The Illusion of Personalization

What if “personalized” wellness was the most standardized thing of all?

Every brand today claims to “personalize” your wellness. Your vitamins are “custom.” Your plan is “unique.” Your skincare is “made for you.” But if you look closer, the industry’s favorite word has become its biggest illusion.

Personalization, at scale, is an algorithm. It filters your data into a pre-made matrix, places you in a category, and calls it bespoke. It’s efficient — not intimate. Somewhere between the quiz and the checkout page, individuality is replaced by segmentation.

In France, we’ve long resisted this industrial approach to self-care. A facialist still touches your skin before prescribing. A pharmacist still asks questions before recommending. There’s a cultural reverence for nuance — for observing what’s actually happening rather than assuming what should.

Wellness, when stripped of marketing, is not about novelty but familiarity: noticing how you feel, what you repeat, what you avoid. It’s a process of precision through attention — not automation.

Perhaps the future of wellness isn’t “personalized.” It’s personally observed.