The present invention provides compositions and methods for treating, or attenuating and/or preventing skin barrier disruptions, skin insults and skin conditions in a subject. The lyotropic liquid crystal composition of the invention comprises at least one of phase changing material, and at least one stratum corneum component.

The present invention relates to the use of serine or threonine together with at least one further amino acid or amino acid derivative and with at least one calcium salt or its hydrate to increase cellular availability of calcium in living cells of the epidermis and to a specific mixture of such components and a formulation consisting of said mixture and a solvent.

A system for creating custom fragrances is described that allows a customer to interact with an employee and a Perfumer's Organ to interactively select several scents for base, middle and top notes. They can then iteratively adjust the scents chosen. In one embodiment, the scents selected by a customer are provided to a computing device having a prestored table which separates the scents into variable potency scents having variable perceived strengths and normal potency scents having standard, equal perceived strengths. The table indicates the amount of each variable potency scent to use to normalize the strengths. The remaining normal potency scents are then added with an equal amount. In an alternative embodiment, predetermined mixtures are provided to the computing device and used as training data to adjust the coefficients of a generalized formula to create a prediction equation fit to the training data. The computing device receives the selected scents, the type of product to be made and the container size and uses the prediction equation to identify the amounts of each of the selected scents. In another optional embodiment, a filling device can automatically meter the scent liquids, a filling material, and provide them into the selected container. The filling device is driven by the computing device and determines the amounts of the selected scents and creates the custom fragrance according to one of the methods above.

A system for creating custom fragrances is described that allows a customer to interact with an employee and a Perfumer's Organ to interactively select several scents for base, middle and top notes. They can then iteratively adjust the scents chosen. In one embodiment, the scents selected by a customer are provided to a computing device having a prestored table which separates the scents into variable potency scents having variable perceived strengths and normal potency scents having standard, equal perceived strengths. The table indicates the amount of each variable potency scent to use to normalize the strengths. The remaining normal potency scents are then added with an equal amount. In an alternative embodiment, predetermined mixtures are provided to the computing device and used as training data to adjust the coefficients of a generalized formula to create a prediction equation fit to the training data. The computing device receives the selected scents, the type of product to be made and the container size and uses the prediction equation to identify the amounts of each of the selected scents. In another optional embodiment, a filling device can automatically meter the scent liquids, a filling material, and provide them into the selected container. The filling device is driven by the computing device and determines the amounts of the selected scents and creates the custom fragrance according to one of the methods above.

A device for freshening breath includes a hollow housing sized to be placeable over a finger, a brush unit for brushing teeth, the brush unit being integrally formed with the housing and including a plurality of bristles; and breath freshening fluid held via surface tension within the brush unit and releasable upon of contact of the brush unit with the teeth.

A device for freshening breath includes a hollow housing sized to be placeable over a finger, a brush unit for brushing teeth, the brush unit being integrally formed with the housing and including a plurality of bristles; and breath freshening fluid held via surface tension within the brush unit and releasable upon of contact of the brush unit with the teeth.

An oral care composition comprising a surfactant having formula [R(OC.sub.2H.sub.4).sub.xOSO.sub.3].sub.2M wherein R is a saturated or unsaturated alkyl group with an alkyl chain length of 8 to 30 carbon atoms; x is from 0 to 10; and M is a divalent metal cation selected from zinc cations, copper cations and stannous cations is provided.

An oral care composition comprising a surfactant having formula [R(OC.sub.2H.sub.4).sub.xOSO.sub.3].sub.2M wherein R is a saturated or unsaturated alkyl group with an alkyl chain length of 8 to 30 carbon atoms; x is from 0 to 10; and M is a divalent metal cation selected from zinc cations, copper cations and stannous cations is provided.

The present invention relates to a cosmetic comprising a cosmetic composition of bead-type liquid foundation filled in a mesh net equipped cosmetic container. This cosmetic maintains portability as the conventional cushion-type cosmetic has and at the same time is more advantageous in preventing the loss of cosmetic ingredients because urethane foam is not used as a carrier for the cosmetic composition herein.

The present invention relates to a cosmetic comprising a cosmetic composition of bead-type liquid foundation filled in a mesh net equipped cosmetic container. This cosmetic maintains portability as the conventional cushion-type cosmetic has and at the same time is more advantageous in preventing the loss of cosmetic ingredients because urethane foam is not used as a carrier for the cosmetic composition herein.