About Us
A unique offering in the cosmetics world
Why CosmetiChroma?
Karen created CosmetiChroma not only to share the wealth of knowledge she's acquired over the last 20 years, but also to help you learn what to do with that knowledge. Growth is what CosmetiChroma thrives on, both through training and consulting. Karen loves watching others grow and wants to help you grow too.
CosmetiChroma’s mission is to give you the tools you need to navigate the cosmetics industry and to enable your competitiveness in a unique way. Whether you're a consumer looking to enhance your knowledge so you can look good and feel better OR a cosmetic company in the early or mature stages, CosmeticChroma can help.
Our Values
A Foundation of 3 Pillars
Science
Science is at the heart of who we are
Performance
Striving for excellence drives our performance
Passion
Depth and purity fuels our passion
How We Help
Karen's Story
My background is somewhat unusual. I grew up in Africa and subsequently lived in 6 other countries. You could say that flexibility and adaptability became a must.
Mother's protection
My passion for cosmetics was fuelled by my mother who, I think, was ahead of her time in caring for her skin and keeping it in good condition. She transferred those values to me by slapping sunscreen on me since the day I was born. I was made to wear large floppy white hats and, most embarrassingly of all, t-shirts had to be worn in the swimming pool – no negotiation! I looked ridiculous (or so I felt), as no other child had to wear such soggy garments in the water. Nonetheless, I'm now 50 and my skin isn't in bad shape!
A passion for chemistry
In fact, the EU Cosmetics Directive adopted “…keeping in good condition…” into the legal definition of cosmetic products back in 1976. Who would have known that years later I'd be working for L’Oréal, the world's best cosmetic company, in Scientific & Regulatory Affairs in Paris!
Prior to that, I accidentally ended up studying Chemistry at the University of Bristol in the UK (long story!). I swore I would never do a PhD, but as luck would have it, during my final undergraduate year we had to do a laboratory project and I loved it. I never looked back and obtained a PhD with 15 scientific publications in international journals. Some of these were doing crystallography crystal structures for my colleagues and I loved solving the puzzles to see how molecules connected with each other...as well as all the beautiful colours!
Branching out on my own
I continued to use these skills in my professional life, actively solving tough business problems and connecting the dots between pieces of abstract information, starting with 12 years at L’Oréal. Various professional experiences followed at different types of companies, from luxury beauty startups (Dolce & Gabbana and Burberry), to a retailer (WBA), to a famous third-party manufacturer (Intercos) where I worked with cosmetic clients from all over the world as Regulatory Affairs Global Director.
Last year, I started a collaboration with Perry Romanowski in the US, as we identified a need for Cosmetic Chemists, Sales and Marketing to understand more about regulatory. This has now evolved and become a great partnership. Under his guidance and mentorship, I slowly developed the confidence to branch out to create my own company, and so CosmetiChroma was born.
Let the adventure begin…!
Karen LV Mann PhD
Karen's performance was exemplary...
"During Karen's 2 years at Intercos in the role of Global Regulatory Affairs Director, her performance as Director and leader of her team was exemplary. Karen's collaboration with senior executives in other departments and facilities, through personal contact with clients, in solving issues raised by them, made a significant contribution to the company's performance."
Georgio Bassani
Former Human Resources, Organisation & Social Accountability Global Senior Vice President
INTERCOS SpA
We won an award!
We're incredibly honoured to receive the award of "Italian Excellence" from Eccellenze Italiane, a recognition that celebrates Italian excellence worldwide.
Our Collaborations
Chemists Corner
Perry Romanowski
Perry Romanowski has been formulating cosmetic products and inventing solutions to solve consumer problems since the early 1990s. He has written and edited numerous articles and books, taught continuing education classes for industry scientists and developed successful websites. Perry worked at the Hair Care innovation group Alberto Culver, which has since been bought by Unilever. He's currently Vice President at Element 44 Inc and is responsible for producing Chemists Corner. He's also the Chair of Education at the IFSCC (International Federation of Societies of Cosmetic Chemists), has been on the Dr Oz show as a cosmetic expert and been cited in The New York Times.
Our collaboration began in 2023, kicking off with my Cosmetic Regulation Essentials course, as we identified the need for Cosmetic Chemists, Sales and Marketing to understand more about Regulatory. This has now evolved and we'll be organising more webinars as I develop more training courses and bite-size modules so you can pick 'n’ mix to select the right courses for you.
Wildheart
Guy & Hannah
Wildheart was founded in Brighton, UK in 2014 by Guy Anderson, Chief Creative Cat. Later, Hannah Moss joined his team as Content Queen. His company focuses on ethical marketing, which fits in with my own values too. As Wildheart grew, they bundled their services into packages which give transparency to their offerings: Brand Strategy, Logo Design, Website Creation and SEO. Between the two of them, they have a rare skillset and complementary personalities which enable them to offer a variety of competencies.
Guy, in fact, is my cousin and I'm lucky enough to have a close family member who offers the exact services I've needed. Despite this special relationship, Guy has navigated the balance effectively between business and personal. Both he and Hannah are highly professional and not afraid to tell you what they think – after all, they're here to help you build your online business, not pander to your ego!
They've both helped me navigate the creation of my brand CosmetiChroma and subsequently my website, which I'm sure you'll agree is eye-catching and professionally made. Enjoy this new world we've created, which represents passion, intensity, depth, vibrancy of colour and, above all, is founded on scientific principles.
Partner Services
We're pleased to extend our offerings through important partners, like Registrar Corp who can help you get USA compliant.
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Work with Karen
Book a FREE consultation with Karen if you're not sure where to start with her trainings or consulting