The infinite range of possibilities that the website opens up to means that more and more consumers are looking for a personalized cosmetic tour or advice to develop the routine that best suits their needs. The demand transforms the panorama by leading many to resort to the most traditional prescribing power, that of the white coat (read dermatologists, pharmacists, nutritionists, etc.). This fact explains, for example, the rise of firms with the name of the scientist responsible for the formulas: such as Augustinus Bader, Dr. Barbara Sturm or, more recently, Prof. Dr. Steinkraus: “I chose to put my name on it,” says the doctor. Steinkraus, “because it reflects my competence of almost 40 years in clinical dermatology. Having an eponymous brand comes with responsibility and the constant need to live up to one’s own expectations, aspects that I believe ultimately benefit customers and give them confidence. I offer a simple, but well-structured routine.”
There is an endless supply, but also a lot of information that ensures that users are documented and have clear concepts such as that there are infallible ingredients. Vitamin C and retinol have been at the top of Google searches for cosmetic active ingredients for years, but doubts continue to arise. Both are among the most frequent queries they receive in the Bella Aurora advisory service (anyone can register on their website and make an appointment by video call with an expert). “They ask about the percentage of retinol, vitamin C or AHA [alfahidroxiácidos] that our treatments have,” says Roberta Del Giudice, customer service coordinator at the brand, “in many cases we see that the idea is wrongly associated that the higher the percentage, the greater the benefits. Retinol stands out in requests and, in addition to the percentage, there are questions about when and how to apply it. Our team provides personalized advice daily with the aim of guiding people to better understand their skin and offering them a facial care ritual adapted to their preferences and needs.”
Want to be unique
That of the Catalan brand is just one of the solutions that the industry implements to respond to the growing demand for customization. This is recognized by several studies by prestigious consulting firms in recent years: for McKinsey, 71% of consumers expect unique interactions with brands; For Boston Consulting Group, customers are 110% more likely to add items to cart if personalization is used. There are countless proposals: individualized products like some of the Guerlain or Le Labo fragrances. Or the bestsellers from brands such as Dior or Yves Saint Laurent that, on special dates such as Christmas or Mother’s Day, are installed in various points of sale to screen-print their bottles. Or Carolina Herrera’s makeup, which is assembled to taste based on carcasses, charms and pendants that turn a lipstick into a decorative object. Or virtual fitting rooms, crucial for buying makeup on-line, in which artificial intelligence (AI) is generating improvements that were inconceivable until a few years ago. Precisely the potential of AI opens the door to replacing or complementing the white coat prescription. Companies like L’Oréal Paris or Lancôme already have digital diagnostic tools to recommend the right product to each buyer. The technology company Revieve, which works with brands such as Shiseido, proposes applications to mechanize and individualize these recommendation processes.
“This is a twist to put the customer at the center,” analyzes Teresa Sádaba, dean of ISEM Fashion Business School at the University of Navarra, “cosmetics in this sense can be compared to food. It has health, well-being and leisure components. We look for the food and cosmetics that best suit each of us due to our age, physiology, etc. and this is where we talk about hyperpersonalization.” A strategy that builds loyalty and invites you to think about formulas developed for each skin. In this field there are interesting bets, such as the SkinCeuticals machine, Custom DOSE, which manufactures serums in the offices of some dermatologists or the My Beauty DNA line from Biologique Recherche, which genetically identifies particular needs. But custom creams are not an invention of new technologies, the master formulas of pharmacists could be their predecessors. Like them, individualized proposals present difficulties: since they are not scalable, they are too expensive. Furthermore, its effects are limited, due to the scope of cosmetics itself and because DNA is not so relevant (80% of aging is caused by external factors). A tailored cream can make a lot of sense in certain situations, especially if there is a pathology. But, beyond that, who can’t find the right cosmetic among the wide spectrum of references? Perhaps that is why personalization efforts today push in that direction: to return the spotlight to the expert or, failing that, to his digital substitute.
