“We use our senses all the time when selecting products –we hear advertising, see and touch packaging, smell and feel the formulation,” said Mark Whalley, who showed Datamonitor research that confirmed that 1 in 2 consumers consider sensory benefits to be important. “Brands are moving from 1-dimensional to multi-functional,” observed Peck, who gave examples, such as Estee Lauder Idealist. She believes that in the future brands will push back and break through sensory boundaries, thereby manipulating the senses. Examples include going beyond the retail space into new spaces, such as taking personal care into museums, exhibitions, like pop-up shops. Sephora Sensorium {developed with Firminich}is an interactive fragrance exhibition that focuses on educating consumers about scent. Another idea, dubbed “Cosmetic Mixology”, links into the drinks industry and the way products can be sampled. Penhaligons Juniper Sling was launched at the Dorchester hotel in London, where a cocktail based on the fragrance was presented to journalists who were given a fragrance sample to take home. “Stand-alone cocktail bars offer the opportunity to smell unbranded scents based on emotion rather than branding,” stated Peck.
Whalley and Peck came up with new and innovative ideas for personal care in the future, including ways of helping consumers understand how their skin/faces age. “Facial recognition technology is on the brink of going mainstream,” believes Peck. “Consumers will be able to go into kiosks that recognise them and can track changes over time in their facial structure as well as skin and skin tone. 3D beauty is not just about wrinkles, but about the facial structure changing.”
The internet will, of course, have its part to play in bringing new multi-dimensional sensory benefits to the consumers. Rimmel, for example, were the first brand in 2011 to use a new kind of advertising for Sunshimmer. Online users could roll the mouse over different shades which change on the model’s legs, helping them to see what it would look like on their own.