 Personalization is the future of the beauty industry. Over the past couple years, lots of brands have introduced their own apps and gadgets to help customers navigate their sprawling product portfolios. For decades, if you wanted to find or try makeup or skincare, you'd have to go into a store knowing what you wanted to buy, or at least what issue you wanted to address. You might have even needed to have a particular brand in mind to guide whoever ended up assisting you. And once you've bought whatever that thing is, you have no guarantee it would work, and you might have not been able to return it. Now, you can use augmented reality to try products on at home, or you can figure out what qualities of your face or hair needs the most attention with various connected gadgets. And you can track how much of a difference these products make with a smart mirror. General AR beauty apps exist, like Maytues Makeup Plus, as do more brand-specific ones, like Benefit's website-only brow try-on tool. Obviously, these let you experiment with different looks without spending money. The beauty of connected gadgets, on the other hand, is the personal attention given to your dermatological woes. Gadgets like HiMirror's face-scanning smart mirror, the Schwarzkopf professional salon lab analyzer, and Neutrogena's skin scanner all analyze your body to make suggestions on products. Of course, these brands are most loyal to themselves, so you shouldn't be surprised when they only recommend their own products. For example, Schwarzkopf's hair analyzer uses mirror infrared and light sensors to analyze hair through mirror infrared spectroscopy. Basically, the analyzer looks for the presence of a certain acid in processed hair to determine the state it's in. It told me I needed more moisture in my hair, so it paired with the company's salon lab customizer to create a custom shampoo to address my specific concerns. The machine changes shampoo's active ingredients based on user feedback and that hair analysis. Meanwhile, Neutrogena's skin scanner, which includes a moisture sensor, 12 LEDs, and a 30x magnification lens, also told me my skin needs moisturizing, so it recommended some Neutrogena products to try. Both of these products rely on each company's own algorithms to make recommendations based off their devices' readings. I believe these devices are providing real data, but I also don't think they're telling us anything revolutionary. I know when my skin is dry and when my hair is dry just by looking at it. Schwarzkopf, when asked about this, told me that the hair analyzer is more for hair stylists who might not be familiar with their client's hair history. The idea behind all these products is to help people more directly address their concerns. They don't have to waste their time or money on something that won't actually help with moisture or whatever else they want to fix. If you understand a company's products and you find that they actually do what you want them to do, then you're more likely to stick with them. Personalization builds loyalty and makes these companies money. That's exactly what Ann Lemon says too. She's the senior manager of international IoT and corporate venturing at Schwarzkopf. Convenience makes a big difference as well because we all don't have so much time anymore and we don't want to spend it in front of a shelf and deciding what we need. I appreciate this. I've tried so many different products yet always tend to have my favorite brands. And drugstore brands are especially daunting because there are so many products and you can't try them on without buying them like you can at Sephora. But with that said, a gadget that constantly points out my flaws doesn't make me feel great. Sure, I'm slightly vindicated because I know my skin is dry and that my hair could probably use some extra conditioner, but still, it sucks to hear. Over the years, I've talked to and trusted lots of Sephora employees, bloggers, and friends for recommendations. And we all have different hair and skin issues, so what works for them doesn't always work for me. Maybe at this point, personalized gadgets and recommendations are worth a shot. You look great. I love your eyes. That's not great looking, but okay.