US20140230377A1

US20140230377A1 - System for producing a customizable personal skincare product in a portable dispenser, and related methods

Info

Publication number: US20140230377A1
Application number: US13/768,756
Authority: US
Inventors: Todd J. Cartner; Nick E. Ciavarella; Amanda J. Copeland; David J. Shumaker; Matthew Archer
Original assignee: Go-Jo Industries Inc
Current assignee: Go-Jo Industries Inc
Priority date: 2013-02-15
Filing date: 2013-02-15
Publication date: 2014-08-21

Abstract

A system and method for producing a customizable personal skincare liquid product in a portable dispenser are disclosed herein. The system includes a processor, a memory, a supply of portable dispensers, a supply of a base liquid material, and a supply of additional substances. A user provides selections and instructions to the system. The system mixes the base liquid material with one or more of the additional substances in the portable dispenser to create a customizable personal skincare liquid product according to the user specifications.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates generally to a system and method for producing a customizable personal skincare product stored in a portable dispenser, which is particularly suited for use in connection with a kiosk placed at point of purchase locations. Related methods are also provided, including for gathering market demographic information regarding the user, and for providing user help features.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Personal skincare product dispenser systems, such as soap and sanitizer dispensers, provide a user with an amount of a personal skincare product upon actuation of the dispenser. A “personal skincare” product, as defined herein, means any skin care product and representative examples include soaps, sanitizers, cleansers, disinfectants, moisturizers, suntan lotions, anti-aging lotions, exfoliators, and the like. Such personal skincare products usually take the form of a liquid such as a lotion, a cream, an ointment, or the like. It is desirable to provide a system and a method for producing a customizable personal skincare product stored in a portable dispenser, which are particularly suited for use in connection with a kiosk placed at point of purchase locations. Related methods are also provided for gathering market demographic information regarding the user and providing user help features.

SUMMARY

A system and method for producing a customizable personal skincare product in a portable dispenser are disclosed herein. In one embodiment, the system comprises an enclosure containing at least one processor and memory, a supply of portable dispensers, a supply of a base personal skincare material, and a mechanical drive system controlled by the processor. The user may employ an input to provide selections and instructions to the system. Multiple storage units contain at least one additional substance which may be added to the base personal skincare material within the portable dispenser to create a customizable personal skincare product according to the user specifications. The mechanical drive system operates to position a selected portable dispenser to receive substances from one or more of the multiple storage units. Related methods are also provided.
An exemplary methodology for producing a customizable personal skincare product stored in a portable dispenser includes obtaining from a user of the system one or more properties of a desired customizable personal skincare product. Obtaining a supply of a base personal skincare material within a portable dispenser. Adding one or more additional substances into the portable dispenser, thereby mixing them with the base personal skincare material within the portable dispenser, to produce a final product in accordance with the properties of the desired customizable personal skincare product. Placing a closure on the portable dispenser to hold the customized personal skincare product within the portable dispenser unless and until the user initiates a dispensing action; and outputting the portable dispenser containing the desired customizable personal skincare product from the system.
An exemplary customized personal skincare product includes a portable dispenser, a base personal skincare material. The customized personal skin care product further includes a first substance selected by a user and a second substance selected by a user.
In this way, a simple and economical system for producing a customizable personal skincare product stored in a portable dispenser is provided.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other features and advantages of the present invention will become better understood with regard to the following description and accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is an illustrative schematic diagram view of a system 100 for producing a customizable personal skincare product stored in a portable dispenser;

FIG. 1A illustrates a representative portable container 10 for use in conjunction with the system 100 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 2 illustrates a representative method 200 of using the system 100 of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 3 is a representative embodiment of a system 300 for producing a customizable personal skincare product stored in a portable dispenser.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 illustrates a first exemplary embodiment of a system 100 for producing a customizable personal skincare product stored in a portable dispenser. The system 100 comprises an enclosure 102 containing various components which permit the system 100 to operate. Thus, the enclosure 102 contains one or more processors 104 and memory 106 for performing various functions and other tasks described herein. The functions described herein can be performed as software logic. “Logic,” as used herein, includes but is not limited to hardware, firmware, software and/or combinations of each to perform a function(s) or an action(s), and/or to cause a function or action from another component. For example, based on a desired application or needs, logic may include a software controlled microprocessor, discrete logic such as an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or other programmed logic device. Logic may also be fully embodied as software.
“Software,” as used herein, includes but is not limited to one or more processor readable and/or executable instructions that cause a processor or other electronic device to perform functions, actions, and/or behave in a desired manner. The instructions may be embodied in various forms such as routines, algorithms, modules or programs including separate applications or code from dynamically linked libraries. Software may also be implemented in various forms such as a stand-alone program, a function call, a servlet, an applet, instructions stored in a memory, part of an operating system or other type of executable instructions. It will be appreciated by one of ordinary skill in the art that the form of software is dependent on, for example, requirements of a desired application, the environment it runs on, and/or the desires of a designer/programmer or the like. The logic of the system 100 may most easily be embodied as part of a software package.
The system 100 and related methods described herein can be implemented on a variety of platforms including, for example, networked control systems and stand-alone control systems. Additionally, the logic shown and described herein preferably resides in or on a processor readable medium, such as the memory 106. Examples of different processor readable media include Flash Memory, Read-Only Memory (ROM), Random-Access Memory (RAM), programmable read-only memory (PROM), electrically programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), magnetic disk or tape, optically readable mediums including CD-ROM and DVD-ROM, and others. Still further, the processes and logic described herein can be merged into one large process flow or divided into many sub-process flows. The order in which the process flows herein have been described is not critical and can be rearranged while still accomplishing the same results. Indeed, the process flows described herein may be rearranged, consolidated, and/or re-organized in their implementation as warranted or desired.
The system 100 has an input means 108 which a user may employ to input selections and instructions to the system 100. In various embodiments, the input means 108 may comprise one or more of a touch screen display, a number pad, a keyboard, a voice recognition system, or any other similar computer input means known in the art presently or hereafter. In yet further embodiments, the input means 108 may comprise a wired or wireless data connection 110 between the system 100 and a personal digital assistant being operated by the user, such as a smart phone or tablet device, having its own input means separate from that of the system 100. Representative data connections 110 include an Ethernet wire, Bluetooth, WiFi, Optical, IR and the like. Combinations of two or more different input means 108 may be provided in the same system 100. The system 100 may additionally have a display means 112 in order to provide feedback communication to the user of the system 100. Using the input means 108 and perhaps a separate display means 112 or data connection, a user specifies one or more properties of a desired customizable personal skincare product for the system 100 to produce.
In yet further embodiments, the system 100 may have several redundant input means 108, such as for example two, three or more separate touch screens. Such embodiments are useful to increase the number of users which may enter instructions into the system 100 in a given amount of time, thereby increasing the production efficiency of the system 100. Thus, for example, the system 100 may produce a customized personal skincare product for a first user, while at the same time accept instructions from a second and a third user.
The enclosure 102 additionally contains one or more mechanical drive systems 114 in order to operate mechanical components in the system 100. The mechanical drive systems 114 may comprise various motors, gears, belts, drives, ramps and the like (not shown) housed within the enclosure 102. In one embodiment, the mechanical drive systems 114 operate to move the portable dispensers, one at a time, from a storage supply 115 along a pathway 116 to pass by a bank 118 of storage units 118 a, 118 b, 118 c, . . . . The separate storage units 118 each contain different substances which may be added to a base personal skincare material within the portable dispenser in order to create a customizable personal skincare product according to user specifications, as described further below. In one embodiment, the storage units 118 move to dispense a substance into the portable dispenser. After the personal skincare product is customized by use of the storage units 118, the system 100 continues to move the portable dispenser along the pathway 116. The pathway 116 leads to an outlet opening 120 of the enclosure 102, from which the portable dispenser 10 containing the customized personal skincare product may be expelled from the enclosure 102. A door 122 may ordinarily cover the outlet opening 120, to be opened when a dispensing action is initiated. The enclosure 102 may additionally include one or more windows 124 which permit the user to view the internal operations of the system 100 as it forms the customized personal skincare product in a portable dispenser.
FIG. 1A illustrates a simple portable dispenser 10 which may be used in conjunction with the system 100 of FIG. 1. Thus, the dispenser 10 comprises a hollow body 12 for storing a customized personal skincare product. A snap-fit closure cap 14 holds the product inside the body 12 unless and until a dispensing action is initiated by the user. Such a dispensing action may be, for example, a squeezing of a deformable body 12 member. Other suitable dispensers (not shown) may be more complicated, such as incorporating a pumping mechanism or the like.
The system 100 may further include a printer 126 inside the enclosure 102. The printer 126 may print personal skincare product information either directly on the portable dispenser itself, or onto a separate label which may be affixed to the portable dispenser by, for example, an adhesive. The personal skincare product information may include, for example, a description of the chemical formulation of the customized personal skincare product, instructions or warnings concerning use of the customized personal skincare product, governmental regulatory information, and the like. In some embodiments, such as shown in FIG. 1, the system 100 may itself apply a label to the portable dispensers as they travel the pathway 116 within the system 100. In alternative embodiments, the system 100 may dispense the label to the user separately from the portable dispenser, so that the user may affix the label to the portable dispenser.
The system 100 further has a payment means 128 via which a user may pay for the customized personal skincare product produced by the system 100. The payment means 126 may comprise, for example, an electronic card swipe slot which can read standard credit cards, debit cards, gift cards, and the like. The payment means 126 may alternatively or additionally comprise a cash payment option, as is well known in the art of vending machines, or any other payment means known in the art presently or hereafter. In yet further embodiments, the payment means 126 may comprise a wired or wireless data connection 110 between the system 100 and a personal digital assistant being operated by the user, such as a smart phone or tablet device, having its own payment means separate from that of the system 100. Representative data connections 110 include an Ethernet wire, Bluetooth, WiFi, optical transmitter/reader, an IR reader and the like. Combinations of two or more different payment means 128 may be provided in the same system 100.
In one embodiment, all components of the system 100 that involve direct interaction with the user are placed on a common face of the system enclosure 102. This is illustrated, for example, in FIG. 1 wherein the input means 108, the display means 112, the outlet opening 120, and the payment means 128 are all disposed on the front face 132 of the system 100. Other embodiments, of course, are possible.
FIG. 2 illustrates a representative method 200 of using the system 100. In a first step 202, a user interacts with the input means 108 to define several properties of a desired personal skincare product.
Next, the system 100 obtains 204 a supply of a base personal skincare material within a portable dispenser. In this regard, the system 100 already may have stored within it a supply of the base personal skincare material, as well as a supply 115 of portable dispensers for holding the customized personal skincare product. In one embodiment, the base material is stored within a storage unit 130 in the system 100 separately from the portable dispensers, as shown in FIG. 1. In that event, in step 204, the system 100 injects a portion of the base personal skincare material into an empty portable dispenser as it travels along the pathway 116 between the supply 115 and the additional substance storage units 118. The term “travels along the pathway 116” may be literal or figurative, i.e., the portable dispenser may physically move along a pathway or the pathway may represent steps of adding different material to the portable dispenser. In an alternative embodiment, each of the portable containers is stored within the supply 115 already containing a supply of base personal skincare material. In that alternative event, in step 204, the system 100 simply selects one of the pre-filled portable containers. In a yet further embodiment (not shown), the system 100 may be configured to accept from the user a portable container which is pre-filled with a base personal skincare material. In any event, the portable dispenser is preferably only partially filled with the base personal skincare material before reaching the additional substance storage units 118, such as for example being two-thirds full or one-half full.
The system 100 next adds 206 one or more additional substances into the portable dispenser, mixing them with the base personal skincare material already stored within the portable dispenser, to produce a final personal skincare product in accordance with the user's specifications. Each additional substance is stored within one or more of the storage units 118 for addition 206 into the portable dispenser. One of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate there are many different methods for adding 206 or injecting the additional substances from the storage units 118 into the portable dispenser.
In one representative embodiment of the injection step 206, the storage units 118 each have a conical injection head designed to be inserted into an open top of the portable dispenser. An injection pressure is then applied to the additional substance in the storage unit, such as an air pressure or a mechanical pressure acting on a piston inside the storage unit 118, or a mechanical squeezing pressure acting on the outside of a deformable storage unit 118. The injection pressure forces a controlled amount of the additional substance to move from the storage unit 118 down into the open top of the portable dispenser.
In embodiments where the portable dispensers are stored 115 in the system 100 already containing a supply of base personal skincare material, it may be desirable to seal the otherwise open top of the portable dispensers until just prior to addition 206 of the additional substances. Such sealing may prevent the base material from drying out, going stale, or otherwise degrading during the time it is stored in the system 100. In one representative example, the portable dispenser tops may be sealed with a foil closure (not shown). Then, when a portable dispenser is chosen for customization, the system 100 pierces the foil closure seal so that appropriate additives may be added to the portable container. For example, the storage units 118 may have conical dispensing heads which pierce the foil seal so that the additional substances stored in the storage units 118 may be inserted into the portable dispenser without interference from the foil seal.
In the next step 208, the system 100 places a closure means on the portable dispenser. The closure means functions to hold the customized personal skincare product within the portable dispenser unless and until the user initiates a dispensing action. For example, the closure means may comprise a removable and replaceable cap placed over the open top of the portable dispenser, such as a threaded cap or a snap-fit cap. Other potential closure means include suitable pumping mechanisms. One of ordinary skill in the art will recognize several other structures which will form or supplement a suitable closure means for the portable dispenser. In some embodiments, the closure may be secured to the container and include an injection port to add liquid or other substances to the portable dispenser without removing the closure.
The closure means may additionally include a foaming element (not shown) to mix the customized personal skincare product with air to form a foamy mixture as the product is dispensed from the closure means. Suitable foaming elements include, for example, an air compressor and one or more screens, meshes, porous membranes, or sponges. In yet additional embodiments, the closure means may be hygienic, and it may also be tamper evident.
In some applications, it may be beneficial to perform a mixing step 210 after the closure means is added 208 to the portable dispenser. That is, if the additions of step 206 are not sufficiently forceful to thoroughly mix the base personal skincare material with the additional substances, the system 100 may shake, spin or otherwise agitate the portable dispenser in order to achieve a sufficient mixing action.
The process 200 may additionally include a labeling step 212, in which personal skincare product information is printed either directly on the portable dispenser itself or onto a separate label which may be affixed to the portable dispenser by, for example, an adhesive. The personal skincare product information may include, for example, a description of the chemical formulation of the customized personal skincare product, instructions or warnings concerning use of the customized personal skincare product, governmental regulatory information, and the like.
Next, the portable dispenser is outputted 214 from the system 100 to the user. The output step 214 may be performed in conjunction with a payment step 216, in which the system 100 will require the user to utilize the payment means 128 of the system 100 before the portable dispenser is expelled. In some embodiments, the user is required to pay prior to the customized personal skincare product being produced.
The system 100 and the process 200 may be used in conjunction with various market researching and user help methods. In a representative market researching method, for example, the system 100 may gather market demographic information related to each user which accesses the system 100. The market demographic information may reflect one or more factors describing the user which may play a role in a preferred formulation of the customizable personal skincare product, such as for example age, sex, race, and the like. The user may enter such demographic information manually via the user input 104, or the system 100 may gather the demographic information automatically via a camera on the enclosure 102 (not shown) and appropriate software. The system 100 may then send the market demographic information, along with the formulation of the user's customized personal skincare product, to a central server through a wired or wireless data communication link. A provider may then access that information in order to improve upon the various formulations made available to all users in future implementations or modifications to the system 100.
In a first representative user help method, the system 100 may use the gathered market demographic information to provide suggestions to the user regarding what that user might like in a customized personal skincare product. The system 100 can further provide additional information to the user, for example, how many other people have selected the particular personal skincare product formulation chosen by the user.
In a second representative user help method, the user may use the input means 108 of the system 100 in order to enter a user name and/or password which corresponds to a user account. The system 100 may then access an internal memory storage, or an external memory storage through a wired or wireless communication link as known in the art, to obtain account information associated with the user. In a convenient embodiment, the external memory storage is part of a personal digital assistant being operated by the user, such as a smart phone or tablet device, which is connected to the system 100 via a wired or wireless data connection 110. The user's account information may provide preferred recipes for a customized personal skincare product, and other information.
In a particularly preferred embodiment, the customizable personal skincare product could be for example a liquid sanitizer. In that event, the base material is a liquid sanitizer material. One of ordinary skill in the skincare art will know of various chemical formulations for making the base sanitizer material. The user may use the input means 108 to identify various properties of a customized liquid sanitizer product to be produced by the system 100, by adding various additional substances to the base sanitizer material. Sanitizer options to be selected may include for example color options, bead options, flake options, fragrance options, sensation options, viscosity options, and the like.
The color option might specify the color of the liquid sanitizer product, such as for example clear (i.e., no color), white, blue, green, pink, or purple. Based on the selected color, the system 100 adds 206 one or more additional substances to the base sanitizer material to change its color to the desired color. In a similar way, the bead option might specify whether or not to include beads in the liquid sanitizer, and if so, a color or other property of the beads. The flake option might specify whether or not to include flakes or glitter in the liquid sanitizer, and if so, a color or other property of the flakes. The fragrance option might specify a fragrance to be added to the liquid sanitizer, such as fragrance-free (i.e., no added fragrance), lemon, coconut, lilac, cherry, raspberry, blackberry, mint, apple, or blueberry. The sensation option might specify a sensation for the liquid sanitizer, such as a warm sensation or a cool sensation. The viscosity option might specify a desired viscosity of the liquid sanitizer, such as on a scale of 1 (very thin) to 5 (very thick). In general, the system 100 mixes 206 or 210 appropriate additional substances from the storage units 118 with the base sanitizer material in a portable dispenser in order to create an end sanitizer product which is customized to the user's specifications.
In some exemplary embodiments, the user may select the following additives and amounts of additives to the base product, such as for example a sanitizer base product like Purell®. A colorant additive, from between about 0 to 0.01% (w/w) weight-in-weight. A skin conditioner additive, such as, for example, glycerin from between about 0 to 5% (w/w). A pearlizing agent from between about 0 to 5% (w/w). Suspended visual agents, such as, for example, beads from between about 0 to 3% (w/w), and a fragrance from between about 0 to 3% (w/w).
FIG. 3 illustrates a representative embodiment 300 of a system for producing a customizable personal skincare product in a portable dispenser. The system 300 as shown in FIG. 3 has many of the same components as the generic system 100 described above in connection with FIG. 1, which are similarly numbered. Thus, the system 300 has an enclosure 302, an input means 308 comprising a touch screen display, a pathway 316 partially comprising a ramp viewable through a window 324, a bank 318 of storage units, an outlet opening 320, a door 322, and a payment means 328 comprising an electronic card swipe slot. The system 300 of FIG. 3 also shows a few additional features not shown in FIG. 1. For example, the storage units 318 are mounted on a rotating carousel 352, and the units 318 each have a conical injection head 354. The rotating carousel 352 may be refilled through lid 370. Moreover, the system 300 has a hand tag dispenser 356 for dispensing a label 375 prepared by a printer (not shown) within the enclosure 302, so that the user may affix the label to a portable dispenser which comes out of the outlet opening 320, which is a see through door in some embodiments. In addition, instructions may be printed or graphically represented in area 371 of the system 300.
During operation, in one embodiment, a user swipes a credit card in payment means 328. Upon paying for the product, the input means 308 is activated and a container 12 filled with a base material is positioned in the refill area of the rotating carousel 352. The user is prompted to select one or more additives to be added to the base material. For example, the user may select a color, such as, for example, red, blue, green, orange, pink or the like. The user may select the darkness of the color, which may be a range of, for example, from 0-5, where 0 is no color and 5 is the maximum amount of colorant. Similarly, the user may select other additives, such as skin conditioners, pearlizing agents, suspended visual agents, fragrance and the like. The user may select a range of each of these additives. In some embodiments, the user may select an additive, but the range may be a set number. Once the user selects the additives and ranges, the carrousel 352 positions the appropriate injection head 354 to inject the additive to the base material in container 12. Container 12 may include a cap 14. System 300 may open the cap 14 to allow the injection head 354 to inject additives into the container 12. In some embodiments, cap 14 is configured so that injection head 354 may inject the additive through, a tamper proof seal (not shown) in the cap 14. The tamper proof seal allows the injection head to inject the additive directly into the container 12 without opening the cap 14. In some embodiments, the cap 14 is added to the container 12 after the additives are added to the base material. In some embodiments, the container 12 is empty and is filled with a base material through an injection head 354. Once the selected additives are added to the container 12 and the cap 14 securely seals the container 12, the container 12 moves along track 316 to door 320 where the user may retrieve the customized skin care product. In some embodiments, track 316 has a downward slope toward door 320 and a vibrator (not shown) vibrates the track 316 causing the container 12 to vibrate as it moves toward door 320 to mix the additives and base material together.
While the present invention has been illustrated by the description of embodiments thereof and while the embodiments have been described in considerable detail, it is not the intention of the applicants to restrict or in any way limit the scope of the appended claims to such detail. Additional advantages and modifications will readily appear to those skilled in the art. Therefore, the invention, in its broader aspects, is not limited to the specific details, the representative apparatus and illustrative examples shown and described. Accordingly, departures may be made from such details without departing from the spirit or scope of the applicants' general inventive concept.

Claims

We claim:

1. A system for producing a customizable personal skincare product stored in a portable dispenser in accordance with specifications provided by a user, the system comprising:

an enclosure containing at least one processor and memory;

an input the user may employ to input selections and instructions to the system;

a supply of portable dispensers, and a supply of a base personal skincare material;

multiple storage units, wherein each storage unit contains at least one additional substance which may be added to the base personal skincare material within the portable dispenser to create a customizable personal skincare product according to the user specifications; and

at least one mechanical drive system controlled by the processor, wherein the mechanical drive system operates to position a selected portable dispenser to receive substances from one or more of the multiple storage units.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the customizable personal skincare product comprises a sanitizer, and the base liquid material comprises a sanitizer material.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the customizable personal skincare product comprises a soap, and the base liquid material comprises a soap material.

4. The system of claim 3, wherein the additional substances permit the user to specify at least one property selected from the group consisting of a color, a suspended visual agent, a bead, a flake, a fragrance, a sensation, and a viscosity.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the input comprises at least one element selected from the group consisting of a touch screen display, a number pad, a keyboard, a voice recognition system and a wireless receiver.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the input comprises a data connection between the system and a personal digital assistant being operated by the user.

7. The system of claim 1, further comprising a door to cover the outlet opening.

8. The system of claim 1, further comprising one or more windows in the enclosure which permit the user to view internal operations of the system as the system forms the customized personal skincare product in a portable dispenser.

9. The system of claim 1, further comprising a printer inside the enclosure to print personal skincare liquid product information.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein the printer prints the personal skincare product information on an adhesive label which may be affixed to the portable dispenser.

11. The system of claim 1, further comprising a payment means via which the user may pay for the customized personal skincare product produced by the system.

12. The system of claim 1, wherein the storage units each have a conical injection head designed to be inserted into an open top of the selected portable dispenser.

13. The system of claim 1, wherein the enclosure comprises a kiosk which may be placed at a point of purchase location.

14. A method for producing a customizable personal skincare product stored in a portable dispenser, the method comprising:

obtaining from a user of the system one or more properties of a desired customizable personal skincare product;

obtaining a supply of a base personal skincare material within a portable dispenser;

adding one or more additional substances into the portable dispenser, thereby mixing them with the base personal skincare material within the portable dispenser, to produce a final product in accordance with the properties of the desired customizable personal skincare product;

placing a closure on the portable dispenser to hold the customized personal skincare product within the portable dispenser unless and until the user initiates a dispensing action; and

outputting the portable dispenser containing the desired customizable personal skincare product from the system.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein obtaining the supply of the base personal skincare material within the portable dispenser comprises adding a portion of the base personal skincare material into an empty portable dispenser.

16. The method of claim 14, wherein obtaining the supply of the base personal skincare material within the portable dispenser comprises selecting a portable container which is pre-filled with the base personal skincare material.

17. The method of claim 14, wherein the one or more additional substances are held within separate storage units, and the adding step is performed by applying a pressure to at least one of the storage units.

18. The method of claim 14, wherein the closure comprises at least one element selected from the group consisting of a cap and a pumping mechanism.

19. The method of claim 14, further comprising a mixing step after placing the closure on the portable dispenser.

20. The method of claim 14, further comprising a labeling step in which liquid product information is printed either directly on the portable dispenser or on a separate label which may be secured to the portable dispenser.

21. The method of claim 14, further comprising a payment step in which the user is required to pay for the customizable personal skincare liquid product before the portable dispenser is expelled.

22. The method of claim 14 wherein the supply of portable dispensers and supply of base materials are provided by the user.

23. A customized personal skincare product system comprising:

a portable dispenser;

a base personal skincare material;

a first substance selected by a user; and

a second substance selected by a user.

24. The system of claim 23 wherein the first and second substances comprise at least one of a color, a fragrance, suspended visual agents, beads or glitter.

25. The system of claim 23 wherein the user selects a percentage of at least one of the first and second substances.