Sydney Lucas ’25: All About Cosmetic Chemistry

The average Sephora shopper might not think much about the science behind the blush or skin tint they’re trying on. Sydney Lucas, on the other hand, has spent most of her college career thinking about it. Even as a high school student, she knew she wanted to become a cosmetic chemist.

“I knew that makeup was something that I loved doing, but I didn’t see myself as a makeup artist, because I knew that I also really loved science,” Lucas says. “When I took my honors and AP chemistry classes in high school, I found that chemistry just made sense to me. I really enjoyed it.” 

Majoring in polymer and color chemistry, she says, has been the perfect primer for a career in makeup product development. From polymer physics to color chemistry and shade matching, much of her regular coursework directly applies to this somewhat niche job field. 

“That’s why this program has been such a good fit for me, because I love learning about color, learning how to apply it to science,” she says. 

Over the past three years, she’s put those lessons to work in the Sustainable Dye Chemistry Lab with Assistant Professor Tova Williams Cherry. 

“I researched applying dyes to hair. And these were not dyes that are traditionally used for hair dyeing applications. These are dyes that are more similar to what you would see for textile applications. The goal is to see if we can make hair dye safer and more sustainable,” she explains.

All of these experiences helped open the door to impressive professional opportunities outside of the classroom: from co-ops with Burt’s Bees and Kenvue (formerly Johnson & Johnson) to an internship with Evercare. 

“I got to formulate three new shades of Burt’s Bees tinted lip balm,” she says of her time at their Durham headquarters. “I loved that so much: being able to formulate new colors and wear them. I actually still  have and use samples of some of the products that I made.”

What goes into making new lip product shades for Burt’s Bees?

A lot of it is understanding what the consumer wants. So part of my project was identifying brands and products that are trendy, looking at what shades those brands have. And then we measured those colors with our spectrophotometer, and then compared that to our internal shade range, to see where we fall compared to those competitors. That gives us an idea of what direction we want to expand our shade range in.

I would go into the lab, and I would mix the pigments on their own before adding it to products, to see what this looks like. But I would go there, mix up different ratios of pigments, melt them into the piece of formula, and then apply it to my skin to see how it looks. To get to the final samples I made, I had to go through multiple iterations.

How has your undergraduate research experience impacted you?

I think one of the main things that I gained from working in a research lab is earning the freedom to work independently over the last three years. 

Because of my time in the lab, I know how to think creatively to approach problem solving in a different way, and how to apply the resources that I have available to reach a solution that we’re looking for.

Being able to take the things that I’ve learned in classes and apply them in a way that’s more critical to my career was a lot of fun, and I’ve definitely made some of my closest friends through the lab as well. 

What advice would you give your first-year self? 

I think my first-year self was filled with a lot of anxiety and a lot of doubts about what she was capable of doing, and I wish I could tell her that it would be okay. I wish I could show her all of the things I’ve accomplished in the five years since I started here. And I think I would tell her to take it a little bit easier on herself.

I wish I’d pushed myself to explore the opportunities that the university had to offer to me sooner. I think it took a little bit longer for me to come out of my shell, and so I would just encourage her to jump on every opportunity, to seek assistance when she needs it and not be afraid to make a friend out of a stranger.