Pod goals: the most advanced skincare serves up capsules inspired by your morning coffee

It's a brave new dawn for your skincare regime 
Emma McCarthy10 February 2020

You can get a cab to your door on demand and a date just by swiping right, it was only a matter of time before our daily dose of skincare was freshly blended each day, just like your morning coffee.

Meet Duolab, an AI-powered at-home facial expert and personal skincare laboratory. Or, to put it another way, a Nespresso machine for moisturiser.

Masterminded by French beauty giant L’Occitane and launching today, the Duolab system is something of a game-changer as far as the next generation of hi-tech, haute-eco and hyper-personalised beauty is concerned.

The device — compact, minimalist and in a trio of aesthetically pleasing shades — works using a pop-out dispenser into which you insert two capsules. The first, a moisturising base (choose between a nourishing melting cream, mattifying light cream or anti-stress night cream), together with a targeted concentrate. There are five of these, designed to brighten, energise, refine, soothe and firm.

Duolab

Once inserted, the machine combines the two pods using contactless technology (which translates as you don’t have to faff about cleaning it) in just 90 seconds. The result? The perfect amount of moisturiser, custom-made for you, delivered at precisely the same temperature as your skin (between 37-42C) for the most effective absorption.

What’s more, everything from the way its packaged to the second it touches your skin is developed with purity in mind — crucially, including the microbiome-friendly formulations which are preservative-free and contain up to twice as many active ingredients as most natural skincare products. The result is what the brand calls a “skin responsive care approach”, based on the idea that our complexions require a constant rotation of ingredients to keep up with our ever-changing lifestyle.

Duolab

“Routine is boring. But when it comes to skincare, it is considered the Holy Grail,” said Laureline Beauvais, Duolab’s marketing director, at the brand’s UK press launch last week. “It’s time to break the routine and listen to what our skin really needs.” But how can you tell what your skin craves that day from the 15 different combinations available? Simple — you don’t need to. Via an app on your phone, AI technology scans skin using photo analysis to identify issues, together with a quick questionnaire covering your concerns and priorities.

Using this profile, the app then generates a programme of capsules for a 28-day cycle, which you can subscribe to have delivered each month.

Of course, life is not always so straightforward. What if a sudden cold snap has left your complexion frozen or flaky? Or a long-haul flight has left you sluggish? You can re-evaluate your profile whenever you want and your subscription will be adjusted automatically. Or, for a faster fix, you can also buy a booster set. In the future, Duolab also hopes to incorporate geo-location so it can intuitively adapt to address factors such as changes in the weather and peaks in pollution.

Duolab

Certainly, much of Duolab’s philosophy is built on being future-proof. Priced at £250 for the device and with subscriptions starting at £60 per month — the equivalent of £1 per capsule for once-daily use — it’s a serious investment in your skincare regime: a fact which the brand has mirrored through commitments to both its customers and the environment.

Each device comes with a 10-year repair guarantee, as well as a chic ceramic pot in which you are encouraged to collect your used capsules and post them straight to the brand’s recycling partner Terracycle for free using one of their prepaid envelopes. There’s also a reward scheme, meaning the more you recycle, the more benefits you’ll receive.

Undoubtedly, it seems that this is just the beginning for this new era of skincare. Last year, hi-tech beauty concept Romy Paris also launched a personal skincare lab of custom-created lotions and serums. Available at Harvey Nichols for £349, the HyLab works in much the same way, blending active ingredients preserved in a capsule with a universal base for an adaptive daily approach. Extra functions include a multi-users mode for shared devices and a self-cleaning mode, along with the My Coach mode on the corresponding app to help you identify your ideal combination.

L’Oreal is also poised to launch the world’s first AI-powered skincare and cosmetics device. Unveiled last month at the CES consumer tech trade show in Las Vegas, the Perso device showcased its ability to deliver personalised on-the-spot skincare via an app. It also came with the promise that, after its launch in 2021, the 3-in-1 device would be developed further to create custom lipstick and foundation too.

A Nespresso for makeup? Make ours a double shot.

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