Once a signifier of luxury or novelty, custom products and services are now within reach of the everyday consumer, thanks to the rise of artificial intelligence, algorithm-led platforms, and the COVID-era digitisation boom. Today, everyone wants to be the main character of their brand experience.

Augmented reality has already established itself as an exciting technology across several sectors, letting people visualise furniture in their homes and play real-world video games. How is it being harnessed in the beauty world to deliver personalised and seamless shopping experiences?

Facials used to be an excuse for a relaxing hour of pampering in the spa – but that’s not the case any more. Many beauty professionals are now offering advanced, science-driven cosmeceutical therapies – like Dermalogica’s IonActive Power Treatment – to satisfy a desire for visible results.

The beauty world is being transformed by new technologies that personalise products to the individual, offering perfectly blended foundation and uniquely formulated hair care. How might customisation impact this historically segregated sector? And could tailored cosmetics become the norm?

How is tech upping the ante on customised beauty? Is hemp due for its time in the limelight? What do Gen Zers expect of industry heavyweights? In this part of the 2019 Expert Outlook, we speak to three experts about how the desire for convenience and the digital revolution are impacting beauty.

Once a signifier of luxury or novelty, custom products are now within reach of the everyday consumer, thanks to the rise of artificial intelligence, algorithm-led platforms and the COVID-era digitisation boom. Today, everyone wants to be the main character of their brand experience and people are channelling their need for convenience and self-expression into anything frombespoke lipstickbuilt with the help of AI totweaking home electric appliancesto be ‘just so.’ Gen Z and Y’s penchant forpersonalised playlists,meal plans, andshopping experienceshave played a pivotal role in mainstreaming the tendency towards customised products and services. But in the years ahead, this behaviour will be defined by Gen Alpha, the world’s first ‘personalisation native’ generation, which is already exposed to the ‘personalised reality’ shift that allows this cohort to tailor entire virtual worlds andlearning experiencesto their unique needs and wants. At the sharp edge of personalisation are ‘prosumers’: people who don’t want to be passive consumers and instead seek self-expression through a DIY mentality. Thinkhardware hackers,bike customisers, and even thosebeating Zoom fatigue with bespoke avatars. Meanwhile, the wider mainstream has also gotten used to the convenience and benefits afforded by bespoke products and services, with the outcome that many consumers now resent the amount of time, energy, and money spent having to make sense of generic options. So increasing numbers are gravitating towards brands that can reduce these frictions and help maximise enjoyment through enabling a personal touch instead.