Can you parse me her makeup?

The summit buzzes with murmured conversations. Holodemos briefly solidify products into vivid demonstrations. The conference crowd tours the booths, while their programmable makeup subtly adjusts optimising for networking opportunities. She spots her colleague near the sampling station. Her bioluminescent patches catch the ambient light in a way making her face impossible to miss. They'd worked together before she jumped to another division. Different paths, same obsessions.

- You’re glowing today!

- Thanks. I updated my foundation with some fresh code snip pets.

- It’s working. You look wonderful.

- You’re too kind.

The moment she slips off her teal jacket, her eyeshadow’s colour recalibrates to match her now mostly monochrome look.

- How long have you been here? Have you spotted anything exciting yet?

- I just arrived and mostly queued. Some samples in my goodie bag weren’t synced.

- You’re not going to let your avatar miss anything new you’re trying on?

- At least not anything worth analysing.

A woman in an iridescent blazer glides past, her makeup responds to the shifting light zones like a living aurora. She notices her highlighter pulsing in gentle waves on her cheeks, biometric feedback responding to elevated heart rate or excitement levels. Her lipstick seems to be releasing something into the air, barely visible micro-particles that make nearby people unconsciously lean closer.

- Look at that! Can you parse me her makeup?

- I’m on it.

Her colleague skims through data cascading in her peripheral vision’s overlay. Chemical signatures, bio-responsive protocols, and programmable components, decoded in real-time.

- Interesting... Her lipstick is loaded with anxiolytic compounds, activated when stress hormones spike. Smart. Eyeshadow has location-memory particles from a few last trips…

She pauses, reading deeper layers.

- Oh, and she's running what looks like a full emotional regulation suite. She programmed social anxiety dampeners into her foundation, confidence boosters, and a de-stressing serum mimicking Sunday morning biochemistry.

- Another cozycore showoff.

- Wow. You know how to kill a mood, don’t you?

- You know I’m not wrong. Anyway, which sessions are you most excited about?

- I’m here mostly for the post-reality beauty standards keynote.

- Yeah, I also worry about those augmented reality overlays. Programmable makeup closed the loop of using filters to get the look you want and then using makeup to make the filtered look real. With overlays it’s no longer up to you how you look in the eyes of others. Everyone controls their own world.

- Since makeup became less about covering imperfections and more about creative expression and storytelling, authenticity paradoxically requires more technology.

- I know, but all personalisation is depersonalisation at scale. The more the system knows you, the more you become a data pattern indistinguishable from others with similar metrics.

- What's wrong with optimisation?

- AI became everyone's beauty consultant exactly because making choices got exhausting. The ability to try unlimited virtual options in seconds brought the fear of missing out to our faces. Biotech turned beauty consumption into a continuous experience. Daily makeup routines involve programming parameters, rules and setting schedules rather than manual application.

- What do you mean?

- I mean we're no longer the ones who decide how we look, we just set parameters and let algorithms optimise our appearance. It's like... agency requires ignorance, right? The more perfectly you can predict outcomes, the less meaningful your choices become. We need uncertainty.

The keynote chime echoes through the convention centre, a harmonic sequence designed to trigger anticipation responses in the audience. Her colleague glances at her system.

- The keynote starts in five minutes.

- Ready to hear how overlays will make programmable makeup obsolete?

She takes the finishing sip of her lemonadore and puts the cup on the collection tray.

- God, I hope not. I just learned coding biotech make-up algorithms.

They join the stream of attendees flowing towards the main auditorium, each person's makeup subtly adjusting for the optimal conference lighting, a synchronised symphony of vanity and technology.

- At least queues never change. The real queues are exhausting but somehow satisfying once you're close to the finish line. No fancy countdown can beat the reassuring thrill of finally seeing the front of the line.

- Only if the keynote lives up to the hype.

- I guess we'll find out soon enough.

Hello Practical Futurists,

Welcome back from the future, where your makeup reads the room before you do and choosing who to be is the hardest decision you will never finish making.

Hit the "Like" button at the top or bottom of this page to help others build a future-ready mindset.

Great leaders don't just think about the future. They experience it.

Like elite athletes who vividly visualise their performance, exceptional leaders build detailed mental pictures of possible futures to inform better decisions today.

Each week, our imagination workouts combine futures thinking and practical sci-fi, helping you build a personal library of future memories. These vivid mental scenarios transform abstract possibilities into clear reference points, sharpening your strategic instincts and enhancing your readiness for the age of AI.

Ready to expand your imagination? Start here:

Now, let's make this future personal.

We'll connect the ideas from the story directly to your life, turning abstract possibilities into practical memories you can use to navigate tomorrow's challenges confidently.

Personal life reflection prompts

1. When AI chooses for you, what do you lose? Think about 3 decisions where the "wrong" choice taught you something valuable.

2. Think back to the day you discovered someone had been analysing your appearance choices through their augmented reality overlay.

- What did you feel when you learned they saw a completely different version of you?

- How did this change the way you thought about "looking good" for others?

- What conversation did you have with them about consent and privacy?

- How did you adjust your own overlay settings after this experience?

3. Which 2 of your daily routines would feel empty if a machine did them perfectly? Why do some inefficient habits still matter to you?

4. Think about the time you taught an elderly family member to use emotion-responsive cosmetics.

- Which features did they embrace immediately instead of resisting them?

- What questions did they ask that made you reconsider your own usage?

- How did you help them understand the difference between enhancement and replacement?

5. Do unlimited options make you happier or more anxious? How does having every possibility available affect your satisfaction with choices?

6. What experiences become meaningless when they're guaranteed to succeed? Why uncertainty might be necessary for satisfaction?

Fantastic work!

You're building an impressive collection of future-focused insights. Now, let's supercharge your thinking by adding powerful professional leadership moments.

How will you guide your team or organisation through the future you've just envisioned? Let's create memorable leadership experiences together.

Professional life reflection prompts

1. When does giving customers exactly what they want stop being good business? How can perfect personalisation limit growth and discovery?

2. What happens to expertise when anyone can access perfect information instantly? In what 2 ways professional knowledge evolves in an AI-augmented world?

3. How do you lead teams that work alongside AI without becoming dependent on it? Think about maintaining human agency in automated workflows.

4. Try to recall the first time you trained your team to work alongside AI systems that could read and respond to their emotional states.

- How did productivity change when technology could detect frustration or engagement?

- What new management approaches did you develop for emotionally transparent workplaces?

- How did you address team members who felt uncomfortable with this level of monitoring?

- What breakthrough innovations emerged when creative blocks became immediately visible and addressable?

5. What professional relationships become stronger when you remove technology? Consider where direct human contact could outperform algorithmic matching.

6. How do you measure success when AI optimises all your traditional metrics? Which 2 indicators of progress remain meaningful when everything is automated?

---

You did amazing! Excellent work!

Today's insights are valuable additions to your growing library of future experiences.

Thank you for expanding your imagination with us. Leaders with bold ideas move our world forward.

Think bright, and see you soon.
Pawel Halicki

---

Add your dose of Practical Futurism to your LinkedIn scroll

Connect with even more future-focused professionals.

Do you want stories like this in your inbox?

Join strategic imagination workouts that inspire change-makers in market-leading organisations, including Visa, Deloitte, Barclays, UEFA, Nielsen, Morgan Stanley, and many more.