Connected beauty products are fast becoming the cosmetics and wellness industry’s hottest new trend, and Procter & Gamble is doubling down on the concept. For its first participation in the annual Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, the personal care and lifestyle giant is presenting six innovations across its beauty, health and skincare portfolio.
First up is skincare brand Olay’s new ‘Skin Advisor’ platform, which uses artificial intelligence to offer users personal skincare consultations and advice. Prestige skincare brand SK-II also has a new concept up its sleeve, in the form of the ‘Future X Smart Store’ concept, which will offer "phygital" experiences for in-store shoppers, via techniques such as facial recognition and digital diagnostics.
Another of P&G’s major skincare launches is the ‘Opté Precision Skincare System’ — a single device featuring camera optics, proprietary algorithms and printing technology to scan the complexion and detect hyperpigmentation. It can even be used to apply exact quantities of corrective serum to the face.
In the health and hygiene sector, the company is set to unveil an ‘Oral-B Genius X’ artificial intelligence toothbrush that offers personalized feedback on brushing techniques, and a GilletteLabs ‘Heated Razor’ that warms up in under a second for a more comfortable shaving experience.
Eventually, P&G is rolling out a new room-freshening device called Airia. The smart home fragrance system uses ink-jet technology and can be managed with a smartphone app.
"We’re innovating faster than ever, combining more than 180 years of capability with the entrepreneurial spirit of a lean startup," said P&G Chief Research, Development and Innovation Officer, Kathy Fish, in a statement. "As consumers are changing, so are we. What remains the same is our focus on deeply understanding how consumers live, work and play so we know precisely what they want."
The Cincinnati-headquartered group is not the only corporation focusing on connected beauty for CES 2019 — earlier this week, skincare brand Neutrogena unveiled a personalized face mask app that will make its debut at the show, while L’Oréal is introducing La Roche-Posay ‘My Skin Track pH’, the first-ever wearable microfluidic sensor to measure skin pH levels, which complete the brand’s range of wearable devices.
