L’Oréal is continuing to advance into the tech space with the announcement of its Bluetooth-connected Perso — a gadget that’ll mix up lipstick, foundation, or a skincare regimen that’s customized to whoever owns it. The company demoed the lipstick- and skincare-creation process at CES today, including how the device’s companion app can pull trending images from social media to whip up a lipstick color.

The demo app that the company had at CES is stocked with a preloaded bank of images, but a spokesperson tells me that when it’s officially available in 2021, people will be able to hook up their social media accounts to the app and get color inspiration from there. The idea is that you can match whatever your favorite influencer is wearing or re-create a specific look.

You can preview that color on yourself using augmented reality before committing to making it. Once you decide to create that color, the Perso uses three swappable color cartridges to squirt out the right amount of each color that, when mixed together, create your desired look. The cartridges should supply enough lipstick for 30 applications. The foundation process presumably works similarly in that it’ll match its colors to your skin tone on a specific day, but I didn’t see that demoed.

The skincare version of the Perso involves the app scanning your face from various angles and diagnosing your problem areas and then creating a morning and nighttime regimen. Unlike the lipstick and foundation, which take color cartridges, the skincare cartridges are an SPF, serum, and moisturizer. As a CES veteran who’s always interested in skincare and critical feedback, I’ve had my face scanned by many beauty apps over the years, and L’Oréal’s iteration didn’t strike me as revolutionary. (My dark spots are a problem, I get it!) But it combines the trend of using AI to detect an issue with the desire for personalization.

Photo by Ashley Carman / The Verge

Every year at CES, we hear about more gadgets that promise to point out your skin flaws and make them a priority in your regimen. Companies have released apps that can identify problems and then make product recommendations around them, and other companies have built those apps into smart mirrors that perform the same function. Makeup companies have perfected the AR try-on, too. Last year, for instance, Kylie Jenner created an Instagram filter for her lipstick line. Personalization is the future the beauty companies are building, and the Perso is just the latest gadget to make it a full-blown, popular reality.

https://www.theverge.com/2020/1/5/21051109/loreal-perso-ces-2020-gadget-lipstick-foundation-skincare-makeup-beauty-influencers