Beauty Tech Innovations: The Movers and Shakers

Beauty tech has moved from fantasy to reality, with consumers becoming more and more au fait with artificial intelligence, augmented and virtual reality.

But the market is becoming increasingly competitive as a result.

Here are some of the top brands and trends to watch out for this year….

The Tech

Here are some of our favourites from 2019’s Consumer Electronics Show (CES):

• Beautylitic – their cosmetic analysis platform allows brands to scientifically analyse the ingredients in their products for more effective product management and to meet new consumer expectations.

• L’Oreal – their My Skin Track wearable app measures skin PH levels. Wearers place the device on their inner arm until two coloured dots appear on a senor strip. Users then send a photo of the colours and use the app to get a product recommendation.

• Neutrogena – their new MaskiD app allows users to get fully customized 3D-printed face masks, by giving them an accurate assessment of their skincare needs and facial measurements via the TrueDepth camera on the iPhone X, XS, and XR.

• Olay – their updated Olay Skin Advisor allows users to visualize what their skin and face will look like in the future to help them make better decisions on how to personalize their regime in order to prevent long-term damage. There is also a simulator that invites users to virtually try on products and display what their skin would look like.

• P&G Ventures – their Opté Precision Skincare System uses optics, proprietary algorithms, printing technology, and skincare to scan, detect, and correct hyperpigmentation with precision application.

• Perfect Corp – their Beauty 3.0 augmented reality and artificial intelligence concept includes the ability for shoppers to virtually explore and test out products, gives users foundation shade recommendations and tracks user’s dermatological concerns over time.

• Wella – their new augmented reality mirror uses facial recognition technology to retrieve archived looks, and features a 360° video element to let clients view their hair from all angles. The smart mirror also lets clients and stylists keep in touch between visits.

The Take-aways

Research, development and investment in beauty tech requires brands to take significant initiative and demonstrate confidence in predicting consumer trends.

The front runners are already moving from personalisation to individualisation and coming up with products that tailor to a specific individual (rather than the segment group he/she falls into, as is the case with ‘personalisation’).

Successful brands are also thinking beyond a single process. It’s no good designing an app that users only engage with once. It needs to be something that adds value time and time again, and crucially drives sales.

Finally, beauty tech brands likely to do well are those that can design something that can be added to or used upsell new products as trends evolve, rather than requiring a completely new product to be designed from scratch.

What beauty tech innovations do you think will drive sales in 2019? Which ones are dead in the water? We’d love to hear from you.

Email us your thoughts.

Photo by ian dooley on Unsplash.