Pretty Smart

3D-printed sheet masks and makeup, an app that predicts the way your skin will age, and the high-tech hair salon that simulates your best colours and cuts — welcome to the future of beauty.

- Kate Lancaster​​​​​​​

THE TRIED AND TRUE ROUTINE of cleanse, tone and moisturise no longer satisfies a generation obsessed with self-care. We change our products and routines at a faster rate than our skin-cell turnover and invest in an army of serums, lotions, masks and essences in an effort to reach complexion nirvana. But without the dermatological know-how, fashionable ingredients and conflicting information can leave us in the dark about what our skin really requires. Beauty brands are now catering to this need, powering up their products with the latest technology to offer a personalised approach to skincare.

Last year, Neutrogena entered the digital customisation space with the introduction of Skin360, a user-friendly skin-scanning device. Connecting the tool to a smartphone enables the magnifying camera to analyse your skin health, then the app recommends products and ingredients suited to your needs. Now, the company has taken the technology one step further, unveiling its companion product: MaskiD, a 3-D-printed sheet mask. Areej Nassar, marketing manager for Neutrogena’s parent company, Johnson & Johnson, says the tools aim to satisfy consumers’ growing desire to explore the individual aspects of their skin. “Women’s complexions are just as unique as their fingerprints, so they’re looking for personalised products,” she says. “Skin360 and MaskiD provide consumers clinical efficacy that they can use in the comfort of their own home.”