The French luxury brand is expanding its beauty audience with a line of skincare and cosmetic products designed to better accommodate male consumers

Birchbox, provider of monthly beauty and personal care subscription boxes, partnered with R29 Unbothered, a media platform aimed at Black Millennial women, to create two specially curated beauty kits for Black female consumers. Using data and insights collected from focus groups and a survey of more than 1,500 Black women, Birchbox and Unbothered created the “It’s Your Crown” hair kit and “Stay Radiant” skin kit. Each box features products from Black-owned or Black-founded brands, along with illustrations from Black, queer illustrator Loveis Wise.

Skincare brand Atolla uses machine learning to create personalized serums based on each individual’s skincare needs. Each month, customers receive a Skin Health Kit in the mail and first answer a series of questions about their skin and lifestyle, then use special test strips to measure the moisture and pH level of different areas of their face. Atolla then creates a custom serum for each user based on their individual needs, using a machine-learning algorithm to track skin changes over time and adjust the formula

Personal care company L’Oreal partnered with microbial genomics company uBiome to research the skin microbiome and inform future development of skincare products that can address the needs of each individual’s unique bacterial ecosystem. L’Oreal’s research has found a connection between the skin microbiome and certain skin conditions, such as rosacea and eczema.

French beauty brand L’Occitane started incorporating braille on its packaging in 1997 to make its products more accessible to visually impaired consumers, and today nearly all of its packaging has braille. Although placing braille lettering on smaller products, such as soaps, proved technically challenging and led to an additive cost of 25%, the brand was willing to absorb these costs so that it could be as inclusive as possible.

German skincare startup Skinmade has in-store kiosks that create skin creams custom-made for each client. The machine analyzes a client’s skin condition, then processes the results using cloud-based machine learning algorithms that determine the formula of the cream. The product is then quickly formulated within and dispensed by the machine.

In response to customer feedback, cosmetics retailer Sephora closed its stores, distribution centers and corporate offices to host an inclusion training workshop for its 16,000 US employees. The workshop coincided with the unveiling of its brand platform and tagline “We Belong To Something Beautiful,” meant to outline Sephora’s commitment to championing diversity and self-expression.

DTC Danish beauty brand Comme Deux uses customer feedback to drive its product development. Using insights generated from email surveys, focus groups, consumer interviews, and Instagram polls, along with data from its monthly beauty box, Comme Deux is able to uncover consumer preferences, such as ideal colors, product textures, price points and more, and develop new products that need their target consumers’ needs.

Beauty-focused trade show Beautycon positions inclusivity at the center of its events via initiatives like GLAAD pronoun training for the Beautycon team, free on-site child care, and signs declaring that all ages, races, genders, sexual orientations and abilities are welcome.

Direct-to-consumer corrective cosmetics brand Stryx was developed specifically for men’s skin, taking stubble and skin texture into account. The dual working coverup stick and tinted moisturiser come in plain black packaging and are designed to be matte and imperceptible when applied. Stryx is leveraging its social media channels to start new conversations and educate male consumers on makeup application and more.

At select Lancôme makeup counters, the cosmetics brand's color experts scan shoppers’ faces with a handheld device in order to determine their exact skin tone. From there, they use an in-store machine to mix a foundation that matches skin colors exactly. The custom foundation is ready in seconds, and the bottles come labeled with shopper’s unique complexion IDs for easy refills.

Kylie Skin, a skincare brand founded by reality star Kylie Jenner, created a campaign featuring models with a range of skin tones, including a model with visible freckles. Rather than mask her freckles with makeup, they were highlighted in the shots, earning praise from consumers on social media.

Beauty brand Neutrogena uses 3D printing to create personalized sheet masks. Using the Neutrogena Skin 360 app and their smartphone camera, users take a series of selfies to create a precise map of their face, dividing it into six distinct zones. The app then analyzes their individual skin concerns, such as dryness and discolorations, and makes recommendations for a combination of ingredients to target these concerns. Using a proprietary 3D-printing process, the ingredients are printed on a custom-fit mask on the exact zones of the face where they will deliver the most benefit.

Clean skincare brand Kinship cast Lexi Brake, a 15-year-old with Dandy-Walker syndrome, in its first campaign. The campaign featured a diverse array of teens, including a mix of social media personalities, as well as real teens like Lexi.