Longevity skincare innovation: L'Oréal, Estée Lauder pivot

Global beauty titans Estée Lauder and L’Oréal unveiled landmark products aimed at extending the skin’s healthspan on the same day in January this year. Estée Lauder launched its Platinum 6D Black Diamond Eye Cream, spotlighting 15 years of research in longevity science. Simultaneously, L’Oréal debuted its Cell BioPrint technology at CES (Consumer Electronics Show), a personalized skin analysis device rooted in proteomics, or the study of proteins, able to detect biological aging markers within five minutes. This synchronicity was no coincidence. “Longevity” is rapidly becoming the beauty industry’s most disruptive R&D and marketing frontier — a shift that analysts say signals more than just a branding pivot from anti-aging. It marks the deep integration of biotech, biohacking, and wellness science into the heart of skincare innovation. “Consumers are looking to live well for as long as possible — it’s no longer just about erasing wrinkles, it’s about optimizing the mind and body to remain mobile, mentally sharp, and disease-resistant,” says Zarina Kanji, Managing Director of UK and Europe at WPIC Marketing + Technologies. According to Euromonitor, more than half of global consumers in 2024 defined beauty as “looking healthy,” surpassing traditional standards such as skin tone, contour, and texture. Among high-net-worth individuals, the pursuit of longevity now spans advanced supplements, wearable tech, and precision skincare. From anti-aging to pro-health The beauty industry has long flirted with the language of youth, but longevity introduces a broader, more holistic proposition. It is not simply about masking age, but delaying the biological markers of aging through cellular and metabolic interventions. “Anti-aging has grown more negatively as a meaning over the past few years, mainly due to inclusion trends and acceptance of who you are,” says Lucas Nanini, VP of Innovation at Estée Lauder, previously held senior innovation roles at Coty and P&G. “Longevity reframes the goal — the focus is now on having a body and skin that function younger than your chronological age.” This framing has prompted companies to shift product communication from age-reversal to energy, metabolism, and cellular vitality. Nanini pointed to recent communications that replaced “anti-aging” with “longevity” — without changing the product itself — as a sign of where the category is heading. The science arms race Major beauty players are now aggressively investing in longevity science as a core pillar of innovation. “Longevity must be backed by science — consumers are too savvy to believe claims without evidence,” Kanji says. She pointed to Vitafoods 2025, the world’s largest nutraceuticals expo held in Barcelona, where longevity dominated the conversation. “The most advanced companies are focused on ingredient blends and efficacious formats that deliver measurable results.” Among the most in-demand ingredients is omega-3 fish oil, which now commands a $1 billion market in China, growing at 14% year-on-year, according to WPIC data. Astaxanthin, a powerful antioxidant long used in nutraceuticals, is now appearing in topical skincare, while creatine is gaining traction among women prioritizing muscle retention, cognition, and bone health — especially around menopause. East Asian skepticism While the West embraces GLP-1 drugs like semaglutide (Ozempic and Wegovy) and tirzepatide (Mounjaro) for their metabolic benefits, East Asian markets remain cautious. “Consumers in Japan and South Korea are skeptical about GLP-1s,” says Kanji. “They prefer evidence-backed nutrition and strength training to manage weight.” This divergence underscores a regional evolution from “anti-aging” to “slow aging” — an acceptance of the aging process, paired with strategies to maintain youthful metabolism and appearance through lifestyle and supplementation. Here, the integration of beauty and wellness becomes seamless. “Creatine and protein are no longer the domain of athletes,” Kanji adds. “They’re now tools for beauty longevity.” How to market longevity properties in beauty? Bridging cutting-edge science with consumer understanding remains a challenge. Brands must decode complex biotech into clear, actionable benefits. “Science must be accompanied by digestible data points,” says Kanji. She highlights wearable trackers as a successful model: “Smartwatches and rings give users instant feedback — glucose spikes from meals, for example — making the path to health tangible and empowering.” This logic is now being applied to skin. L’Oréal’s Cell BioPrint device predicts how an individual’s skin will react to ingredients like retinol, enabling users to proactively choose the most compatible products. “We’re moving from passive skincare to proactive intervention,” says Barbara Lavernos, L’Oréal’s Deputy CEO for Research, Innovation, and Technology. L'Oréal, Unilever, Estée Lauder’s quiet build up Though Estée Lauder’s new 6D eye cream makes bold claims about reversing visible aging, its longevity push has deep roots. As early as 2008, the brand began exploring a sirtuin, a so-called “longevity protein,” integrating it into its research and development. In 2023, the company expanded its platform with a Longevity Science Expert Group, support for the Stanford Longevity Research Center, and a new skin longevity institute in Hainan, China. That same year, Estée Lauder showcased its “Sirtuin Reversal Technology” at the World Congress of Dermatology, signaling its ambition to make skin longevity a foundational technology platform, not just a product feature. At the Cosmetic Victories award this year, the research laboratory of CNRS Bordeaux, took home top honor for scientific research for a project with the aim of reducing protein deamination, helping proteins and therefore the skin remain healthy and intact for much longer, as indicated by Nanini, member of the jury this year. “The ability to preserve protein integrity longer could essentially stop visible aging,” Nanini says. Meanwhile, L’Oréal’s venture arm Bold has been aggressively investing in longevity-related biotech. In 2023, it poured $70 million into synthetic biology firm Debut, which launched skincare brand Deinde in 2024 to target skin inflammation and aging. Another investment — Swiss firm Timeline — focuses on converting aging biomarkers into solutions for skin and hair health. Like Estée Lauder and L’Oréal, other major players have joined the longevity race. In April 2024, LVMH’s R&D division partnered with biotech firm Integrated Biosciences to explore anti-aging compounds at the molecular level. In November, Unilever Ventures invested in OneSkin, a biotech brand focused on reversing the skin’s biological age with its OS-01 peptide. Beiersdorf, meanwhile, has been researching epigenetics since 2008 and developed Peptide Glycyrrhetinic Acid 630, now used in the second-generation serum from Eucerin. A glimpse into the future The global beauty industry’s pivot to longevity is not a trend — it is a structural shift. Behind the movement are consumer expectations, scientific credibility, and demographic inevitability. According to a recent report by NielsenIQ, World Data Lab, and Spate, Gen X (born between 1965 and 1980) are poised to drive the next wave of global beauty consumption. Over the decade to 2034, their beauty spending is projected to surge by $150 billion, positioning the cohort as the most influential force shaping the industry’s future. “The quest for optimal wellness and beauty can no longer be separated — everything from gut health to sleep to environment plays a role,” says Kanji. “Yes, there is a vanity element, but what we’re seeing is consumers taking ownership of their biology. And that has huge societal value — less burden on healthcare, more empowered aging.” For beauty brands, the longevity arms race is only beginning. As the science matures and the language evolves, the winners will be those who can deliver measurable results — and make those results visible, trackable, and personalized.

Anti-aging is out and ‘longevity’ is in

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Anti-aging is out and ‘longevity’ is in