L'Oréal partners with neuro tech company and YSL Beauté to create a personalised fragrance device

Beauty conglomerate L'Oréal has entered a strategic partnered with neurotechnology company EMOTIV to create a device that will help customer create personalised fragrances.

The new device, a multi-sensor EEG-based headset, was created by EMOTIV in collaboration with L’Oréal’s Technology Incubator and the luxury brand Yves Saint Laurent, whose Beauty category is owned by L'Oréal Group.

It will be used to create a "first-of-its-kind" fragrance consultation experience that connects consumer's neurological responses to determine fragrance preferences. The headset achieves this by using machine learning algorithms that monitors customer's brain activity (also referred to as EEG) as they smell different proprietary families of scent, to be able to precisely sense and monitor behaviour, preferences, stress and attention.

Based on the information the device will calculate and creates a fragrance that is suited to a customer's emotions. The new fragrance experience will launch later this year and through 2023 in Yves Saint Laurent flagship stores worldwide.

L'Oréal Group developed the new experience after it conducted research which found that 77% of consumers wanted their fragrance to bring them emotional benefits, whilst more than half of those aged 12 to 34 said they chose a fragrance based on their mood.

Guive Balooch, Head of L’Oréal’s Technology Incubator commented: “We are constantly developing innovative, personalised experiences for our consumers. The intersection of neurotech, AI, and science is an exciting next step. The science of choosing a fragrance is very complex. This partnership promises innovation for the entire beauty industry as this is truly the first time that consumers will have access to a state-of-the-art, in-store experience that uses neuroscience to provide personalised, precise fragrance advice.”

Stephan Bezy, International General Manager at Yves Saint Laurent Beauté added: "There are thousands of fragrance options, and we know it can be challenging for consumers to navigate the vast number of scents and make a choice that’s right for them. Through this immersive system, we were able to get 95% of people the right fragrance personalised to their needs and desires, which is enormously higher than without this technology. It’s a huge first step in this category. Once we know which scents make people feel happy, energised, or other emotions, we can customise fragrances even more – the potential is boundless.”