3 Custom Beauty Brands You Need To Try ASAP

Over the last few years, the beauty industry has been booming with a dizzying level of new products landing on shelves weekly. One area of the biz that’s recently seen big growth is customizable beauty. With the completion of a short survey, some brands are helping consumers with formulated-for-them skincare, hair care and makeup. This cuts out shoppers having to wade through never-ending piles and pages of products and provides just-right creams and conditioners in a few easy clicks. Often powered by artificial intelligence (A.I.) in collaboration with top scientists and chemists behind the scenes, these companies are serving up tailor-made treatments on a fuss-free platter (think: a serum that targets your breakouts but also hydrates your dehydrated skin, or a shampoo that helps curb frizzy curls and tones your brassy blonde). In the name of getting your best skin and hair yet, we’re taking a closer look at three custom beauty brands that are worth the hype. —Emily MacCulloch

Prose: Based in Brooklyn, Prose launched in 2017 and quickly became a cult fave for their personalized hair care (FYI shampoo is their best-seller). Last month, news hit that the DTC brand is getting into the skincare space after years of customers asking them to expand their made-to-order formulas to include face care. After two years of research and development, Prose skincare is here, starting with a custom cleanser (starting at $29), serum (starting at $64) and moisturizer (starting at $52). With over 15 million formula combinations on offer, there’s no question that you’re going to receive a product that is unique to your exact skin concerns. Thanks to a lengthy quiz (it’s worth filling out, we promise!), which includes specifics such as environmental elements in your postal code that might be affecting your skin (think: pollution, humidity levels and more) along with info on your lifestyle and diet, your results will be detailed and in-depth. Backed by science, powered by A.I. and developed with dermatologists, each formula tackles multiple skin concerns and contains a handful of carefully selected key ingredients—such as niacinamide and vitamin C—for clinically-proven efficacy. And to really ensure you’re getting a product you’ll want to reach for again and again, in addition to the individualized ingredients and fragrance selections, the cleanser and moisturizer have multiple texture options so you can find the best suited one for your skin. The cherry on top? Each formula is housed in an ultra-chic green glass bottle that will fit in perfectly next to your Diptyque on your vanity.

Lixr: Founded by Canadian entrepreneur and beauty veteran Susanne Langmuir, Lixr is a new take on bespoke beauty. Tapping into her 20 years of experience, Langmuir wanted to start a brand that was built on Farm-to-Table ingredients—or in this case, Farm-To-Face. Since opening Lixr, Langmuir has created a tailor-made tinted serum that’s the perfect marriage between makeup and skincare, in addition to the divine lipsticks and body oils that are also on offer. Infused with ingredients like lavender and calendula that Langmuir grows on her organic farm in Ontario, her formulas lean into the power of aromatherapy and provide a mood-boost with every pour, or swipe. An outlier in the custom beauty space, foundation is an exciting new chapter within the industry, and Lixr’s luxe tinted serum is packed with nourishing skincare benefits to get you glowing from day one. If you’re looking for your very own made-fresh-for-you formula, you can fill out the survey on Lixr’s website (which addresses everything from skin concerns to undertone and coverage preferences) or visit the boutique IRL on Queen St West in Toronto. The base formula for each tinted serum contains skin-loving ingredients such as squalane, calendula and avocado oils, and then a personalized booster will be added into your serum to address your skin concerns. For example, I was advised to add in the Balancing Act Radiance Renewal Booster which contains licorice root, hyaluronic acid and light-reflecting minerals to give my skin more luminosity, brightness and hydration.

Function of Beauty: Founded in 2015 by two MIT engineers and a chemist, Function of Beauty really put made-to-order hair care on the map. And while they’ve since expanded into both the custom body and skincare spaces, their hair products continue to be fan faves, for good reason. Building off a beauty M.O. of doing more with fewer ingredients, each formula contains a selection of targeted, high-performing actives that will deliver results for your individual hair type. It all starts by filling out an online questionnaire that will help to narrow down your mane’s specific needs, determining everything from your hair texture and exact colour to the health of your scalp. The quiz also covers details such as whether you want your products to be silicone-free and which fragrance you prefer. From there, the brand will highlight which key ingredients are best suited for your hair (for me it advised frizz-fighters baobab seed and tamarind extracts along with strengthening betaine) and then at checkout you’ll find a list of recommended products from shower essentials to styling products. In addition to their made-to-order range, Function of Beauty recently launched a lineup of Shampoos, Conditioners and Hair Goal Booster Shots at Shoppers Drug Mart which provide another way to test out their formulas. Simply select the best shampoo and conditioner for your hair type (Straight, Wavy, Curly or Coily) then take your pick from 10 different booster shots—a few popular ones include Volumize, Deep Condition or Soothe Scalp—and add it into your shampoo and conditioner. Next up: a great hair day.