A device that, in a matter of moments, produces a custom lipstick to match the lipstick shade from an Instagram photo of a consumer’s favorite influencer sounds like something out of a “Black Mirror” episode. But it’s the latest technology unveiled at CES 2020 in Las Vegas from cosmetics brand L’Oréal SA.
The artificial intelligence-powered, at-home system—coined Perso—is a 6.5-inch tall, 1-pound device that delivers on-the-spot, personalized skin care, foundation and lipstick. Perso was developed by the L’Oreal Technology Incubator and incorporates ModiFace technology. The cosmetics company in March 2018 acquired ModiFace technology, which enables shoppers to try on makeup using their smartphone camera in Live Mode or to upload a photo and try on makeup on the static image.
This isn’t L’Oréal’s first use of the technology; it rolled out the ability to virtually try on its brands’ lipstick colors in June 2019. The augmented reality simulation of each lipstick shade is based on AI-powered analysis of information provided by makeup brands, but also via images and descriptions of the product available on social media.
“L’Oréal is once again leveraging advanced technology to create smart beauty products and services that answer the needs of our consumers and offer them near-limitless personalization and precision,” says Nicolas Hieronimus, L’Oréal’s deputy CEO.
The Perso device has a motor system at the top that moves and compresses the foundation, skin care or lipstick formula from the cartridges located at the base of the device in an upward motion to come out of the dispensing tray, L’Oréal says. Each Perso device can hold three cartridges, and it refills automatically. The cosmetics brand is still working on finalizing the distribution plan of the cartridges when consumers need more, but they will be able to order additional cartridges through the Perso mobile app, L’Oréal says.
Perso leverages technology in several ways, going beyond lipstick try-on to create personalized makeup options, L’Oréal says. For example, when a consumer wants a customized skin care formula, Perso will do the following:
- Skin analysis: When a consumer opens the Perso mobile app, she can take a photo with her smartphone camera. The app then uses AI to scan and analyze her overall skin condition, including wrinkles, fine lines, dark spots and pore visibility. This technology can be used with people of any skin type and color, L’Oréal says.
- Environmental factors: Perso analyzes the consumer’s local environmental conditions that may affect her skin, such as weather, pollen and humidity. It does this via the weather analysis platform Breezometer, which is built into the Perso app. It also takes time of day into consideration, such as what a consumer would want to put on her face in the morning versus before going to bed.
- Product needs: In the app, the consumer can share her own skin care concerns, such as wrinkles and dark spots, as well as the kind of skin care formula she wants, such as the hydration level, texture and preferred type of moisturizer, serum and under-eye cream.
- Customized result: Once Perso has tallied the data, it dispenses a single dose at the top of the device. It also comes with a detachable mirrored top so she can take a single or larger amount of the skin care formula with her.
“With Perso, we are putting personalized technology directly into the hands of our consumers,” says Guive Balooch, head of L’Oréal’s Technology Incubator. “We know that customization relies on information about your unique skin and personal preferences as well as your environment; this technology accounts for that. Perso uses AI to optimize the formulas and actually gets smarter as you use it.”
As a consumer uses Perso more regularly, the AI component will be able to learn about the user’s preferences and skin type, automatically adapting its formulas for future use, the beauty brand says. Additionally, L’Oréal says Perso will be able to incorporate real-time makeup trends and color-matching technology so consumers can design their own lipstick shades, such as producing a lipstick color to match her outfit.
Perso will be launched to the public—alongside an unnamed L’Oréal skin care brand—in 2021, L’Oréal says. The cost of the device and cartridges also will be announced closer to the launch date.
L’Oréal is No. 95 in the 2019 Digital Commerce 360 Top 500.
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