Need to Know
26 : 01 : 21

Croatia – Tech start-up Ninu Perfume has unveiled a smart perfume dispenser that customises scents via a smartphone app.

Ninu’s technology promises high-quality, customisable fragrances that are created using sustainably sourced ingredients. The sleek cylindrical container holds three cartridges containing foundational categories of scent that, when dispensed in different quantities, can offer the user a personalised, paraben-free perfume.

Controlled through artificial intelligent assistant Pierre, the app will learn what scents are preferred and will be able to suggest new aroma ratios for both male and female users. Ninu’s personalisation system hopes to follow consumers throughout their scent journey. ‘It is a simple and smart patent-pending innovation that enables you to tailor your perfume to match every mood and occasion,’ says the brand.

With technology powering new directions in the fragrance market, emerging innovations are elevating the perfume experience.

Berlin – Reframd is an eyewear start-up that uses technology to create frames that better fit a diverse range of facial profiles.

To create bespoke glasses, consumers can capture their ‘face landmarks’ with their front-facing phone cameras before sending to Reframd to alter the fit of their glasses. The company uses parametric algorithms that run in a 3D programme to capture unique specifications and adapt frames in response to different inputs, such as head width and bridge height. Altered frames are then sent to a production company and manufactured for customers.

Ackeem Ngwenya, founder of Reframd, was inspired to create the company after facing difficulties in his own life when trying to find glasses that fitted his face. 'We need inclusion, representation and participation of diverse groups of people at different levels of product development,' he says.

This shows how the trend for Digital Fit continues to evolve, with new tools emerging to tailor the shopping experience when buying products online.

Generation Z in the UK demonstrate a more open and mature outlook on death, marking a significant difference from older demographics.

According to a survey by Aura – a platform that enables people facing the end of life to leave a legacy for loved ones – Gen Z are four times more likely than Baby Boomers to plan ahead and make bucket lists for their life. Meanwhile, Gen Z were also found to be over four times more likely to speak to their families about death. Social media and online communities seem to be facilitating this mindset shift.

Paul Jameson, founder of Aura, says: ‘Despite its inevitability, death has always been society's elephant in the room. Suppressing thoughts and feelings is damaging for individuals and loved ones, but it looks like Covid is starting to change this.’

As we identify in Death Positivity, end-of-life planning is becoming part of wellness conversations and prompting more progressive attitudes to funerals.