The future ain’t what it used to be…
—Yogi Berra
I love my smart speaker as much as the next person. Sure, it’s great for giving me the time,
the weather forecast or reminding me to give the dog her medicine; however, the reason I
really love it is because it has fulfilled my childhood dream of lying in bed at 3am, calling
out the names of my favorite songs and having them suddenly, magically play without having
to get out of bed to drop the needle. It even plays obscure tunes and deep cuts! I have a bad
habit of doing this on work nights, but luckily the smart speaker will not let me oversleep.
I do, however, believe that the smart speaker is spying on me, listening to my conversations
and stealthily filing my requests and queries with the CIA. Don’t be naïve; your smart
speaker is spying on you, too. I get a little paranoid and hit the mute button when having
subversive discussions with the dog, but how do I even know the mute button isn’t a fake?
I’m torn between loving the ease-of-use of the device and self-loathing that I willingly let such
a creepy device into my home.
This is just the beginning—there is so much more to come. Our coverage on p. 32 of the
recent HCPA Annual Meeting includes comments from the event’s keynote speaker Nancy
Giordano, a strategic futurist. Her fascinating look into the future of business included
examples of Tupperware with food spoilage sensors and a toothbrush that can make dental
appointments for you. Do I really want to turn that much power over to an oral care implement?
6 Spray February 2020
SPRAY Technology & Marketing
Cynthia Hundley
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Technical Editor
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Vice President, Administration
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National Sales Manager
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Volume 30, No. 2, February 2020
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Commentary
Editorial Director
I don’t, but future generations will.
Giordano showed a brief video of a family ordering an item from the drug store and a
drone delivering it seven minutes later. A little boy dances around the yard in anticipation as
the drone drops the package in the driveway. Giordano asked the rhetorical question, “What
are that kid’s expectations going to be in 10 years?”
Enter Perso, a smart-speaker-like
device from L’Oréal whose prototype
debuted in January. It delivers “personalized
on-the-spot skincare and cosmetic
formulas.” By harnessing the power of
AI or Artificial Intelligence (see p. 32
again for Dennis Koerner’s take on AI),
the level of personalization is optimized
over time as the system gathers more
data on the user’s skin and personal
preferences.
After launching the Perso mobile app, one takes a photo with their smartphone camera.
Using AI technology ModiFace, Perso can analyze their overall skin condition—including
deep wrinkles, fine lines, the appearance of dark spots and pore visibility. Using Breezometer
geo-location data, Perso takes into account local environmental conditions such as weather,
temperature, pollen, UV index and humidity. One then just needs to enter skin care concerns
such as dullness, radiance, pigmentation, pore size and crows’ feet into the app.
All of this data creates a personalized blend of skin care (moisturizer, serum or under-eye
cream), dispensed in a single dose at the top of the device “for easy, clean application.” The
technology adjusts for morning and evening make-up application and even has a mirror.
Future offerings will be able to incorporate make-up color-matching technology (e.g. match
lipstick to foundation).
The 6.5" beauty tech device even looks like a smart speaker. Will it fit onto my bathroom
counter? Is it humidity-resistant? Is it judging me?
No, I don’t need such technology in my life, but indeed future generations will.
To Giordano’s point, if you don’t start looking ahead, you will be left behind.
This issue of SPRAY features many exciting future trends in aerosol products and elsewhere;
we hope you enjoy it.