Beauty really is more than just skin deep

As IFA 2017 draws to a close it seems like a great time to reflect on what I’ve seen and what I’ve heard from the customers, media and consumers I got the opportunity to meet at the show. This year was a particularly important one for me as we championed the launch of the new Philips Lumea Prestige, something the team has been working on for many years now and have been excited to see the reactions from women as they try it ("not painful at all!").  A great innovation that already excites quite a number of women around the globe, since spending less time on hair removal and having more time to do the other important things in life is what we all want.

What’s interesting is the conversations I’m having around beauty suggest a shift in the old thinking – strong not skinny for instance, and doing what is right for your body seems ever more important for today’s woman.

The last few years within beauty have been particularly interesting as old stereotypes about judging on appearance are fading, replaced instead by the urge to feel good as well as look good, but then at your own terms. That’s something we’re really keen to see come through with the products we offer from Philips Beauty. It’s also something we saw come to the fore within the Global Beauty Index we released earlier this year. The study found that nearly three quarters of women (70 percent) believe beauty is something you define for yourself and almost nine in ten (89 percent) believe there are lots of ways to be beautiful.

Three years ago we initiated the Global Beauty Index in order to help define a moment year on year when we reflect on women’s views on life and how they feel about themselves. With the world moving at lightning speed it’s crucial that we take this time annually to evaluate how globally women approach beauty. This progress is also impacted by the tools women are using to support their lives, predominantly driven by an ever increasing digital lifestyle. Many women are using apps to choose their make-up looks or connecting with bloggers to help decide which skincare solutions to use. Our global research showed that this is set to grow and grow, with nearly half (40 percent) believing a more personalized approach to beauty will evolve in the next five years, and 39 percent stating at believe that there will be further development of apps and websites that allow them to try out products before they buy.

Personalization is an important direction for beauty; as we learn more about our skin and its needs, it’s clear that one-size-fits-all solutions just aren’t going to cut it in the future. ---I’m proud to say that here at Philips Beauty we’re already starting to think about this and the Philips Lumea Prestige has a number of tools which are adapted to each woman’s body. The intense pulsed light (IPL) hair removal device features four tailored attachments developed to suit the differing shapes, curves and skin tones of women, and a new SmartSkin sensor that measures skin tone at the push of a button. It also comes with the Lumea Coaching app to guide users through a treatment plan tailored to their individual needs. Clever stuff that simply makes our lives easier!

So it really is true, beauty is more than just skin deep.