Cosmetics and beauty company L’Oréal has expanded its long-term partnership with IBM to uncover new insights in cosmetic formulation data through generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) technology.
The company hopes to use GenAI to support its plans to use sustainable raw materials for energy and material waste reductions. The use of GenAI aligns with its “L’Oréal for the Future” sustainability programme’s target of sourcing most of its product formulas from bio-sourced materials and the circular economy by 2030.
The cosmetics and beauty company has been working with IBM for a few years, as part of a digital transformation journey to Industry 4.0 where IBM’s Watson internet of things (IoT) platform supports decision-making. The company has used a range of technologies from IBM to deliver IoT, augmented and virtual reality, and AI, which form the basis of the smarter factory at L’Oreal.
In 2018, the company acquired ModiFace, which provides augmented reality and artificial intelligence for the beauty industry. The AI-powered technology has been used to enable Amazon customers to use the front-facing camera on their mobile phone to digitally try different shades of lipstick in a live video of themselves or on a selfie.
This latest application of AI with IBM has the potential to augment L’Oréal’s creativity in finding new cosmetic formulations to transform the beauty industry.
The AI model is being developed using a large number of formulations and component data points to accelerate multiple tasks to be performed by L’Oréal, including the formulation of new products, reformulation of existing cosmetics and optimisation for scale-up production, to support L’Oréal’s 4,000 researchers worldwide in the coming years.
IBM Consulting’s work also involves helping L’Oréal rethink and redesign the formulation discovery process. According to IBM, understanding the behaviour of renewable ingredients in cosmetic formulas will help L’Oréal build out more sustainable product lines with greater inclusivity and personalisation for consumers around the world.
Matthieu Cassier, chief transformation and digital officer for L’Oréal research and innovation, said: “Building on years of unique beauty science expertise and of data structuring, this major alliance with IBM is opening a new, exciting era for our innovation and development process.”
IBM described the work as “augmented research”, where highly specialised expertise in artificial intelligence and cosmetics are used to revolutionise cosmetic formulation.
“It embodies the spirit of AI-augmented research, emphasising sustainability and diversity,” said Guilhaume Leroy-Méline, IBM distinguished engineer in business transformation services at IBM Consulting France.
