Personalisation is the latest word in shopping habits. Your smartphone, your online shopping basket, your cufflinks; the more bespoke the better. And yet, up until now, skincare and beauty have remained as generic and vast. Even the best-quality and highest-end beauty boutiques stock shelves of the same pre-mixed, pre-boxed product, all of them promising a world of benefits.
Enter GENEU. GENEU offer a revolutionary way of personalising your skincare regime to ensure that your unique anti-ageing serum delivers exactly what your skin needs: a DNA test conducted in their very own, super-futuristic laboratory, with results delivered in just thirty minutes. We at TRULY couldn’t resist the opportunity to try it out for ourselves.
A Visit To GENEU
Upon my arrival at GENEU’s sleek store on New Bond Street, I am whisked downstairs to a plush waiting room and handed a green tea. A consultant is on hand to answer my questions, so I ask her whether GENEU consider themselves a part of the beauty or science industry, and I am told that they are bringing groundbreaking science to the public via the medium of cosmetics. It’s an unusual blending of two industries that have previously been kept worlds apart.
This is a theme that runs through the entire store; the downstairs waiting room is decorated with a striking, brightly coloured mural that, I am told, is in fact made up of microchips corresponding to various parts of the body. This is where science meets art; the microchips have been invented by Chris Toumazou, Regius Professor of Engineering, and Chair in Biomedical Circuit Design at Imperial College; while the artistic design is that of Nick Rhodes, of Duran Duran fame.
The Science of GENEU
Upstairs, in a private, space-age pod, my consultant Maria fills me in on the science behind GENEU. Using a groundbreaking new microchip — that won the award for Best European Invention in 2014 — they measure the exact levels of two key genotypes that define the rate at which your skin ages: collagen breakdown speed, and antioxidant protection levels. This allows for the application of an exact concentration of product, designed to perfectly balance your skin and leave it brighter, younger and fresher.
The test itself is easy and unobtrusive; a swab from the inside of the mouth, done discreetly by yourself while the consultant prepares the equipment. Your DNA, we are assured, is not kept on file or even seen by any human eye; it is extracted, read, and immediately destroyed. It is sleek and well-executed, with revolutionary technology delivered in such a matter-of-fact way that it’s hard to believe not every skincare consultation is conducted like this.
Like all the advisors at GENEU, Maria is a PhD qualified doctor with an impressive background in medicine. GENEU’s technology, she predicts, is set to revolutionise not just the cosmetics industry but also medicine, as the DNA tests carried out at the GENEU lab in just thirty minutes can take up to four weeks in hospitals. Maria believes that this microchip, currently being used to detect the levels of collagen in my skin, is paving the way for the future of medicine. With Tomazou’s technology, blood test results that currently take days will be available in minutes; for many patients and their families, it could be life-changing. But for now, Tomazou and GENEU are starting “small”, with their skincare revolution.
30 minutes after the test, I am presented with my results (on an iPad, naturally). I’m informed that my collagen levels are degenerating faster than most, and that I only have moderate levels of antioxidant. Not great news for me. But all is not lost, because my non-smoking, pale-skinned lifestyle goes a long way to counter this. Maria lets me know that UV exposure is the largest lifestyle component, closely followed by smoking — and these lifestyle choices, she assures me, are factored into the concentration each client receives. Just as art meets science, here common sense meets high-tech skincare.
High-Tech Skincare
The product itself has all the sleek, impressive aesthetic of a premium beauty brand. Pick from one of three case colours and your very own GENEU cartridges are provided, with each cartridge lasting approximately two weeks. There are two separate serums, AOx (antioxidant) and COL (collagen), and both are light and easily absorbed into the skin, applied using a special massage technique detailed in the product’s information pack. The cartridges lock into position within their holder and are small and light enough to travel extremely well; with each cartridge holding 10mL of product, they are even flight-safe. It’s the perfect product for the modern consumer.
In my early twenties, I have to say that anti-ageing treatments haven’t yet been on my radar. But the team at GENEU has informed me that it is never too early to start. I won’t see a reduction in wrinkles, but I will see an improvement in texture, pigmentation, and general brightness. Most importantly, now that I know the exact rate that my skin is degenerating, I will be able to counter nature.
GENEU reports that 12 weeks is the optimum time to see real results in your skin, with some women seeing up to a 30% decrease in wrinkles during that time. After our six week trial, I personally found that my skin was softer, fresher, and felt perfectly moisturised throughout the whole day.
We’re not sure where Tomazou and the team at GENEU will go next, but with their unique blend of scientific skill and slick design, we are sure that they are leading the way into the future.