What makes a beauty brand truly memorable? In this 40-minute episode, verbal identity strategist Taylor de Diego shares how she helps brands uncover their whitespace and build a voice that’s unmistakably theirs.
Taylor shares her journey from working at L'Oréal and MAC Cosmetics to launching her own company after experiencing firsthand the frustration of finding the right foundation shade.
The conversation explores how AI and computer vision are transforming the beauty industry, the challenges of building accurate shade-matching technology that works across diverse skin tones, and the complex relationship between online and in-store beauty shopping. Taylor discusses the technical hurdles of training AI models with limited diverse data, why personalization in beauty goes far beyond just matching your skin tone, and her vision for using technology to make beauty more accessible and inclusive while maintaining the joy and discovery that makes cosmetics shopping special.

Takeaways:

• AI Shade Matching Requires Diverse, Quality Training Data: Building accurate shade-matching technology is challenging because historical beauty datasets lack diversity in skin tones and undertones. Training AI models requires extensive data collection across different lighting conditions, skin types, and product formulations, with particular attention to ensuring accuracy for deeper skin tones that have been historically underserved by the beauty industry.

• True Personalization Goes Beyond Skin Tone: Effective beauty recommendations require understanding multiple factors including skin type, concerns, preferences, budget, and values like clean beauty or sustainability. Just matching foundation shade isn't enough - the technology must consider finish preferences, coverage needs, ingredient sensitivities, and even shopping behaviors to create truly personalized experiences.

• Online Beauty Shopping Presents Unique Challenges: The biggest barrier to online cosmetics purchasing is confidence in shade matching and product suitability. While technology can help bridge this gap, the sensory experience of testing textures, seeing shimmer, and discovering products in-store remains valuable. The future likely involves hybrid experiences that combine digital convenience with tactile discovery.

• Computer Vision Technology Must Adapt to Real-World Conditions: Developing shade-matching technology that works accurately across different lighting conditions, phone cameras, and environments is extremely complex. Variables like natural versus artificial light, camera quality, and even how users position their phones all impact accuracy, requiring sophisticated algorithms that can normalize and adjust for these factors.

• Building for Inclusion Requires Intentional Design from Day One: Creating technology that works equitably for all skin tones can't be an afterthought. It requires intentionally seeking out diverse perspectives, testing extensively with underrepresented groups, and making conscious decisions about data collection and algorithm training that prioritize accuracy across the full spectrum of skin tones rather than optimizing for the majority.

Timestamps:

00:00 Start
00:29 Welcome to Demystifying Cosmetics
01:15 Meet Taylor de Diego: Founder and CEO of Serenade
01:58 Taylor's Journey from L'Oréal and MAC to Founding Serenade
03:45 The Frustration That Sparked the Business Idea
05:22 How Serenade's AI Technology Works
07:30 The Technical Challenges of Shade Matching Across Skin Tones
09:15 Training AI Models with Limited Diverse Data
11:40 Why Lighting Conditions Complicate Computer Vision
13:25 Beyond Shade Matching: The Full Personalization Picture
15:50 Understanding Skin Type, Concerns, and Preferences
18:10 The Role of Values: Clean Beauty and Sustainability
20:35 Balancing Online Convenience with In-Store Discovery
23:00 Why Texture and Sensory Experience Still Matter
25:20 The Future of Hybrid Beauty Shopping Experiences
27:45 How Retailers and Brands Are Responding to Beauty Tech
30:10 The Challenge of Product Database Management
32:40 Building Technology for Inclusion from Day One
35:15 Seeking Diverse Perspectives in Product Development
37:50 The Importance of Extensive Testing Across Skin Tones
40:20 What Excites Taylor About the Future of Beauty Tech
42:45 Advice for Founders Building in the Beauty-Tech Space
45:10 Conclusion and How to Connect with Serenade