IoT for Beauty

Over the past several years, the Internet of Things (IoT) has made its way into the beauty industry. Gone are the days of buying a product and simply hoping it’s the right color for your skin tone or complements your eye color. Now, using IoT combined with augmented reality and artificial intelligence, brands can offer a much more personalized experience to you.

NOTE: This is part of our ongoing IoT series. See also our previous article IoT in the Home

Studies have shown that 77% of consumers have chosen, recommended, or paid more for a brand that provides a personalized service or experience, so the potential here is huge. The beauty industry itself is continuing to grow year over year, and is predicted to exceed $715B by 2025. Though currently, most beauty products are still purchased offline, the online’s share is climbing while the offline declines. Especially as more and more products tap into the IoT, beauty ecommerce is going to surge.

You may have heard of virtual “try on” apps. Some of these can show how makeup looks through digital overlays using image recognition and face tracking. Others take in your skin tone or texture and recommend the perfect products for your skin tone. Though influencer marketing may have been valuable in the past, it’s no match to these smart beauty products that are responsive and personalized to you.

We work with some of the largest and most prestigious luxury and beauty providers. We have noted some very strong leaps forward in personalization and how technology is being leveraged in the nuanced (and somewhat subjective) beauty space.

As sensors continue to shrink in size and increase in on-chip computing power, IoT devices will continue to take on ever-more complex and nuanced tasks.  Device cameras are beginning to see skin tone and also measure humidity, moisture levels, and other factors that can inform overall health.  Organic molecules that form the building blocks of perfumes are beginning to be able to be mixed and printed on the fly.

There are several trends developing. So far, they can be sorted into a few main categories: Skin analyzers, color customizers, and perfume designers. Check out some examples of what’s out there now:

Skin Analyzers:

• LuluLab created a product that analyzes a customer’s skin and suggests cosmetics, devices, and products that are most likely to improve the appearance and health of their skin. 
• LUMINI, an AI-based skincare assistant.Like its predecessor, the Lumini PM analyzes the skin and suggests cosmetics, devices and products that will help one make it look its best. 
• HiMirror includes a high-resolution camera that analyzes the skin for dark spots, fine lines and wrinkles, and more, and provides product recommendations from popular brands such as Estée Lauder and Bioderma. 
• ART Lab, another K-startup, was founded by AI and robotics experts, offers AI Solutions for in-depth skin analysis, prescribing products, and manufacturing personalized-beauty products
• Their AI skin-recording app, SkinLog, captures and diagnoses customer’s skin via selfie or text data.  It prescribes a best-match cosmetic formula and products through their AI-powered personalized skincare solution, Manifold, which uses more than 100,000 cosmetics data.
• CareOS introduced a smart mirror which conducts skin analysis, product recommendations, and makeup and beard tutorials. 
• VesCir Ltd.’s product assesses the underlying physiological state of the skin, then offers personalized skin care.

Color Customizers:

• L’Oréal introduced a personal lip color device that can mix lipstick shades together into nearly every custom color, allowing for any shade a customer could dream up. To test the shade first, L’Oréal’s app offers a capability to choose a color matching something you take a photo of, which you can then “try on” using your camera. 
• Amorepacific’s product analyzes a user’s facial feature, then recommends customized lip shades that will look the best on that user. 
• Lip Factory uses a deep-learning algorithm to analyze users' facial features, recommending customized colors and can produce over 2,000 shades of lip color makeup.
• Micromicrofacturing for cosmetic products is not particularly new.  A startup, Ellure, manufactures custom lipsticks.
• The YSL Rouge Sur Mesure is a personal lip color device that uses three color cartridges based on each of the four shade sets to mix thousands of lip shades.

Perfume Designers:

• Ninu is a smart perfume maker guided by an AI assistant, “Pierre” operated via smartphone.
• Deepscent Inc. provides personalized fragrance solutions using AI depending on the user’s scent usage pattern and environmental information.
• Screntronix’ Algorithmic Perfumery system creates one-of-a-kind fragrances based on the user’s personal characteristics and preferences.

As sensors continue to shrink in size and increase in on-chip computing power, IoT devices will continue to take on ever-more complex and nuanced tasks.  Device cameras are beginning to see skin tone and also measure humidity, moisture levels, and other factors that can inform overall health.  Organic molecules that form the building blocks of perfumes are beginning to be able to be mixed and printed on the fly.

Technology will continue to weave into our daily lives, enhancing the experience of personalization, uniqueness, and expression.