In a world where consumers are comfortable ordering exactly what they want almost everywhere they go, from Starbucks to the local deli, it should come as no surprise that there continues to be growing interest in customized cosmetics, skin care and hair care products.

“Consumers are now accustomed to having the luxury of customizing everything in their life, and beauty is in the next logical sector to offer a bespoke experience or product. If it is not a completely customized shade of foundation from Bare Minerals, you are taking a quiz to figure out which shampoo and conditioner combination are best for your hair. The options are now endless on what you can tailor for your beauty regimen,” said Rosie Foster, co-founder of Beauty Blueprint, a Dallas-based consultancy that specializes in product development and supply chain for beauty brands.

“The options available to the consumer are much vaster than before. Not only do you have customized makeup, but you have customized skin, hair color and fragrance,” added fellow Beauty Blueprint co-founder Amanda Toussaint.

According to these experts, the influx of indies is a big reason why there are more customized beauty options available today.

“Through the indie beauty movement, contract manufacturers have reevaluated their target customer and have begun partnering with many indie brands and startups with the hope of growing alongside them. In the past, minimum order quantities would be 10,000 units or more; however, today you can partner with contract manufacturers and run 1000 units. With bespoke beauty and the typical smaller order sizes, contract manufacturers have had to pivot and become nimbler in their operations to accommodate. This has allowed many brands, both small and large, to offer a wider assortment of SKUs and countless customizable options,” said Foster.

In the beauty sector, in particular, large corporations have taken note of the indies rising above the fray.

In late July, for example, Henkel acquire a 51% stake in eSalon.com LLC, the Los Angeles-based company that makes customized, at-home hair color products. Launched in 2010, eSalon delivers what it calls a “personalized one-to-one experience through a unique combination of human expertise and state-of-the-art, dual patented technology” where every order is formulated and dispensed on-demand at its headquarters in Los Angeles. According to eSalon’s own statistics, more than six million orders have shipped and 165,000-plus unique color combinations have been created. The firm (a four-time winner of Allure Magazine’s Best Home Hair Color) generated sales of approximately $30 million in fiscal 2018, primarily in the US.

This alliance, according to Henkel, will further strengthen its leading hair color portfolio and expand its digital business at a time when the category is ramping up.

“Over the past few years, we have seen the increasing growth of personalization in the beauty space—and we expect that trend to continue. No two people are the same, and today, consumers are looking for, even expecting, products that serve their specific, individualized need or preference,” said Stefan Mund, regional head of Henkel Beauty Care Hair Professional, North America. 

“We are very excited about our joint venture with eSalon. Through this partnership, we aim to grow our core business, while at the same time expand in an innovative digital business model, addressing the growing trend of personalization in beauty care. We also expect to gain valuable consumer insights that will help us to create meaningful innovations for our retail consumers,” Mund told Happi, noting that Henkel sees eSalon as complementary to its in-house digital initiatives and a right fit for its overall strategic priority to accelerate digitalization.

L’Oréal, too, is addressing personalized color for hair with Color&Co, its new brand that personalizes formulas. Available since May, the Color&Co process starts with a visit to the brand’s website where consumers receive a live video consultation from an independent, licensed professional colorist (the team has been named ‘the Collective’ by L’Oréal) or take a “highly accurate” questionnaire, followed by product shipped direct to the consumer.

Just as this issue went to press, Color&Co added a feature called “See Yourself in Color,” which offers a complementary, virtual color try-on powered by Modiface. According to L’Oréal, users can access an image or participate live through a phone or computer camera and see a virtual before and after of the desired shade, with both images shown side by side (and whether consumer wants to actually go through with the color change or not, that image is available for sharing on social media). After the virtual try-on, consumers complete the video consultation offered by the Collective or take the quiz and get feedback. Users are also offered a second chance to virtually try on the newly-created shade, and if the shade is not right, the Collective will create an alternative, according to L’Oréal.

Individual Attention

Stakeholders across the beauty business are investigating, and investing in, personalization.
In the 2019 Sephora Accelerate cohort, for example, there are two budding entrepreneurs who have formed companies that offer greater customization:

• Hélène Ségol, co-founder of Green Barbès, which created an on-demand “micro-customization” approach that offers DIY all-natural skin care solutions allowing consumers to personalize their products based on their daily routine; and
• Camille Pereira, co-founder of Médène, which offers customized essential oil blends based on a scientific algorithm.

Sephora’s interest no doubt stems from the need to keep customers fully engaged as it opens 35 new locations across the US this year.

“At Sephora, we are constantly working to further enhance, personalize and simplify the omnichannel experience for our clients, so the connection between the physical and digital is virtually seamless and highly customized at every touchpoint,” said Mary Beth Laughton, executive vice president of omni retail, in a press statement when the 2019 Sephora Accelerate class was unveiled.

Sephora’s tools provide more tailored solutions for its clientele. These include Skincare IQ, which searches Sephora’s entire range of skin care ingredients and formulas to recommend matches for every skin care concern; Color IQ, which scans the surface of a customer’s skin and assigns it a Color IQ number and also a “scientifically precise” foundation, concealer and lip recommendations; and Fragrance IQ, which helps customers identify which scents best suit their preferences. To make the latter even more bespoke, Sephora offers complimentary fragrance engraving with purchase.

Customization isn’t just for retail or indies, say experts.

“We do believe that bigger companies can play in this space, but instead of a customized product, they are doing it through education and customizing a regimen. They are adding line extensions, such as boosters, to their current product offerings that can be mixed into their existing serums and moisturizers,” said Beauty Blueprint’s Foster, citing Cover FX’s “Choose Your Booster” campaign which allows customers to add mattifying properties to any product, and Image Skincare’s “Skin Coach” quiz that helps create a customized skin care routine with Image products.

Clinique has also taken a deeper dive into customization with the launch of Clinique iD, which incorporates the brand’s workhorse Dramatically Different Moisturizer in three textures (lotion, oil-control gel and hydrating jelly) and separate Active Cartridge Concentrates that are designed to address primary skin concerns like irritation, pores/uneven texture, uneven skin tone, fatigue, and lines and wrinkles. The Estée Lauder-owned brand developed its own packaging components with a patent-pending mechanism that allows users to easily insert the active concentrate cartridge of their choice directly into the main base bottle (with their preferred form), and then, with a simple pump, dispense the precise dosage of the final mixed product.

And word on the street is that Clinique will unveil a data-driven beauty development this month, too.

Me, Myself & AI

Companies in the tech sphere can be the conduit to greater personalization.

Luluab, a spin-off company of C-Lab, Samsung Electronics’ in-house venture program, offers an AI skin care assistant called Lumini that scans and analyzes facial skin in under 10 seconds and recommends products. The company recently introduced an AI-based K-beauty curation service through a collaboration with K-beauty brands.

These data-driven tools can help eliminate bias in product selection, according to proponents.

“If you had to rely on the personal capabilities and experience of skin care professionals in the past, Lumini can now help people to get personalized services based on objective data,” Yongjoon Choe, CEO of Lululab, said in a statement.

As its name implies, SelfE Face Analysis is an AI beauty-tech app that provides facial aging analysis with feedback on sun damage, skin firmness, facial volume, symmetry and age markers, all from a selfie. The app (formerly Portrait AI Face Journal) uses artificial intelligence to analyze the user’s face and provide instant clinical insight from Sheena Kong, MD, a Harvard-trained cosmetic physician. If sun damage is detected, SelfE offers a “customized blend” of quick recommendations such as a reminder to use proper sunscreen as well as a long-term strategy which ranges from skin care tips to professional laser treatments.

The app, according to its developer, has been trained by using hundreds of thousands of images to analyze the signs of sun damage and other aging factors. It also offers a journal feature which allows users to monitor facial changes over time, displaying how sun exposure and other factors affect the skin.

Even today’s savvy ingredient-label-reading consumers need some help when it comes to skin care.

According to a Wakefield Research study conducted on behalf of aesthetic device manufacturer The HydraFacial Company, 75% of consumers say they follow a consistent skin health regimen, however, they are not happy with it, indicating on average that they rank that regimen as just a six out of 10.

One problem might be how they gather their information. According to the Wakefied Survey, more people get their skin care advice from social media (59%) than from professional recommendations (57%).

To bring expertise back into the selection process, The HydraFacial Company introduced a skin health assessment that both simplifies and customizes any skin health routine. It reportedly takes all factors of skin health into consideration through a series of questions and provides a personalized plan. To date, more than 6,000 consumers and skin care professionals have completed the web-based assessment and have received recommendations for their specific skin type and concerns, according to the Long Beach, CA-based company.

Generation Gaps

Skin concerns often evolve over time, and consumers can grow frustrated if their tried-and-true SKUs no longer work simply due to the stage where they are in their lives.

Like menopause—the wheelhouse for Pepper&Wits, a brand under the P&G Ventures umbrella.

The brand, which P&G displayed at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, offers what could be considered a “semi-custom” solution as it is designed for a specific segment of the population: nearly 1 billion women worldwide (and 48 million in the US alone) who are under the age of 45 and destined to go through this life change. The range includes hand and foot cream, body lotion and supplements, as well as an intimate lotion product that comes with a special applicator.

While P&G began testing the line this summer, it isn’t alone in the category. Another new player is Pause Well-Aging, which was developed by Rochelle Weitzner, former CEO of Erno Laszlo and former CFO at Laura Mercier Cosmetics and RéVive Skincare. Pause was created after Weitzner experienced her first hot flash, and didn’t find any products that would support her skin through menopause.

“Not only were there no products targeting the particular effects of menopause on skin, but no one was even talking about it. For all the noise we make about aging and all the products aimed at anti-aging, it was as if the whole topic of menopause was forbidden,” noted Weitzner.

The current roster of Pause products includes a Hot Flash Cooling Mist, a Collagen Boosting Moisturizer and a fascia stimulating tool that helps stimulate collagen production, improve tone and texture and enhance subdermal tissue health.

With 2020 approaching, stakeholders in the beauty business will be looking far and wide for new technologies and partners that can provide greater customization, or at least that custom feel, in their product assortment.