Model and writer Kaarina Parker creates a custom skincare regime with Lancôme’s beauty tech

18 September 2023

By Fashion Quarterly

Three women, three skin types and a chance to experience a cutting-edge screening process to discover what lies beneath and what to do about it.

We live in a world in which artificial intelligence and machine learning is everywhere. At times, it can be unnerving, but it can also be used to our advantage. Take your skin, for example. So much of what we know about it is based on how we feel and what we see, but what about beneath the surface?

Lancôme’s skin-analysis tool Skin Screen helps to answer that question by harnessing cutting-edge technology into a revolutionary beauty-counter experience. Using AI, tri-polar light technology and computer vision algorithms, it measures eight key clinical skin parameters, including texture, redness, brown spots, visible and clogged pores, wrinkles and fine lines, firmness, hydration and UV effects, as well as three related to the eye area. Combining scientific authority and technological expertise, it allows you to see a version of your skin you don’t see in the mirror. And it happens just like that. All you need to do is position your chin and forehead in the right place, close your eyes — and you’re done. Minutes after the machine has analysed your images and your questionnaire data to detect and visualise your skin concerns, you’ll be presented with a personalised routine.

This dynamic machine has been a long time in the making. The algorithm has been trained on thousands of diagnostic images from data gathered from 20-plus years of research and innovation by Lancôme’s parent company L’Oréal. Armed with this extensive knowledge, the Lancôme Skin Screen can measure and score your skin accurately. Coupled with precision cosmetics, it gives you a deeper understanding of your needs and an ultra-customised skincare routine you can follow at home to help you reveal your skin’s full potential. We sent three women to try it out.

Kaarina Parker, 30, model & writer

My skin is what you’d call combination. I have patches that are oily and patches that are dry, so there’s basically no consistency across my face. I definitely have some sun damage from when I was younger too, but these days I’m very consistent with my SPF.

The dark circles under my eyes have always been a concern for me — and they’re getting worse as I get older. Even though I don’t have bags under my eyes, the dark circles makes it look as if I do and I struggle to find a good under-eye concealer that’s not too drying. Dehydrated skin is also a concern for me. My skin gets very thirsty and needs twice the amount of moisture and hydration that
it used to.

For me, the Lancôme Skin Screen was confronting, but it was also absolutely fascinating to find out how much is going on under the skin that you can’t see right now — things that will probably manifest in five to 10 years time. I was expecting the process to take much longer, but the actual screening only lasted
a few minutes. I really want to go back in a month’s time to do it again so I can see the difference my recommended skincare has made.

This experience confirmed that my skin is just as thirsty as I thought it was, but I was surprised and slightly worried about the pigmentation that was revealed. I love my freckles and they’re part of my brand, but essentially they’re the result of sun damage, which the Lancôme Skin Screen picked up on. The sun damage was a bit more prominent than I thought. The experience has made me more aware of my pigmentation issues and I want to lean more into brightening products, which isn’t something I’d previously thought about.

A one-size-fits all approach doesn’t work. When you use luxury skincare, you want to know the products you buy are specifically for your skin. Someone with oily skin isn’t going to need the same kind of face cream as me, so I loved that the result was so tailored towards me. It also makes you feel so pampered to be looked after like this.

I’m going to make this my new normal. Most of my recommended products are ones I can replace my current ones with or easily add into my routine. I want to use them all together so I can see the difference they make, plus they’re designed to work best that way. I’m most excited to use the Advanced Génifique Night Repairing Night Cream because it’s going to feel really rich and hydrating. Coming into spring, I know it’ll make my skin really plump and dewy.