On Monday, rumors swirled that New York-based cosmetics contract manufacturer Mana furloughed its employees as it explores a sale. For Dieux co-founder and chief brand officer Charlotte Palermino, the news was another good reason to be happy that her skin-care brand is not reliant on contract manufacturers. At Dieux’s lab in Brooklyn’s Dumbo neighborhood, co-founder Joyce de Lemos and formulation and product development manager Becca Perry are at work on developing Dieux’s formulations in-house.
“We can do 100 iterations on a formula if we want to, because Joyce and Becca are able to actually execute that. Most brands go to a contract manufacturer,” said Palermino. “They have to ask their team and their chemists, who do not work at the brand, to create iterations and versions. And that’s why it’s so often you see white labeling, where [brands] just take something off the shelf, tweak a couple of things in the formula and then launch that.”
Dieux has introduced just a handful of SKUs since its launch in 2020, including its viral reusable eye masks and cleansing oil, launched in May. In 2024, it expanded to Sephora. Most recently, Dieux has developed a new reparative cream targeting sensitive and eczema-prone skin using colloidal oatmeal, slated for launch in January.
Armed with a new ingredient slated to arrive in the U.S. market, Dieux’s Dumbo lab is currently working to expand into one of skin care’s most challenging categories: SPF. And, as sunscreens, unlike skin-care products like moisturizers or cleansers, are regulated by the FDA, entering the category can be costly.
“We’re going to do all the clinical studies to help substantiate all the claims. Like, if we say it’s going to reduce wrinkles, we’re going to test it to the millionth degree,” said de Lemos. “We were just talking about this yesterday: how much money we spend on clinical studies.”
“We’re talking well over half a million dollars. And that’s going to [increase] sharply once we start talking about sunscreen,” said Palermino.
In June, Dieux launched the Sun-Screener, an online database that provides analyses of sunscreen formulas currently on the market. The free tool lets consumers enter their sunscreen’s ingredient list and provides a breakdown of the active filters and the territories in which they are approved. But the brand hopes to launch its own sunscreen in 2027.
Currently, Dieux is experimenting with formulations using the chemical filter Parsol Shield, which is poised to receive FDA approval in 2026 and would be the first new sunscreen filter to become available to the U.S. market in more than 25 years. Dieux is also tinkering with nano zinc-based SPF formulations for consumers who are allergic to other sunscreen filters.
“We’re gonna be working with a chemist who specializes in color to actually create flexible shade ranges. Because nano zinc is much more sheer, but it’s still going to leave that grayish tone,” said Palermino.
Keeping the sunscreen affordable, efficacious and in sustainable packaging is another challenge. While Dieux uses aluminum for much of its packaging due to its recyclability, de Lemos said the material is too prone to being punctured or damaged, which can impact a sunscreen’s efficacy.
“We don’t want to put sunscreen at risk at all because it is super regulated and it’s a medical product, to a degree. So, we want to make sure the formulation is protected,” she said. “We’ve been investigating paper products that have a thin plastic lining on the inside. And while those are great for other formulations, they’re not necessarily great for sunscreen, in terms of protecting it from photo degradation. And until something great comes down the line, we might have to launch in plastic, which we’ll talk about and address, too.”
The team hopes to release sunscreen in the range of SPF 30 to SPF 50, and for under $20. But a shifting economic landscape may not make such pricing feasible.
“Something people love about K-beauty [sunscreens] is the price. But they’re also using siloxanes, which are actually being banned in Europe. So you’re going to be seeing them reformulate, and those were cheaper options,” said Palermino. “Under $20 is the dream for a sunscreen. But, to be honest, with tariffs and everything, it’s probably going to be under $25.”
But whatever the sticker price of the eventual sunscreen, Palermino and de Lemos plan to keep their customers clued in on its cost breakdown. Dieux’s website and Palermino’s personal social media feeds often discuss how the brand sets its product prices. Doing so has been good for business, they say.
“What we learned from Sephora is that we have one of the highest return-to-brand rates, and it’s really because the formulas are price-transparent,” said Palermino.
