Panasonic is collaborating with Kosé with the aim of offering personalized proposals at Maison Kosé, a new store which is due to open in Japan on December 17.

Snow Beauty Mirror (Displays the results of skin analysis covering five categories) (Photo: Courtesy of Panasonic)

In practice, a mirror (dubbed Snow Beauty Mirror) is coupled with an artificial intelligence to analyse the customer’s skin and establish a diagnosis and suggest personalized solutions to meet their various needs.

All customers need to do is sit in front of the mirror. The system then analyzes their skin profile thanks to contactless sensors embedded in the mirror. The system detects not only spots, wrinkles, smile lines, pores and skin tone, but also hidden spots otherwise invisible to the naked eye. Then, based on digital counselling and analysis results, the system recommends the optimal package for each individual customer among Kosé’s skin care brands, excluding Albion

Exterior image of Maison Kosé (Photo: Courtesy of Kosé)

“Combining genetic algorithms, developed as a joint venture between KOSÉ and Meiji University, with Panasonic’s image processing technologies has enabled the creation of a system which makes it possible to visualize a person’s ‘ideal face’ from facial image data—that is, how the customer would really like to appear,” says Panasonic in a statement.

The system can visualize the differences between the customer’s ideal face and current appearance, while providing tips on the perfect foundation tone, texture and application techniques to help them get closer to their ideal face.

Visitors will also be able to try out “Customized Sheets”, which adopts the Make-up Sheet technology currently under development at Panasonic. The aim is to achieve a natural colour match and an ideal fit with the customer’s skin.

Make-up Sheets are ultra-thin (100 nanometres) cosmetic sheets printed with tones that perfectly match the customer’s skin. They combine skin analysis data from Snow Beauty Mirror, and the company’s proprietary printing technology. Customers simply need to stick the sheets over areas of concern on their cheeks or temples.

Smart mirrors made a big impression at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas at the beginning of the year. While the technology is more than ten years old, technological progress in artificial intelligence now allows a larger span of uses, from virtual make-up, to customised skin or hair care.