FACE RECOGNITION

IOMA is the unlikely brainchild of Jean-Michel Karam, the clever chap who pioneered MEMS (Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems) technology for the avionics, optical communications and medical fields. To you and I, that’s the technology that allows your iPhone to rotate its display or that makes your car deploy an airbag when you hit a tree (handy! convenient!). The founder’s foray into the world of skincare might therefore seem a little inconsistent, to say the least.

His career change is less random than it might first appear: IOMA is underpinned by exactly the same technology as his previous endeavours. This time the clever MEMS tech appears in skin analysis devices that can measure up to 20 parameters including water loss, UV damage, bacterial activity, wrinkles, redness and temperature. The printout that follows contains a bespoke prescription filled with specific IOMA-branded unguents (and there are 8,742 potential prescriptions, so rest assured the machine isn't reeling off the same recommendations for everyone).

Readings are saved so that you can track your progress and have your prescription tweaked every time you pop by the IOMA counter for a top-up. IOMA’s own products can be purchased with or without the analysis (it’s free and considerably less traumatising than a visit to a dermatologist) at Harrods in London or Saks in NY and Beverly Hills.

For more information see ioma-paris.com