Olay walked me through its connected skin products, and now I’m terrified to age

Olay came to CES to scare conference-goers into taking care of their skin. Well, not exactly, but that’s what happened to me when I tried their “Future You Simulation” app, which already launched in Asia but is coming to the US this year.

I took a selfie on the company’s iPad, entered my age and ethnicity, and then waited as the company aged my photo based on an image database it’s amassed of people ranging in ages up to 80 years old. All humans, regardless of ethnicity, age in certain predictable ways, Olay tells me. Our lips thin out and our faces get rounder, for example, so the app takes those things into account and then considers my current skin conditions and ethnicity.

With all of that data, the future me showed herself. I don’t look horrible in 20 years, when I’ll be nearly 50, but the massive brown spot the app put on my chin confuses me. In fact, all the blotchiness alarms me. The man walking me through the demo told me the app is likely picking up on sun damage and darkening it, which happens as we age. I didn’t love looking at this photo, but I also couldn’t look away. I wanted more.

“Can I see what I’ll look like at 80?” I asked.

“The app doesn’t let us go past 20 years in the future,” my guide said. He hinted that people might not like what they see and might freak out. Now I had to see it! He really wouldn’t let me, though. Instead, he said the company hopes the app inspires people to take action, and yeah, I’m absolutely considering my sunscreen routine now. I also might dig my retinol out of my cabinet.

The rest of Olay’s connected gadgets involve their products more directly. The Bluetooth-enabled FaceNavi Smart Wand qualifies your skin — apparently, I look younger than I am — and then encourages you to use a specific skincare product with the wand to apply it to problem areas. This didn’t impress me much. The company also showed off an upcoming product called the Olay Labs Moments that takes capsules of ingredients and creates an entire face skincare routine. It pairs over Wi-Fi and, of course, it has an app. Olay didn’t have any other concrete details to share, so it’s unclear when it’ll come to market.

Olay’s connected beauty devices work like most of the others we’ve seen from its competitors. It relies on user data to make assessments about their skin and give them product suggestions, which makes sense. They need to sell products, and given that I’m now paranoid about my potential future sun damage, I’m going to think about buying more sunscreen. Their plan worked. Maybe I’ll buy Olay. Maybe I’ll buy Glossier. Either way, Olay has successfully scared me into caring about my skin. Thanks!