These were the biggest beauty innovations that totally changed the game in 2018
In the oft oversaturated world of beauty, it can be hard for a new product to stand out from the crowd, and grabbing our attention is becoming an increasingly difficult feat.
So, when a new beauty product comes along that not only catches our eyes and wins our hearts, but also breaks boundaries as the first of its kind, showcasing new technology never seen before, it deserves some serious recognition.
Here, we round up the very best beauty innovations of 2018 from the trail-blazing technological advances to the breakthrough formulations and ingredients. Welcome to the future...
Apple Watch Series 4, from £399
It comes as little surprise that Apple came out with a breakthrough product - innovation is their entire MO. But the Apple Watch Series 4 has changed the game in terms of wearable fitness, and wearable health. The smartwatch is able to understand movement like no other device, with a new cadence metric which lets you see your steps per minute and a "rolling kilometres" feature, which allows you to see your split for the preceding kilometre. It's also got workout detection, so you don't even have to think about changing the mode or logging in beforehand. On top of that, the watch has your health at its heart, with ongoing heart monitoring (and detection of low or high rates) and a new emergency fall feature (if you fall and are unable to move, your watch will come to your rescue, firstly checking in to see if you're ok, and calling emergency services if you are unresponsive). The hardware is so intelligent, it is capable of providing a medical grade ECG (electrocardiogram) scan, which you could present to your doctor for analysis, allowing early detection of underlying life threatening conditions (although the software is awaiting sign off).
Elequra Bio-Designed Skincare, from £34
There used to be two very distinct schools of thought when it came to skincare - scientific and natural - and the two couldn't really co-exist. Advances in bioengineering has fused the two realms together, using scientific knowledge and chemical processes to manipulate and utilise powerful natural ingredients. Blazing the trail is skincare brand Elequra, which was founded by Nausheen Qureshi, a biochemist from Imperial College London. While her career started in developing medical formulas, she branched out to work on some of the most efficacious natural products on the market to date.
DRx SpectraLite FaceWare Pro, £430, Dr Dennis Gross
Light treatments may not be a new thing, but having a clinic-grade device that can be accessed by all and used at home definitely is. Enter Dr Dennis Gross' new wearable innovation, which is the first at-home device to deliver professional results thanks to 100 red LED lights and 62 blue LED lights in one mask able to reduce wrinkles and treat breakouts within two weeks of use.
Function Of Beauty, from £29
Beauty brands have been playing with the idea of providing a totally bespoke service for a while now, but until recently, tailor-made formulas came at a price and were a luxury reserved for the affluent few. This year saw bespoke beauty able to go mainstream, with brands like Function Of Beauty providing truly tailored haircare solutions at reasonable prices thanks to an algorithm devised by a group of MIT engineers and data scientists. The brand pulls from hundreds of ingredients and packaging options to to produce billions of potential combinations. Pretty impressive.
You've probably heard a lot about how 3D printing is going to change the world, allowing people to print anything and everything. This year, Chanel brought beauty into the future with the first ever 3D printed mascara. The best bit about this launch is that is actually is better than traditionally manufactured mascaras - it's not just a ploy. The 3D printing allows for pin point precision due to its innovative 'lace' processing, meaning the mascara brush contains honeycomb-like micro-cavities that pick up and distribute the perfect amount of product onto the lashes.
Dyson Airwrap Styler, £499Dyson's Supersonic Hair Dryer was a tough act to follow, let's be honest. But yet again, Dyson exceeded expectations to produce something totally unprecedented. The new Airwrap Styler ditches traditional thinking in order to break the boundaries of engineering to manipulate air flow in a profoundly powerful way, able to smooth, wave and curl hair without using extreme heat. Mind. Blown.
