*IDEO SKINCARE

What happens when you bring a skincare brand into a room without products, without logos, and let the story speak first? This is what I set out to explore with the very first Future of Skincare Private Dinner. A quiet gathering imagined not as a launch, but as a meeting. A way to reconnect skincare to what matters: the people who create it, the people who carry it forward, and the energy that flows between them. In July, that vision came to life in Paris, with IDEO Skincare, a brand rooted in neuroscience and longevity, and a table of 16 handpicked guests. This is the story of that evening.

Since the very beginning of Future of Skincare, I’ve imagined how real-life moments could echo what we explore on the platform, quiet stories, deep listening, and a sense of intention in everything we share. I’ve always believed that beauty becomes more powerful when it’s experienced slowly, in conversations, in rituals, in presence.

This summer in Paris, that vision took shape.

A dinner, a founder, 16 guests, and a shared table at Le Brass, a newly opened restaurant in Saint-Germain-des-Prés.

This private dinner from Future of Skincare came together almost naturally.

IDEO Skincare was the first American brand I ever featured on the platform, a story that stood out from the beginning. Developed by Dr. John Blass, a Harvard-trained neurochemist who spent his life researching memory loss and cellular degeneration. His work in mitochondrial science led to a new way of thinking about skin aging, not as something to be masked, but as something that could be re-taught. Reawakened.

From that research came the RMA Complex™, the heart of IDEO’s formulas, capable of reminding skin how to function like it once did. Cellular energy, skin memory, a deeper way of treating time.

Andrew Shemin, IDEO’s founder, came to Paris not to launch, but to meet. To listen. To build something steady. We met again in June over coffee, and he shared that he was exploring a European expansion. I suggested we gather a few people. Not for a press or influencers event, but for a first encounter. And so, this dinner became a way to hold space. For the story, for the science, for what might come next.

16 people sat at the table, from beauty, fashion, wellness, tech, and art. Every guest chosen with care. Not for numbers, not for the gram, but for energy.

There were no products on the table. No marketing presentation. Just a moment shared.

Andrew told his story. He spoke of skin memory. He described the texture of the products, the way they were intentionally designed to feel active. Milky, clinical, and surprisingly effective, with first visible results in as little as five days. He also shared his vision, a thoughtful, selective entrance into the French and European market, guided not by urgency, but by resonance.

You can read his interview published on Future of Skincare here.

At the end of the night, each guest received a full ritual, the Skin Memory Serum and Daily Moisturizer, carefully wrapped in a Japanese-style scarf.

And in the days that followed, the messages began to arrive. One guest shared a photo, a stubborn mark on her face had visibly faded. Others spoke of the conversations, the energy, the rare joy of meeting people with purpose. Of being in a space where something meaningful was happening, even if they couldn’t quite define it.

That’s what this was about.

Not a launch, but a beginning.

There will be more Future of Skincare dinners. Each one different, each one grounded in something true. The right brand, the right moment, the right mix of people.

Thank you, IDEO. Thank you, Andrew.

And to every person who sat at the table that night, you made it what it was.

An event in partnership with Future of Skincare