LSN : Daily Signals : Thought-starter: Are haircare brands borrowing from skincare?

These luxury residences double as hotel suites

Singular Residence Hotel, branding by Futura, photography by Rodrigo Chapa

Mexico – The Singular Residence Hotel is a residential project that fuses the concept of a condo and a hotel.

The new development, in Playa del Carmen, comprises 62 condos designed to meet the needs of short-term holiday rentals. Described as ‘your residence and hotel business, all in one’, the model allows investors to buy a property as a holiday home, and rent it out as a luxury hotel suite when not in use.

Hotel management, services and amenities are all overseen by Singular, including room service, a concierge and housekeeping. Units are also offered with a lock-off option, where home-owners can split their apartment in two so that each part can be rented or used separately. In this way, Singular is re-imagining the timeshare as a new revenue stream for investors.

The line between home and hospitality continues to blur. Airbnb recently announced it would be using insights gathered from its short-term rentals to design and build houses. For more, read our Airbnb Brand Innovation Debrief.

Chanel’s newest store is a workshop for experiential beauty

Chanel Atelier Beauté, New York

New York – The luxury house has opened Atelier Beauté Chanel, a permanent space that encourages customers to play rather than shop.

Upon entering, customers are given their own Chanel-branded locker to store away their personal items, freeing them up for a highly tactile in-store experience. They are asked to create an online account in order to like, save and buy products they discover.

The store is divided into three categories, Cleanse, Care and Enhance. Visitors can find a make-up room, which offers mini samples for more hygienic testing, a no-spray perfume bar where scented porcelain testers are labelled with numbers rather than scent names, and a content creation room for Instagram opportunities. Those who wish to learn new skills can also get walk-in appointments with skincare and cosmetics professionals.

Although beauty brands like Glossier have created sensory playgrounds to inspire product discovery in the retail space, until now luxury brands have been slow to target Generation Z shoppers and embrace this shift.

Atomo is hacking the coffee bean

Seattle – The start-up is developing a molecular coffee without coffee beans, reducing harm to the environment.

With coffee consumption growing – resulting in deforestation all over the world – Atomo wanted to create an alternative to traditional coffee that uses naturally derived, sustainable ingredients. The coffee will still include caffeine, but with no acidic or bitter taste. The brand is funding the launch through a Kickstarter campaign, with plans to roll out the coffee commercially by the end of 2019.

‘We believe we have a moral obligation to stop harmful coffee farming practices, but none of us want to stop drinking coffee,’ says Andy Kleitsch, CEO of Atomo. ‘Atomo’s technology can halt the need for further deforestation by reducing the demand for coffee beans.’

In the coming years, problems of biodiversity and crop rotation may not be solved in the fields but in the labs. For more, read our macrotrend Uprooted Diets.

Photography by Nathan Dumlao

Barneys to open an upscale cannabis department

The High End at Barneys New York

Beboe

New York – In March, the luxury retailer is launching a dedicated cannabis department in its Beverly Hills flagship store.

Called The High End, the 300-square-feet shop-in-shop concept will sell upscale cannabis accessories and paraphernalia, such as glass pipes, vape pens and horn lighters, as well as wellness and beauty products containing CBD. Although no cannabis will be dispensed on-site, Barneys is working with upscale cannabis company Beboe to introduce customers to the brand’s products, which can be purchased through a white glove delivery service.

‘Barneys New York has always been at the forefront of shifts in culture and lifestyle, and cannabis is no exception,’ said Barneys CEO and president Daniella Vitale. ‘Many of our customers have made cannabis a part of their lifestyle, and The High End caters for their needs with extraordinary products and service they experience in every facet of Barneys New York.’

Discover how beauty and wellness brands are encouraging a new aesthetic around marijuana consumption in our Listicle.

Stat: Generation Z and Millennials embrace non-traditional care

Just 55% of Generation Z and 67% of Millennials in the US say they have a primary care physician, compared with 84% of Baby Boomers, according to the results of a new Accenture survey. As a result, Millennial and Generation Z consumers in the US are embracing non-traditional care models, such as retail clinics, and virtual and digital health services.

The survey found that 29% of respondents have used some form of virtual care, while 47% have used a walk-in or retail clinic, which are often located in pharmacies and supermarkets. Half (51%) also say they use a wearable or mobile app to manage their lifestyle and healthcare conditions. We explore the evolution of healthcare in our Certified Wellness macrotrend.

Thought-starter: Are haircare brands borrowing from skincare?

Drawing on ingredients and formulations found in skincare, new products and rituals are emerging that are designed to improve scalp and hair health.

The skincare category has been transformed in the past five years, with women in particular embracing additional steps and more complex, science-driven products in their daily regimes. They have become acquainted with skin scrubs, sheet masks and anti-pollution formulas for their face and body, but now – with 47% of consumers in China believing having a healthy scalp is a major reason for healthy hair – they are looking for innovative ways to apply some of these processes and ingredients to their hair and scalp.

In response, brands are designing gentler treatments and minimalist regimes as well as co-opting buzzy skincare active ingredients, such as peptides, stem cells and antioxidants in a bid to promote long-term hair health.

A derma-driven, targeted approach is placing greater emphasis on higher-concentration formulas for the hair. The Ordinary, known for its clinical, affordable and effective skincare, has already applied its technology to a new hair serum that includes scalp-friendly active ingredients designed to directly target the scalp and promote hair density.

Read the microtrend on Skintellectual Haircare here.