Oriflame, the global cosmetics company, wanted to build an app to support its sales force of skin care consultants in recommending and selling skincare products. The challenge was to make the consultants more comfortable when discussing skin concerns with customers and to give them the confidence to recommend specific products based on the customer’s needs.

In March 2017 the project started with two Design Sprints, where Oriflame domain experts and stakeholders collaborated with designers and developers from Shortcut to create prototypes for the consultation and follow-up flows. We tested the prototypes remotely with users in Russia whose feedback helped in the subsequent design and development phase.

The UI was designed by two Shortcut designers in collaboration with the Oriflame design team. The app was implemented for Android and iOS, with an iOS team consisting of two developers programming in Swift, and an Android team with two developers programming in Java. Advanced face tracking technology was used to capture face images of users and zoom in on areas of interest for the skin care consultation.

In September 2017, the beta version of the app was presented on stage during Oriflame’s 50th-anniversary cruise, where 6 000 of Oriflame’s top sales leaders spent 2 weeks together on luxurious cruise ships in the Mediterranean. The app generated a lot of interest and good reviews from those who tried it. About a month later, Oriflame launched the app in Russia and later continued rolling out to other markets.

Today, the SkinExpert app is available in over 50 markets and has more than 50 000 monthly active users. The app has received excellent reviews from users and has helped Oriflame boost the sales of its skincare products.

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