3079: L'Oréal's Vision for Inclusive Beauty: Technology That Empowers Everyone

[00:00:03] Have you ever wondered how technology is reshaping the beauty industry? Or the relationship between technology and the beauty industry? Probably not.

[00:00:15] Well today we're going to change that because I'm thrilled to welcome a trailblazer from L'Oreal.

[00:00:20] He's pioneering the integration of AI, augmented reality, personalization technologies.

[00:00:26] And he's going to transform how we all think about the relationship between beauty, skin care and technology.

[00:00:33] From robotic applicators designed for those with limited mobility to virtual try-on technologies that require no physical application.

[00:00:43] L'Oreal has been setting new standards in accessibility, personalization and sustainability for a long time now.

[00:00:51] So I invited them on the podcast to join me today and shed light on how these innovations are not just changing the industry,

[00:00:57] but also making beauty routines more inclusive and environmentally friendly.

[00:01:02] But what does the future of beauty look like? And how is technology making it more personal, more accessible than ever?

[00:01:11] Well, let's find out and get today's guest on.

[00:01:14] So a massive warm welcome to the show. Can you tell everyone listening a little about who you are and what you do?

[00:01:21] My name is Giv Baluch. Thank you very much for having me on the show.

[00:01:25] I have been in L'Oreal for the last 18 years and right now I run the tech team inside the research of L'Oreal,

[00:01:35] as well as the entire open innovation team, which is all the partnerships with startups and the companies from outside that we work with.

[00:01:43] And what's in every category?

[00:01:44] Well, there are so many different reasons I was excited to get you on the podcast today.

[00:01:48] And one of the things I try and do every single day is get people thinking differently about how technology is impacting industries, our life and even world.

[00:01:57] And also get people thinking about areas that they don't associate with technology.

[00:02:02] And I think this is incredibly valuable for business leaders listening as well, how people are using technology.

[00:02:07] And when people think about L'Oreal, I think many people won't automatically associate it with technology.

[00:02:14] But I'm someone that goes to a lot of tech conferences around the world.

[00:02:18] And L'Oreal is one of the most frequent visitors that I see on stage and performing keynotes around technology there.

[00:02:26] So can you tell me a little bit more about how technology is revolutionizing the beauty experience?

[00:02:34] And because this is an area that you're incredibly passionate about, right?

[00:02:36] Yes, I am definitely passionate about it.

[00:02:39] I've been doing this job for 18 years in L'Oreal and 14 years of it I've been doing tech.

[00:02:45] And it's true that when I started the team in 2011 or almost 15 years ago, we would go to the CES, the Consumer Electronics Show.

[00:02:54] There was never a beauty company there.

[00:02:55] It was mainly cars and TVs and smart homes and things like in health.

[00:03:00] And so we started with a real blank page.

[00:03:03] And now it has really evolved where we have always had the belief that technology and beauty can have a great benefit for consumers.

[00:03:12] But it's taken us a long time to get to this level.

[00:03:16] So to answer your question, I think what brought us here I feel about why beauty and tech are so interesting together is first there are a lot of societal shifts today that are affecting the beauty industry.

[00:03:29] For example, today inclusivity, this idea that there's an infinite diversity today when it comes to skin tone, when it comes to gender, when it comes to culture.

[00:03:39] And everybody wants to have a personalized experience, wants to have products that are right for them.

[00:03:44] Technology will be the only way we can reach and speak and diagnose and guide this.

[00:03:51] There's also the need for more performance today ever than before.

[00:03:54] People want their skin care and their hair care to work better and better at levels where close to what they would get if they were to go to a doctor's office or to a dermatologist or to places.

[00:04:06] And tech, hardware tech and software tech can help that.

[00:04:09] There are infinite choices today for beauty consumers.

[00:04:12] There's so much over the last 20 years, you see a boom of amount of if you go to any counter, you see hundreds of lipstick colors.

[00:04:21] How do I get the right one?

[00:04:22] How can I virtually try before I buy?

[00:04:24] All of these kinds of tensions were leading us to an inflection point 10 years ago where we felt that technology can help us have a different evolution for the consumer experience and help beauty consumers to guide them, diagnose them, and treat them with the best products for them.

[00:04:42] So I think it's a great combination, beauty and tech.

[00:04:45] Yeah, it really is.

[00:04:46] And as you said there, what from the beauty tech concept back in 2018 on the boards on the show floors at CES and you've seen so many big changes around beauty tech from personalization.

[00:04:59] And now, of course, everyone's going crazy about AI and generative AI.

[00:05:04] I'm curious, how has your beauty tech vision evolved and how has advanced technologies like Gen.AI, how is that helping transform the industry today?

[00:05:14] Well, it's odd because when I started the team like 15 years ago, I was very driven by the tech industry trends because I would go and it's natural because it was a white page.

[00:05:26] And I was like, okay, at that time, there was a lot of 3D printing happening.

[00:05:30] And I was like, how will 3D printing affect beauty?

[00:05:32] And how can we look?

[00:05:33] And I realized that, in fact, it was the wrong approach for my innovation strategy.

[00:05:40] Actually, it was leading to me creating things for the sake of the fact that there were tech trends out there.

[00:05:45] And I think there are two things.

[00:05:47] There's one where you have a tech trend which leads to people living in a different world and a different way and that will help us interact in new ways with beauty.

[00:05:55] And then there are tech trends that we don't know yet where they will go.

[00:05:59] And riding those trends can be risky because in the fundamental end of the day, what matters for the beauty consumer is tensions that they have around their experiences today with beauty.

[00:06:13] I'll give you an example, like doing hair color at home, mixing the color.

[00:06:18] It's 50 years that it's done the same way.

[00:06:21] You get a pair of gloves, a little plastic timer, you have a bowl, you have to mix like you're a chemist, you have to apply it like as if you can see all the hair on the back.

[00:06:31] The better you are, the better the results will be when it comes to application.

[00:06:34] This has been done the same way for 50 years, but technology like our new color sonic launch, if we could mix it all in a little brush for you and all you have to do is apply it.

[00:06:45] It's not AI.

[00:06:46] It's not Gen AI.

[00:06:47] It's not 3D printing.

[00:06:49] It's not any of that, but it's an electronic device that solves a major consumer tension.

[00:06:54] That has been the approach that I found works better.

[00:06:57] I promise it will answer your question on AI and Gen AI, but I think that I'm saying this just so I can say that I have enough gray hair that now that I see this revolution of Gen AI, I don't sit with my team and say, how will Gen AI, how can we use it for beauty?

[00:07:13] I think what we do say is, how will the evolution of AI in the world today in the way people interact with shopping and products and advice, how will that enable us to solve some of the tensions?

[00:07:26] And that has allowed us to create new services like our beauty genius, which is fundamentally, could we use a very high quality AI database, Gen AI driven database to be able to give people basic answers to questions that today they can't get the answer to?

[00:07:43] What is the right skincare for me based on my environment?

[00:07:46] What should I be using in terms of my SPF and my products?

[00:07:50] And this kind of thing ended up being a tension that we could solve thanks to some of these tech points.

[00:07:55] But today, Gen AI, I think it's still very soon.

[00:07:58] So it's early.

[00:07:59] And I think we're focused very much on this idea of starting with what the tension is and then seeing how we can solve it through tech for consumers.

[00:08:08] And I think we do often forget that AI has been in our lives for a lot longer than we might think because we look at Spotify, Amazon, Netflix, it's all AI and algorithms that get to know us and offer these personalized experiences that we almost take for granted now.

[00:08:24] And I would imagine that personalization is becoming increasingly important in the beauty sector too.

[00:08:30] So how are you, L'Oreal, leveraging technology to offer maybe more bespoke beauty solutions that cater to those individual consumer needs, both online and in store?

[00:08:41] Because I would imagine there's a rise in expectations for that now.

[00:08:43] Huge.

[00:08:44] There's a huge demand for beauty consumers today are very demanding.

[00:08:48] It's incredible for innovators because I came from pharma before beauty.

[00:08:52] It's not the same.

[00:08:53] Like the beauty consumer wants new things all the time.

[00:08:56] They want to have the better and better performance.

[00:08:59] And AI is, like you said, it's been embedded in many things we do today.

[00:09:03] It will also allow us in the future, in my opinion, to be able to guide people.

[00:09:09] So here's the thing.

[00:09:10] I used to think that personalization meant every person would have a product that was written with their name, perfect for them.

[00:09:16] But the reality is that we have, it may be the case, but I think more of the personalization that we find is fundamental needs to have their environment, their data, their culture, their biology, and to then know which product out there to get.

[00:09:33] Like there's a lot of choices and we need to guide people to those choices.

[00:09:37] And this is how tech will enable us.

[00:09:38] For example, I gave you the example of Beauty Genius, but there's others.

[00:09:42] We have a technology called Skin Screen where you can go to a Lancome or a Kiehl's counter and get a 3D image of your face.

[00:09:49] And then from that, it will tell you what are the right products to use.

[00:09:52] We have projects that allow people to be able to virtually try on makeup without actually physically trying, which are based on tech and AI.

[00:10:02] But today when you go to like Douglas Elliman or to a store to be able to try a lipstick, you can't try physically.

[00:10:10] So if you have AR-based, augmented reality-based services, you could see what it actually looks like before you try it.

[00:10:16] That is the personalization that I think people are demanding, which is I'm in front of a lot of choices and I want the one that's for me and I need you to guide me to get to that right choice.

[00:10:25] And this is a big demand and we see today where we started Makeup Genius, the virtual augmented reality app with L'Oreal Paris.

[00:10:34] And now 96% of retailers today have some type of virtual try-on.

[00:10:39] So people are using it both offline and online where they're using these services to guide them to get to the right choice.

[00:10:47] And that's really truly personalization.

[00:10:50] And before you came on the podcast today, I was doing a little research and one of L'Oreal's innovations includes AI tools that allow your consumers to project the effects of skincare products without actually applying them.

[00:11:03] So I'm curious, how do these technologies or how are you finding these technologies enhance consumer trust and engagement with your brand?

[00:11:11] Well, here's the thing.

[00:11:12] The thing that's interesting, I'll speak on behalf of my company because I've been in this company almost 20 years.

[00:11:19] So I'm a scientist originally of a PhD.

[00:11:22] So like when I look at when I came into L'Oreal, I was quite impressed with the fact that we care so much about the tech, the actual, the actives, the science, the chemistry of what we create.

[00:11:31] We want to create products that deliver, that have biological effects, that really work.

[00:11:36] But they take time to work in skincare, for example.

[00:11:39] They can take six weeks.

[00:11:40] They can take 12 weeks.

[00:11:41] So how do you build the trust with a consumer?

[00:11:43] Well, first is through the best clinical studies and the right claims to show people.

[00:11:49] But that's not enough anymore.

[00:11:51] We have to go beyond that.

[00:11:53] We have to be able to predict and to explain to people what the products could do to your skin based on your background, based on your environment, based on your habits.

[00:12:03] And so what we do is now we're creating these services where we can show people what the effect would actually look like if you had a minus 22% for wrinkles or minus 15% on my face using AR and built with an AI database.

[00:12:18] I could use my smartphone and just see what my face, how it would be adjusted.

[00:12:23] And it would be based on real science.

[00:12:25] It would be based on the actual claims that we run the studies on, but for me.

[00:12:29] And I think this is the first step.

[00:12:31] And then there's a second step, which is can we predict, you know, based on a lot of complex data out there, how products will work on your individual skin?

[00:12:39] Can we help people understand that based on your biology, like just getting an understanding of your proteomics or genomics, what could be the best products suited and what will it look like and project for me are all ways that we can build trust, but also ensure that our consumers know that they're getting the product that is the best delivery, which is what we aim and strive to do.

[00:13:06] Love that. And something else I think we should shout about here from our research I was looking at is that you've introduced at home beauty devices, including solutions for people with limited mobility.

[00:13:18] So how do you see these innovations shaping the future of accessibility and inclusivity in beauty?

[00:13:24] Because again, these are things we don't talk about enough.

[00:13:27] Yeah, I agree with you.

[00:13:28] I think inclusivity is something that I put as one of the core areas where technology can have a good impact in beauty.

[00:13:39] But inclusivity is a very vague term because it can mean skin tone, which is what we've been discussing, I think, for many years has been the right shades of foundation, the right tone.

[00:13:48] But that's not only inclusivity today.

[00:13:51] We now see gender neutral, gender fluidity, all the things that are happening around gender.

[00:13:55] We see also accessibility.

[00:13:58] Today, one in 10 people in the world have a limited hand or arm limitation or challenge based on something like stroke, rheumatoid arthritis.

[00:14:07] It can be Parkinson's.

[00:14:08] It can be they cannot even experience beauty on their own.

[00:14:12] And I think that one in 10 is not a niche because a lot of times when I explain this to people in my life that are outside of my world, even sometimes inside, they will say, oh, it's good.

[00:14:21] It's a great impact.

[00:14:22] In fact, it's niche, but it's not niche if it's one in 10.

[00:14:24] It means it's near a billion people around the world today that are unable to do basic tasks with their hand and their arm.

[00:14:30] And believe it or not, many times just one swipe of a lipstick or one gesture in beauty can bring self-confidence to people and to bring them out in the world in a way that they want to go out.

[00:14:44] Some people don't wear any, but many times we find that this is a self-confidence booster for people.

[00:14:49] And if they can't use our products, it's a shame.

[00:14:51] It's not we're not being inclusive.

[00:14:53] So by creating this HAPTA project, which was a collaboration we do with Barrilee.

[00:14:58] It's an alphabet company.

[00:14:59] They built a spoon for people that have hand and arm limitations.

[00:15:03] Incredible technology.

[00:15:04] It's like a robotic system that's based on AI sensing.

[00:15:08] So basically what it will do is it will learn how your arm or hand has the shape, a tremor or a angular movement, and it will adjust automatically and just go towards your mouth.

[00:15:19] And I thought when we met them, well, lipstick is on your mouth.

[00:15:24] So we should create a beautiful applicator of lipstick.

[00:15:27] And their community was asking for two things in addition to eating, painting and makeup.

[00:15:33] So it was their community themselves that also were asking for that.

[00:15:37] So we created the project.

[00:15:38] And I thought I got very inspired by that.

[00:15:41] I thought we should do more.

[00:15:42] We should do things for people with visual impairment more.

[00:15:45] I mean, there is technology out there, but it's not enough.

[00:15:49] We need to do more and we need to have more scalability in this area.

[00:15:54] And so we're thinking in my team of many things today to address this community.

[00:15:58] But the first step of HAPTA, which launched at the Paralympics in Paris this year, we're very, very honored to work on that.

[00:16:05] Absolutely love that.

[00:16:06] I applaud you for everything that you're doing there.

[00:16:08] We hear a lot of negative tech stories in the media right now.

[00:16:12] And I always say every day on this tech podcast, technology works best when it brings people together.

[00:16:17] And you're doing just that.

[00:16:18] And as we continue on this path of ultra-personalized beauty, though, I'm conscious we might make it sound incredibly easy.

[00:16:26] So I'm curious, what challenges have you faced in merging technology with those traditional beauty practices?

[00:16:32] And how have you overcome them to maintain that consumer confidence, which has got to be paramount to you?

[00:16:39] I could have a five-hour podcast with you talking about how it's not easy.

[00:16:44] I mean, I have a lot of people, especially as I'm in Europe and I'm a very California-driven optimist.

[00:16:50] I, it's true, the way I speak is as if everything is so easy.

[00:16:54] But I wake up every day to many, many, many problems that we have to solve.

[00:16:59] I'll tell you a few that might hopefully resonate with others.

[00:17:03] First, just in general, when you're creating a new space, I mean, the beauty industry, L'Oreal's 115 years old.

[00:17:09] The beauty industry is as old as humanity.

[00:17:11] I mean, it was used in the time of like Egyptian times where people would use it to show what tribe they were a part of.

[00:17:18] And it was always driven by chemistry, always.

[00:17:21] So it's been driven by raw materials and formulas and actives and skincare creams and hair care creams.

[00:17:28] So now that technology is coming, it's a whole new business model.

[00:17:33] It's a whole new innovation way of working.

[00:17:36] And it's, we have day-to-day challenges which are very, very real that we have to overcome.

[00:17:43] I think the way to overcome them is to make sure that we inspire our brands and our organizations within the large company to want to work on these projects and believe in them because of what I mentioned before,

[00:17:56] which is that we have a different consumer demand today that the topical, the chemistry will not be the only way to solve.

[00:18:02] But there is a challenge on that.

[00:18:04] There's a second challenge, which is making sure everything we do works for everyone.

[00:18:08] For example, we have diagnostic tools.

[00:18:10] We have to make sure that our algorithms are trained on people with very light to very dark skin.

[00:18:14] This is an investment.

[00:18:16] It's like data sets become exponentially more expensive when you start to add different skin tones and different cultures and different...

[00:18:24] But for example, on our diagnostic tools like skin screen and our Modiphase technology, they've been tested in over 15 countries from people with very light to very dark skin.

[00:18:35] And that has been a challenge we've had to overcome because we also have to have the investment and also the speed because the people want this kind of innovation quickly.

[00:18:43] So there's that.

[00:18:44] There's that as well.

[00:18:46] And I think the biggest challenge I've had to overcome is making the right choices of projects to do because there's so much that technology can touch.

[00:18:55] And this goes to what you commented before, which is what are our values?

[00:18:59] What are the big tensions that we want to solve?

[00:19:01] Do those big tensions need tech?

[00:19:04] Because a lot of times they don't.

[00:19:05] So we have to...

[00:19:07] And this is where it's like, it's a very easy thing to say and hard thing to do.

[00:19:11] But we overcome that by working well with people and testing well with people within our organization and outside to really understand if we're choosing the right to go on.

[00:19:22] But those are three, but I could give another 50 if you ever want it.

[00:19:27] I love that.

[00:19:28] I love how you're concentrating on problem first, technology second.

[00:19:32] And I think all too often, especially right now with the AI situation, many companies out there are going tech first and then looking for a problem to solve.

[00:19:41] L'Oreal, you are known for your commitment to responsible and inclusive innovation.

[00:19:45] We've talked about that today as well.

[00:19:48] I think that came across.

[00:19:49] How do you ensure that the beauty technologies that you develop reflect the evolving society values?

[00:19:56] And how important is sustainability in these advancements too?

[00:20:00] Well, sustainability is one of the most important things that we started.

[00:20:04] I think our 2030 commitments and our sustainability program decades ago.

[00:20:09] They're very, very ambitious programs around carbon emissions and reduction.

[00:20:14] I'll give reductions in water usage and all the kinds of things that go.

[00:20:18] So we take that very seriously.

[00:20:20] Our packaging innovations, all of these areas are outside of my world.

[00:20:23] But to answer your question, I think first, there are two ways we look at sustainability and these kinds of societal important values today when it comes to tech.

[00:20:33] The first is to make sure that the tech that we're creating has a good footprint.

[00:20:39] Meaning that even when you create digital, you're creating some type of storage and that also has a carbon footprint.

[00:20:46] So we have to analyze life cycle and analyze what we're doing and make sure that we're meeting the sustainability requirements that we have within the group.

[00:20:56] So there's this kind of eco-design aspect.

[00:20:58] I'll give you an example.

[00:20:58] Like our color sonic tool, which is the one that colors the hair, the cartridge inside that mixes the hair dye is made out of a paper pulp type of material,

[00:21:08] which is very difficult to do because you have hair color is very oxidative and so you have to have the right packaging.

[00:21:15] But because of that, we have a 60% less use of plastic when people use that.

[00:21:20] If we didn't do that, it would be more plastic used.

[00:21:24] So we had to make a decision.

[00:21:26] And we were like, why?

[00:21:27] We can't have the tech having more usage of us.

[00:21:31] So we had to make this.

[00:21:32] We spent a year to make that.

[00:21:33] So there's this eco-design part.

[00:21:35] But then there's a part where could tech actually have an impact on the environment and the beauty benefit?

[00:21:40] And we have two, three projects around that.

[00:21:43] The first is we actually have a – we just acquired a company called Joza, which is a Switzerland-based company building water showerheads that reduce the water by 69%, but don't change the flow of the water.

[00:21:58] And the way they do it is they change the droplet size.

[00:22:01] They make the droplets smaller so it's more efficient, but you don't feel like what you do if you go to a low-flow showerhead, which would none of us like, where you can't rinse your hair.

[00:22:10] It's not a good experience.

[00:22:11] It feels as hard, but 69% less water.

[00:22:15] And it will help us in our salons because today in the salons we're using a lot of water, a lot of electricity to heat.

[00:22:20] So we decided to acquire this company.

[00:22:23] It's a very odd acquisition.

[00:22:25] Why would L'Oreal buy a water tech company?

[00:22:27] Because water is an important part of what's used in our product experience.

[00:22:32] So we want to have a good impact on the environment with that.

[00:22:35] And then we have tools like the hairdryer that we just launched, Air Light Pro, which dries your hair but uses light.

[00:22:41] And by using light, it heats the air more efficiently.

[00:22:44] So you have 30% less electricity used.

[00:22:48] And the second most consuming electronic in your house that's handheld today is the hairdryer.

[00:22:53] It's three times more than a microwave oven.

[00:22:55] So the amount of carbon emissions we could help, but also give people a great hair result because the light is helping you dry the hair faster,

[00:23:04] are all examples of where sustainability can be a goal and something you have to analyze and eco-design,

[00:23:11] but it can also be a way to innovate.

[00:23:14] Wow.

[00:23:15] I've learned something there as well, especially that the hairdryer is three times more energy consuming than a microwave.

[00:23:21] I'm going to be dropping that on my wife later, let me tell you.

[00:23:24] Yes, exactly.

[00:23:26] Exactly.

[00:23:27] But of course, in stores, consumers can now analyze their skin in high precision and get personalized skincare management programs.

[00:23:35] Incredibly cool what you're doing there too.

[00:23:37] And again, how do you envision the role of these in-store technologies continuing to evolve in the future?

[00:23:45] It feels like an incredibly exciting time.

[00:23:46] Yeah, it's really exciting.

[00:23:48] I think we have, like we discuss a lot about the demands of consumers at home to have more and more hyper-personization.

[00:23:53] But that also is true in the stores.

[00:23:56] Like they go to the stores right now and we need to equip the professionals in the stores,

[00:24:00] whether it's a hairstylist, whether it's a beauty advisor, whether it's a dermatologist,

[00:24:04] with technologies that can in a way complement what they break.

[00:24:08] So when I go today, for example, to a beauty advisor at the counter,

[00:24:12] the beauty advisor will tell me what kind of skin type I have, what kind of...

[00:24:15] We don't need technology to overcome that.

[00:24:17] But if I can give them a 3D imaging system, which after can show what's beneath my skin,

[00:24:23] can show hyperpigmentation, can show redness,

[00:24:26] I can also in a way equip the beauty advisor to give even better recommendations to the consumer.

[00:24:33] And that's where the skin diagnosis comes in.

[00:24:35] It's to complement and to enhance their ability to give even more precise advice to the shopper.

[00:24:43] And it's the case also when it comes to our hairstylists today.

[00:24:47] We're building tools like Case.

[00:24:49] It's a product called Case Scan that we have with Kerasas that allows you to see the hair breakage

[00:24:55] that you would only be able to see with a microscope,

[00:24:58] where you could show the consumer the kinds of damage that they have on their hair

[00:25:02] and then help them have the right routine of hair care and post-treatment and all of that

[00:25:09] when it comes to their shampoo, where they can have a more effective way to do that.

[00:25:14] And this is something that you need the tool and you also need the person in the retail that

[00:25:18] can help you analyze that information because it's a physical object with lots of information,

[00:25:24] but it will require also a knowledge of skin and hair that we'll do.

[00:25:29] So we're working on all kinds of retail innovation now, skin diagnostics,

[00:25:33] makeup, shade finders that can get you the right shade,

[00:25:36] all of these that will help the retail give people better products.

[00:25:42] And we're recording this podcast today in October.

[00:25:46] 2025 is just a matter of weeks away, equally as CES 2025, all those TVs and big cars, etc.

[00:25:55] So looking ahead, what are the most exciting technological advancements on the horizon

[00:26:00] for the beauty industry, do you think?

[00:26:02] And how are you at L'Oreal going to continue to lead in driving innovation?

[00:26:06] While maintaining that human-centric approach that your consumers love?

[00:26:10] Yeah, that's a good question.

[00:26:11] I mean, you're right that CES is right around the corner.

[00:26:14] We started our journey in beauty tech at communication level on the stage at CES,

[00:26:19] where we showed.

[00:26:21] And we've been there 10 years.

[00:26:23] And last year, we had the honor.

[00:26:24] It was the first time in over 60 years, Evan, in the beginning from CES, that the opening keynote

[00:26:30] was our CEO, Nicholas Hieronymus, who was the first time a beauty company was the opening

[00:26:34] keynote at CES.

[00:26:36] And we were super honored.

[00:26:37] And it was a great moment for us to showcase how beauty and tech come together.

[00:26:42] But to answer your question, because of that, every year we do go to CES to unveil our products.

[00:26:46] But we also go to see what's happening, what's happening in the world.

[00:26:49] And we are proud to now be part of the tribe of that.

[00:26:53] And I think to answer your question, I am very hot right now.

[00:26:58] Of course, I wake up every day with many ideas.

[00:27:00] But right now, I'm very hot with this idea that biology, accessible biology and tech,

[00:27:05] is going to allow us a whole new way to give people recommendations and beauty.

[00:27:09] For example, do you know today whether or not a certain molecule or active in a skincare

[00:27:16] works on your skin?

[00:27:18] You do with clinical studies for general population.

[00:27:22] But if I could tell you you had a certain biomarker that works well with a certain product,

[00:27:28] it would be an enormous benefit for you.

[00:27:30] And today, tech and biology is allowing that.

[00:27:33] And we see a lot of this boom in the health tech when you go to these conferences at like CES.

[00:27:37] And they're driven by AI as well, because computational power has become much easier

[00:27:43] to be able to analyze biology.

[00:27:45] I also think about this idea that one day our fingers will no longer be the barrier to us

[00:27:50] achieving any dream result we want.

[00:27:52] Today, as I've been in beauty for 20 years, I know all the beauty routines.

[00:27:56] So for example, if you're trying to shape a brow, if you're someone trying to shape your

[00:28:00] brow, you have to draw lines like hundreds of lines and do that with enormous precision

[00:28:04] where you and steady fingers, which I don't have.

[00:28:08] If you if you had technology that allowed using AI and microelectronics to just automatically

[00:28:14] shape your brow like what we saw in Fifth Element in 20 years ago, that could be a game changer.

[00:28:19] And you could treat individual wrinkles and you could you could achieve any beauty makeup result

[00:28:25] you wanted without being an artist at home.

[00:28:27] These things are more achievable thanks to the kind of connection that we see now with AI plus

[00:28:34] hardware and this that creates these magical kind of devices and experiences that we can have.

[00:28:41] So I have that.

[00:28:42] And then, of course, I think things like second skin electronics and all of that.

[00:28:47] One day maybe we can have electronic makeup.

[00:28:49] But this is where I try to be careful with a little bit my my excitement on tech trends,

[00:28:53] because maybe it's it's too much tech driven.

[00:28:56] I don't know.

[00:28:56] Oh, absolutely.

[00:28:58] Love it.

[00:28:58] And great restraint now.

[00:29:00] I love how passionate and excited you are about your work.

[00:29:02] And I am conscious that we've been incredibly forward looking today, looking at the future

[00:29:07] of beauty tech and where that will go.

[00:29:10] But you did drop a few hints around your origin story there.

[00:29:13] Science, PhD, pharma and into the world where you are now.

[00:29:18] But of course, none of us are able to achieve success without a little help along the way.

[00:29:22] And very often there's a particular person or people that see something in us, invest a little

[00:29:27] time in us and help us get us where we are today.

[00:29:29] We don't appreciate it until we look back and see that.

[00:29:32] So is there a person that you're grateful towards and hope you get you where you are that

[00:29:36] we could give a little thank you and a little shout out today?

[00:29:39] Who would that be and why?

[00:29:39] Oh, that's nice.

[00:29:41] Well, I've been blessed in my career.

[00:29:43] I mean, honestly, I've had in L'Oreal so many wonderful people that have...

[00:29:47] It's a very unique company.

[00:29:49] There's so many really unique talents and mentors that I've had along the way.

[00:29:54] I mean, I started in this company when I was in my early 20s.

[00:29:58] And now in my mid-40s, I've really had so many mentors.

[00:30:02] And my current manager, who's my current boss, who's a deputy CEO, Barbara, and our CEO, Nicola,

[00:30:07] have been incredible mentors to me.

[00:30:10] But if I could think of the one person that I do recently, as I'm getting a little bit older

[00:30:15] these days, think about a lot is my dad.

[00:30:18] Because my dad's a professor at Berkeley in California.

[00:30:22] And what I learned from him, which has become, I think, very important in my journeys,

[00:30:28] first to always learn, always in what I do to constantly try to evolve and learn more,

[00:30:35] to gain knowledge more.

[00:30:37] Also, as he's a professor, was always to make sure the science of what I do is real and strong

[00:30:44] and that I understand it.

[00:30:45] And to never forget that what we have to create has to be accurate and has to be well done.

[00:30:50] And also to be humble, humble in my approach.

[00:30:54] Because that can be, to be honest, for me, that hasn't been a challenge because I've had

[00:30:58] so many issues when it comes to, I've had to like solve many problems in my career.

[00:31:02] But it's important because even when you have successes, you have to remember that these are

[00:31:07] a function of hard work of our teams and people around that have done so.

[00:31:11] And these kinds of values that I saw that in how he worked have always stayed with me.

[00:31:16] He still reminds me of them even in his retirement today.

[00:31:20] So I think without him, I probably would not be.

[00:31:23] I hope he gets to hear this conversation today.

[00:31:26] I don't think we share this enough, really.

[00:31:29] But we've covered so much today in a short amount of time.

[00:31:32] For anyone listening wanting to find out more information about anything we talked about,

[00:31:36] connect with you or your team online.

[00:31:37] Is there a particular place you'd like to point everyone?

[00:31:40] Yeah, sure.

[00:31:40] They can come into the, of course, on the L'Oreal website.

[00:31:43] They will find the research and innovation link there and see our teams.

[00:31:48] They can also go on LinkedIn.

[00:31:49] On LinkedIn, I'm happy to hear from people.

[00:31:52] And we have ourselves and our team and we have a page as well, a L'Oreal and a beauty tech page there.

[00:31:57] But, you know, we have lots of digital presence.

[00:32:00] I'm very, very happy.

[00:32:02] Thank you for having me.

[00:32:03] And I'm very happy if anyone wants to get in touch if they have new and great ideas.

[00:32:08] Awesome.

[00:32:09] Well, I'll get links added to everything so people can find you nice and easily.

[00:32:12] I mean, you've come such a long way from that concept of beauty tech in 2018 and that vision to revolutionize the beauty experience.

[00:32:20] I love hearing about how you're leveraging technology to offer bespoke beauty solutions and also introducing those at-home beauty devices,

[00:32:28] including solutions for people with limited mobility.

[00:32:32] And I love how everything's evolving and the future of accessibility and inclusivity and beauty and how you see everything evolving.

[00:32:39] You're clearly excited and passionate about this industry.

[00:32:42] It'd be great to get you back on next year.

[00:32:43] We'll talk some more.

[00:32:44] But thank you for sharing the story today.

[00:32:46] Thank you.

[00:32:46] Oh, thank you so much.

[00:32:47] I had a really wonderful time talking to you.

[00:32:49] And I hope your listeners get some good points on it.

[00:32:52] And I'm very happy to come back next year.

[00:32:53] With pleasure.

[00:32:54] Thank you for that.

[00:32:55] I think today's discussion with my guest has really opened a window into the fascinating world where technology meets beauty.

[00:33:04] And we covered groundbreaking developments from AI-driven personalized skincare to sustainability initiatives

[00:33:10] that are helping shape a more inclusive and eco-conscious beauty landscape.

[00:33:15] And as we look forward to a future, I think it's clear that the beauty industry is on the brink of a technological revolution

[00:33:22] that is promising to enhance not just how products are used, but also how they are developed to meet the diverse needs of consumers around the world.

[00:33:32] But what part of today's conversation inspired you the most about the future of beauty tech?

[00:33:40] Please share your thoughts with me.

[00:33:42] Join the conversation on how technology can continue to innovate personal care by emailing me,

[00:33:48] techblogwriteroutlook.com, LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, just at Neil C. Hughes.

[00:33:55] But that's it for today.

[00:33:57] So time for me to go.

[00:33:58] I will be back tomorrow with another guest.

[00:34:00] And you're all cordially invited to join me once again.

[00:34:03] But I'll speak with you then.

[00:34:05] Bye for now.