry from Fairleigh Dickinson University before becoming manager of Makeup Innovation at the Estée Lauder Companies where he is head of a team of scientists highly regarded for their technical expertise, commitment to innovation and efficacy of formulations.
Gino joined the Cosmetic Society approximately 10 years ago and has had a varied range of roles in the industry, from finished product, contract manufacturers to raw material suppliers for the colour cosmetics sector. Gino first took on elected roles
at the NYSCC from 2012, when he was became Chairman for the Social Media committee, and has taken on many other roles since, first as Chapter Secretary in 2015 and now as the current Chairman of the biggest SCC chapter in the world. Gino was instrumental in the process of integrating the NYSCC’s electronic election system, which improved the digital data integrity of the society; building the Chapter’s social media network; co-creating scientific initiatives such as the Future Chemists workshop, Awards Night Events and the innovative At Home Live Series webinar programme most recently. In addition, he has now joined
Personal Care’s new Editorial Board, helping to steer the editorial direction of the magazine. In November, Gino spoke to
Personal Care about his journey through the industry so far, his role as Chairman of the NYSCC during the pandemic and how it is currently impacting new product development in colour cosmetics:
PERSONAL CARE: How did your interest in chemistry, and science in general, develop during your school years? GINO MACALINO: Growing up with 5 sisters, I was in a household where beauty was celebrated every day. My siblings are always finding ways on how to look beautiful. We
PERSONAL CARE January 2021
went through that every single day in my household! While that was happening, my entire family are medical practitioners and I wasn’t actually going for the cosmetic industry when I was at college, I was doing my pre-Med studies to train to be just like my sisters. But during that time, maybe a decade ago, when bullying was very common, I saw the effects of bullying when I was at school, on people because of how they looked. So I said to myself, I want to become a plastic surgeon and make people look good and feel better about themselves. But after I finished my degree in Chemistry in college, all my siblings had already gone to school, and so my parents couldn’t afford to send me to school anymore. I had to quickly pivot and decide what am I going to do with my career while maintaining the same kind of passion that I had for making people look good. So, I thought if I can’t do the surgery, I can make the products that help people look good. And through this I found my first position at Avon products.
PC: That sounds like a very significant company with which to have your first experience within the industry? GM: At the time, Avon was one of the best companies to work for. I was grateful for all the experience I gained.
PC: And did you find that you could deliver people an instantaneous change to their appearance? So it’s probably the closest match to your first intention of plastic surgery.
INTERVIEW
Gino Macalino, NYSCC Chair & Estée Lauder Innovation Manager
GM: Yes, it gives that first initial change, the instant gratification that I was hoping to give people to make themselves look better and feel good about themselves. My first position was on the Eye Team developing mascaras, eye liners, shadows etc... The bold look that these products give someone is very special.
PC: Do you think mascara represents a good entry point into the industry? GM:Mascaras can be developed in various formulation systems. There is oil in water, water in oil, water in silicone. There are even anhydrous mascaras. You work with diverse polymer systems and interesting black iron oxide pigments. So, in
terms of learning the formulation systems, you have everything to get you started learning about emulsions. The next point for me was when
I had to leave Avon and move to Florida, where I worked for a sizeable contract manufacturer who specialises in colour cosmetics catered for indie brands and more.
PC: How steep was the learning curve, working for a contract manufacturer? GM: When I left New York to come to Florida, it was a brand-new environment for me. Avon and the finished product manufacturers have published processes. They have protocols in place and all of the checkpoints that you need to
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