Cosmetic compositions for improving the appearance of skin

1. A cosmetic composition for improving the aesthetic appearance of human skin comprising a cosmetically acceptable vehicle, and an effective amount of a compound according to formula I(a):

wherein,

Z 1 is O or N(R″);

R 1 is hydrogen or a group R;

L 1 is absent or is a radical of the form —X a —(CH 2 ) n —(CH═CH) m —X b —(CH 2 ) n —(CH═CH) m —X c —, where X a , X b , and X c are independently a bond (i.e., absent), —O—, —S—, —NH—, —NR*— and “n” and “m” are independently at each occurrence integers from 0-2, with the proviso that L 1 comprises no more than four atoms in the direct chain between the thiazole ring and Q;

wherein, q 1 is N or C and is the point of attachment to L 1 , and q 2 -q 6 are independently selected from —N—, —NH—, —NR*—, —O—, —S—, —CH—, —CR—, —CR*—, and in the case where ring Q is a five membered ring, one of q 2 -q 6 is a bond (i.e., it is absent), and where the dashed circle in ring Q indicates that the ring is aromatic, partially unsaturated, or saturated;

R is selected from hydrogen, —F; —Cl; —Br; —I; —OH, —OR*; —NH 2 ; —NHR*; —N(R*) 2 ; —N(R*) 3 + ;

N(R*)—OH; —N(→O)(R*) 2 ; —O—N(R*) 2 ; —N(R*)—O—R*; —N(R*)—N(R*) 2 ; —C═N—R*; —N═C(R*) 2 ; —C═N—N(R*) 2 ; —C(═NR*)—N(R*) 2 ; —SH; —SR*; —CN; —NC; —(C═O)—R*; —CHO; —CO 2 H; —CO 2 − ; —CO 2 R*; —(C═O)—S—R*; —O—(C═O)—H; —O—(C═O)—R*; —S—(C═O)—R*; —(C═O)—NH 2 ; —(C═O)—N(R*) 2 ; —(C═O)—NHNH 2 ; —O—(C═O)—NHNH 2 ; —(C═S)—NH 2 ; —(C═S)—N(R*) 2 ; —N(R*)—CHO; —N(R*)—(C═O)—R*; —(C═NR)—O—R*; —O—(C═NR*)—R*, —SCN; —NCS; —NSO; —SSR*; —N(R*)—C(═O)—N(R*) 2 ; —N(R*)—C(═S)—N(R*) 2 ; —SO 2 —R*; —O—S(═O) 2 —R*; —S(═O) 2 —OR*; —N(R*)—SO 2 —R*; —SO 2 —N(R*) 2 ; —O—SO 3 − ; —O—S(═O) 2 —OR*; —O—S(═O)—OR*; —O—S(═O)—R*; —S(═O)—OR*; —S(═O)—R*; —NO; —NO 2 ; —NO 3 ; —O—NO; —O—NO 2 ; —N 3 ; —N 2 —R*; —N(C 2 H 4 ); —Si(R*) 3 ; —CF 3 ; —O—CF 3 ; —PR* 2 ; —O—P(═O)(OR*) 2 ; —P(═O)(OR*) 2 ; C 1 -C 8 perfluoroalkyl; an aliphatic C 1 -C 8 hydrocarbon radical; a C 1 -C 8 aromatic hydrocarbon radical; or a C 1 -C 8 heteroaryl radical;

R* is independently at each occurrence hydrogen or a straight chained, branched, or cyclic C 1 -C 10 hydrocarbon radical, which may be saturated, partially saturated, or aromatic, each of which may be optionally substituted with one or more groups R, or optionally substituted with 1-6 heteroatoms selected from nitrogen, oxygen, sulfur, or halogen;

R′ and R″ are independently selected from hydrogen, methyl, ethyl, butyl, propyl, pentyl, and hexyl, each of which may be optionally substituted with one or more groups R, or optionally substituted with 1-6 heteroatoms selected from nitrogen, oxygen, sulfur, or halogen; and wherein R′ and R″ may together from a 3-6 membered heterocycle;

and cosmetically acceptable salts thereof.

2. The composition according to claim 1 , wherein Z 1 is N(R″) and R′ and R″ are independently selected from hydrogen, methyl, ethyl, butyl, propyl, pentyl, and hexyl, and wherein R′ and R″ may together from a 3-6 membered heterocycle optionally substituted with 1-3 heteroatoms selected from nitrogen, oxygen, or sulfur; and R 1 is selected from hydrogen, halogen, hydroxyl, thiol, amino, alkylamino, diaklylamino, methyl, ethyl, methoxy, ethoxy; and wherein L 1 is a bond (i.e., it is absent) or L 1 is selected from —O—, —S—, —NR*—, —(CH 2 ) n —, (CH 2 ) n —O—, —O—(CH 2 ) n —, —O—(CH 2 ) n —O—, —(CH═CH) n —, —(CH═CH) n —O—, —O—(CH═CH) n —, —O—(CH═CH) n —O—, —(CH 2 ) n —, —(CH 2 ) n —S—, —S—(CH 2 ) n —, —(CH═CH) n —, —(CH═CH) n —S—, —S—(CH═CH) n —, —S—(CH═CH) n —O—, —S—(CH═CH) n —S—, —O—(CH═CH) n —S—, —(CH 2 ) n —NR*—, —NR*—(CH 2 ) n —, —NR*—(CH 2 ) n —O—, —NR*—(CH 2 ) n —NR*—, —(CH═CH) n —NR*—, —NR*—(CH═CH) n —O—, —O—(CH═CH) n —NR*—, —NR*—(CH═CH) n —NR*—, —NR*—(CH 2 ) n —S—, —S—(CH 2 ) n —NR*—, —NR*—(CH═CH) n —S—, —S—(CH═CH) n —NR*—, —(CH 2 ) n —O—(CH 2 ) n —, —(CH 2 ) n —S—(CH 2 ) n —, —(CH 2 ) n —NR*—(CH 2 ) n —, herein “n” is independently at each occurrence an integer from 0-3.

3. The composition according to claim 1 , wherein R′ and R″ are each hydrogen and R 1 is hydroxyl.

4. The composition according to claim 1 , wherein L 1 is a bond or a group —(CH 2 ) n —NR*—; and where Q has the form:

where R 5 -R 9 are independently selected from hydrogen or R;

wherein at least one of R 5 -R 9 is a group selected from hydroxyl, methoxy, ethoxy, amino, alkylamino, dialkylamino, thiol, thioether, cyano, methyl, ethyl, carboxyl, carbamyl, and nitro.

5. The composition according to claim 1 , wherein R 5 is methoxy.

6. The composition according to claim 1 , wherein R 5 and R 6 are methoxy.

7. The composition according to claim 1 , wherein Q represents a five-membered heterocyclic ring selected from the following:

wherein ε 1 , ε 2 , and ε 3 , are independently selected from N, NH, NR*, S, and O; with the provision that where the point of attachment is ε 1 , ε 2 , or ε 3 , then that position represents N; and wherein carbon atoms which are not the point of attachment may be optionally substituted with a group R; and wherein the dashed circles indicate that each ring may comprise zero, one, or two double bonds.

8. The composition according to claim 4 , wherein the compound has the structure of Formula I(b):

where R 5 -R 9 are independently selected from hydrogen or R; L 1 is a bond (i.e., it is absent) or a group —O—, —S—, —NR*—, —(CH 2 ) n —, —(CH 2 ) n —O—, —O—(CH 2 ) n —, —O—(CH 2 ) n —O—, —(CH═CH) n —, —(CH═CH) n —O—, —O—(CH═CH) n —, —O—(CH═CH) n —O—, —(CH 2 ) n —(CH═CH) n —, —(CH═CH) n —(CH 2 ) n —, —(CH 2 ) n —S—, —(CH═CH) n —, —(CH═CH) n —S—, —S—(CH═CH) n —, —S—(CH═CH) n —O—, —S—(CH═CH) n —S—, —O—(CH═CH) n —S—, —(CH 2 ) n —NR*—, —NR*—(CH 2 ) n —, —NR*—(CH 2 ) n —O—, —NR*—(CH 2 ) n —NR*—, —(CH═CH) n —NR*—, —NR*—(CH═CH) n —O—, —O—(CH═CH) n —NR*—, —NR*—(CH═CH) n —NR*—, —NR*—(CH 2 ) n —S—, —S—(CH 2 ) n —NR*—, —NR*—(CH═CH) n —S—, —S—(CH═CH) n —NR*—, —(CH 2 ) n —O—(CH 2 ) n —, —(CH 2 ) n —S—(CH 2 ) n —, oe —(CH 2 ) n —NR*—(CH 2 ) n —, wherein “n” is independently at each occurrence an integer from 0-3.

9. The composition according to claim 8 , wherein at least one of R 5 -R 9 is a group selected from halo, hydroxyl, methoxy, ethoxy, amino, alkylamino, dialkylamino, thiol, thioether, cyano, methyl, ethyl, carboxyl, carbamyl, methyl, trifluoromethyl, and nitro.

10. The composition according to claim 9 , wherein R 5 is methoxy and R 6 -R 9 are hydrogen.

11. The composition according to claim 9 , wherein R 5 and R 6 are methoxy and R 7 -R 9 are hydrogen.

12. The composition according to claim 8 , wherein the compound has the structure of Formula I(c):

and cosmetically acceptable salts thereof.

13. The composition according to claim 8 , wherein the compound has the structure of Formula I(d):

and cosmetically acceptable salts thereof.

14. The cosmetic composition according to claim 1 , further comprising a cosmetic ingredient selected from a film forming polymer, a thickener, a pH adjuster, a preservative, an emulsifier, a gelling agent, an antioxidant, an emollient, a humectant, a fragrance, and a colorant.

15. The cosmetic composition according to claim 1 , wherein said cosmetically acceptable vehicle comprises a water-in-oil, oil-in-water, silicone-in-water, or water-in-silicone emulsion and further comprises an emulsifier.

16. The cosmetic composition according to claim 1 , wherein said effective amount comprises from about 0.00001% to about 1% by weight of said composition.

17. The composition according to claim 1 , further comprising a retinoid selected from the group consisting of retinoic acid, retinol, retinal, retinyl acetate, and retinyl palmitate.

18. A method for improving the aesthetic appearance of human skin comprising topically applying to an area of the skin in need thereof a composition according to any of claim 1 for a time sufficient to improve the aesthetic appearance of said human skin, wherein said aesthetic improvement of said human skin is selected from the group consisting of:

(a) treatment and/or reduction of fine lines or wrinkles;

(b) reduction of skin pore size;

(c) improvement in skin thickness, plumpness, and/or tautness;

(d) improvement in skin smoothness, suppleness and/or softness;

(e) improvement in skin tone, radiance, and/or clarity;

(f) improvement in procollagen, and/or collagen production;

(g) improvement in maintenance and remodeling of elastin;

(h) improvement in skin texture and/or promotion of retexturization;

(i) improvement in skin barrier repair and/or function;

(j) improvement in appearance of skin contours;

(k) restoration of skin luster and/or brightness;

(l) replenishment of essential nutrients and/or constituents in the skin;

(m) improvement of skin appearance decreased by aging and/or menopause;

(n) improvement in skin moisturization;

(o) increase in skin elasticity and/or resiliency;

(p) treatment and/or reduction of skin sagging;

(q) improvement in skin firmness; and

(r) reduction of pigment spots and/or mottled skin; and

(s) improvement of optical properties of skin by light diffraction or reflection.

19. The method according to claim 18 , wherein said composition is applied at least once daily for a period of at least four weeks.

20. A method for treating wrinkles and fine lines in human skin comprising topically applying to an affected area of the skin a composition according to claim 1 , for a time sufficient to improve the appearance of said wrinkles and fine lines.