Engineer Climate-Adaptive Textures and Publish Seasonal Use Playbooks
Facets
These facets are broadly related to the theme.
Consequences or outcomesClassified by AI
What happens as a result of the frustrating moment (e.g., lateness, skipped steps, reduced confidence, negative day start).
Current workaround or hackClassified by AI
Any strategies, shortcuts, or temporary fixes the person uses to cope with or avoid the problem.
Immediate trigger or causeClassified by AI
What specifically triggers the frustration or doubt (e.g., lack of time, unclear instructions, broken product, interruptions).
problem_categoryClassified by AI
Maps the incident to one or more of the six research buckets to categorize the type of problem.
trigger_typeClassified by AI
What precipitated the issue (probes: time pressure, texture mismatch, pilling, unclear instructions) — identifies common causes.
Makeup wear / longevityClassified by AI
How long makeup or intended look persists through the morning and into midday if the issue is solved.
Instruction or product change that would remove doubtClassified by AI
Specific changes (clearer directions, formulation tweaks, packaging cues, tutorials) that would eliminate uncertainty about using the product correctly.
Midday skin conditionClassified by AI
How the participant's skin looks and feels by midday (e.g., oily, dry, pilled, fresh) to assess durability of the solution over the morning.
Skin appearance (before vs after)Classified by AI
How the skin's visible look would change (tone, brightness, redness, blemishes, shine) if the AM pain were solved.
Skin feel / texture (before vs after)Classified by AI
Tactile sensations and comfort of the skin (smooth, tight, hydrated, greasy, rough) before and after the solution.
Top AM pain (problem type)Classified by AI
The specific morning skincare/makeup problems participants experience (e.g., oiliness, dryness, sensitivity, makeup transfer) that the brand would need to solve.
Compatibility issues experiencedClassified by AI
Problems that force or influence mixing brands (technical incompatibilities or negative interactions when layering).
Decision drivers for mixing products/brandsClassified by AI
Reasons participants choose different products/brands for different steps (what drives their mixing decisions).
Product role / job in routineClassified by AI
The specific function or step each product/brand is intended to fulfill in the morning routine.
Trust by product stepClassified by AI
Whether participants prefer or trust specific brands for particular steps (e.g., sunscreen vs moisturizer).
Quotes
“It's more so, I would say, like mid to late afternoon, so maybe around two or three. What will happen is if it's in the winter time, it will start to get really dry and I'll see patches that will dry out on my skin. If it's in the summertime, same time of day, then what will happen is my skin will start getting really oily, especially around the t zone area. It's usually based off of the conditions of the weather. If the weather outside is really dry, my cheeks will get dry patches. If it's humid outside, like in the summertime, then I'll get like a oily t zone and I'll have to keep blotting my skin.”
“I would like to have something that can be adjusted based on my skin skin's needs, especially in season or across different seasons. For now, I feel like my skin needs a lot more hydration because of the dryness during the wintertime. And in the summertime, I do need something slightly different because of the humidity.”
“I would wanna customize it by skin concern and season and even daily skin condition. So in the winters, my skin is more dry, so maybe I would customize that to, again, having more of that benefit of, like, sealing in and strengthening my skin barrier. And then skin concern, if I am breaking out or I have acne, then that would be something that I can personalize as well.”
“I live in a relatively humid environment in the summer in the Northeast Of The US, so, I can be influenced by the humidity. If it's a very humid day, I will generally have to have a bigger lag time between when I will put on my moisturizer and then I would put on my makeup because my skin is just wet, and the moisturizer isn't necessarily really absorbing well. In winter, it's less of a problem in lower humidity and, yeah, I would say, late fall through through spring is fine.”
“So if it's hot outside, I don't use as many products because I don't want it to, like, start dripping off my face because I'm sweating. But if it's colder, like, around now, it's, like, when I cake on more products because I don't want, like, the wind to make my skin feel, like, super dry.”
“Not usually, but, I feel like during the summer, if I'm not doing nighttime and morning skincare and also probably during the summer, I might need to go towards a more, like, water based moisturizer, because I get so oily and sweaty living in Texas. But AM is usually is usually good. I've had issues in the past and just kinda had to use a different either skincare or makeup to find what best suits my skin.”
“I do, have concerns about my skin, especially, when it comes to, sunspot. It is something that I've been actively trying to manage. So I've been using my sunscreen more diligently. Even though if I don't go out for a long period of time, I still try to make sure that I use my sunscreen religiously just so that I can, like, prevent more sunspots. I feel like it's very hard to reverse the sunspots once you have it. So this is one of the things that I try to make sure that I do. And depending on the season, I feel like now that we're approaching winter, I do want to, make sure that my skin stays hydrated more. It feels more dry, at this time because we have the heater turned on. So I, will make sure to apply, like, my serum and my moisturizer so that my skin is, like hydrated.”
“The yellow one I showed you is good for all days. Like, that's my safe moisturizer. Like, in other days, it depends on what time of year it is. Like, if it's summer, I can't use a moisturizer that's, like, super, super hydrating. It has to be one that's more, like, gel like and dries more matte. So something like aloe vera gel or, again, the yellow moisturizer. Or during the wintertime, it has to be something that's more moisturizing because of the harsh air outside. So something like CeraVe or also, again, the yellow bottle.”
“Okay. So cleanser, I need to get a new vitamin c serum. So, like, a vitamin c serum, but the one I got last time made me to get, like, a lot of, like, little bumps. So a cleanse so, like, yeah, a vitamin c serum that doesn't cause a lot of a lot of bumps underneath the skin and doesn't oxidize quickly. Like, it should have, like, some sort of the last one I had was, like, some I can't even show you. The last one I had was also recommended by doctor Dre, and it was this vitamin c cleanser. And the thing that's great about it is that it doesn't oxidize, like, almost ever. Like, even if I open it right now, it should still probably be fine. But it's this one. Wait. It's Japanese. It's like the c cleanser. It it has, like, a c on it for, like, vitamin c. You can bring it really close. And, yeah, a vitamin c cleanser to, like, help with any sort of redness. And then probably, like, some sort of exfoliator to keep acne under control, like, prevent acne breakouts and stuff like that. And then a cleanser that sits really well under makeup. And depending on, like, the weather, that moisturizer could either be thicker for winter seasons or more gel like for summer seasons. And even better if it had, like, I'd say, niacinamide and sunscreen if it was inside the moisturizer. That way, wouldn't have to get another sunscreen and put it on top because that's just another product. So yeah. It's, like, very much faster.”
“Definitely, it would have to change for the seasons. The colder weather is just drier skin. Summer weather, I don't want too much. I don't wanna feel heavy and weighed down. I don't feel wanna feel oily, especially with the humidity outside. So, yeah, it would have to change year round.”
“Yeah. I won't mind having a AM system because I feel like your skin changes. Like, in the springtime, your skin feel different. In the wintertime, your your skin feel different. Like, when all the seasons come changes, your skin does feel different. So I think the AM system will be a better option because it can go on based on how my skin is doing the seasons. Like, once it's coming up, I know my face will be feeling more drier. So, yeah, I would like that.”
“I mean, I definitely feel like, you know, at home, your routine feels better because you're in your own bathroom, your own everything. Like, there's times where like like, for example, I just went to, Texas, and surprisingly, it was very humid there. And I kinda underestimated that, so I noticed I was a lot more oily than usual. I wish I would have packed, like, less hydrating moisturizers, like, less thick creams. I was just like an oily mess the whole time, and I would have packed, like, more mattifying primers. So, like, the the thing that sucks about traveling is, like, you can't adjust your your routine as simple as if you were just at home. Like, you're kinda limited to what you have.”
“It's usually not because I'm rushing because I, like, it doesn't take super long to put everything on. But when I do also, like, skip moisturizer, aside from, like, if there's a time where I literally just don't feel like wearing it, it would be be like, if it's summertime, I'm not gonna do I'm not gonna wash my face and then spray toner and then use serum and then moisturizer and then spray toner again because it's really hot outside, and it's gonna just be, like, cakey and falling off my face. Like, right now, it's really cold here, so that's, like, my full routine that I would do. And same thing for humidity. If I feel like it's just gonna feel super stuffy because I live in the South, then there's no point in me doing that routine, and I would just do, like, serum and toner. So that does not give me the same full effect if as if I were to use moisturizer, but it does still help a lot than if I were to just only do, like, toner.”
“Yes. It definitely do. So if I know with extra dryness, especially I don't get wintertime and I get extra dry, like, around my nose area and my forehead, I would definitely use, like, my cream cleanser, like, twice in my skincare routine. And, like, for my brightness, I will definitely use, like, a a brightener explodating. That will definitely help even my skin tone, even hyperpigmented and dark spot, and leave a brightening glow because exploding just help get rid of the skin, and it and it and it helps to rebuild that inner skin surface of your face. So it would definitely help me change the product by using it twice more in the morning, and it will help me arrange what product I need to target those areas more if I feel like they need it more around that season.”