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enzymes that break down collagen, causing wrinkles and
sagging. But if you realise that’s happening on a molecular
level, you could use prescription ingredients to quiet your
overactive genes and normalise your skin,” says cosmetic
chemist Ni’Kita Wilson. And she’s not talking about the
skincare ingredients we already know and love. “I’m talking
about pharmaceutical companies developing new topical
drugs to upregulate and downgrade overactive or
underactive genes in your skin,” she adds. And just like that,
the key to truly smooth skin could be written in your DNA.... Sunscreens are poised to get smarter
“We have the technology to activate ingredients with
temperature and light, so it’s an obvious and hopefully
inevitable next step to have sunscreens that are more
protective in UV-intense situations,” says dermo Dr Ellen
Marmur. In her dream world, this will fix a major issue with
sunscreen compliance. “Very often people forget to reapply,
so it would be lifesaving to have ingredients that activate
after an hour or as needed to virtually reapply.”In the next five years...
... Your skincare will have to prove it’s working
Instant glow! Plumper skin! Before we get to 2030, such
claims will be easily fact-checked. Ni’Kita predicts stores will
have the same skin-analysis machines currently found only
in doctors’ offices and labs. “There’s so much you can’t see
with the naked eye. These machines will measure oil and
hydration levels, track wrinkle depth and show pigment
that’s waiting, in deep layers of the skin, to become sun
spots,” she says. Based on all of these measurements, you’ll
get targeted product recommendations (across brands) foryour skin’s unique needs,
down to different products
for specific areas of your
face. You’ll use your new
routine for a few weeks and
go back to get a new reading
to see whether your new
regimen is working. “It will
take away the placebo effect
and subjectivity that’s
wrapped up with skincare,
and the misconception that
the same formulas deliver
for everyone,” says Ni’Kita.
“The one that’s great for my
skin could do absolutely
nothing for you.” And until
these professional-grade
machines become widely
available, brands like
Unilever’s new Skinsei will
recommend products based
on results of self-assessment
surveys you fill out online.In a more
distant
future...
... You’ll lower your
carbon footprint
and get a trendy
shadow on demand
“Imagine if instead of going
to a makeup counter to buy
a palette, you could print
your own at home,” says
makeup artist Robin Black,
who expects we’ll be
printing our own lip glosses
and highlighters in 10 years- or even less. “It’s certainly
possible,” says Phill. “At-
home printing is so
sophisticated now, I could
foresee having personal 3D
makeup printers.”
Creating customised
liquid formulas is easy
enough, but anything
thicker would require
patience. “Materials more
viscous than milk can’t go
through printers, so you’d
need to mix them with
a solvent,” says Phill. “Then
you’d have to leave the
makeup perfectly still and
wait hours for that solvent
to evaporate.” But the
payoff might be worth it.
You pick the colour, texture
and finish you want,
and just like that,
personalised makeup. “It’ll
really eliminate waste by
cutting out shipping and
packaging, and you could
have gorgeous old-school
makeup cases that you
refill instead of throwing
plastic compacts away,”
says Robin. You could
peruse a makeup-trend
story and print the orange-
red lipstick you loved in
seconds. Or you could
design your own palette
and actually be excited to
wear every single shade
inside. “You see so many
highlighter palettes that
have silver, rose-gold and
gold shades in them – it
would be rare to find one
complexion that works
with all of those colours.
And I’m always looking for
a specific shade of ’60s
matte pastel blue; I would
love to print it myself,”
Robin says. “This is my
fantasy of the future of
makeup.”