By competing for customers in a market with fierce competition, beauty brands are trying to develop the latest technology – from artificial intelligence to complemented reality. But is there any real benefit from these innovations? Or is it just marketing tricks?
What technological trends are spreading in the world of beauty?
Personalization and artificial intelligence
50% of women complain that they can not find the tonal base of the desired shade. This is especially problematic for women with darker skin. However, overflowing the shelves of stores with thousands of shades of product is “impractical”.
Instead, Lancome has developed a device for mixing tonal cream “in a perfect match” to the skin of clients.
Lancome’s consultant first determines the tone of your skin with a hand-held colourimeter, a device like a digital scanner. The result is transmitted to a computer that selects the desired tone of the cream from 20,000 possible variants using a patented algorithm. Based on this choice, a special mixer mixes your cream just in the store.
“Virtual fitting rooms”
As we increasingly shop online, cosmetic brands are trying to make online shopping more convenient with complemented reality technologies.
The development of face recognition methods and tracking of mimic movements allows you to create more precise digital layers with “makeup”.
For example, the Visual Artist program by Sephora. It allows clients to “try” thousands of shades of lipsticks and eye shadows – both on their smartphone and in special booths in stores. The program identifies eyes and lips on your face. Then it tracks their movements, combining with them the look of the cosmetics. Also, you can take lessons on the use of cosmetics and correlate the tone of the products with the tone of your skin.
“Intelligent” facial care
The HiMirror intelligent mirror by the New Kinpo Group Taiwanese developer judges the condition of the skin.
Every time you launch this program, it photographs your face, looks for big and fine wrinkles, spots and dead spots on it. After that, it determines the level of brightness of different areas. Then the program evaluates these aspects on a scale from “good” to “bad” and gives you personal advice and recommends care cosmetics.
Cosmetologists, however, warn that such programs can impair client self-esteem if they give them bad marks without worrying about the overall context of their lives.
“Printed” makeup
Opté by Procter and Gamble (P&G) is a scanning device that targets microscopic doses of gadgets, hiding age spots, broken vessels, and other skin imperfections.
Its tiny built-in camera takes 200 shots per second, and the microprocessor analyzes these data, distinguishing light and dark areas. After that, the micro printer spray on the face of the cream-based. P&G hopes to release this device for sale in 2020 and argues that due to its accuracy, cosmetics are spent very economically – so buyers will be able to pay less for it.
The design agency Seymour Powell introduced the concept of a printer that allows you to download and “print” on your face the makeup seen on the Internet. Brands and popular influencers will be able to sell their “makeup looks” directly to consumers. It is possible thanks to 3D printing technologies, facial recognition and artificial intelligence.
3D make-up
Inspired by the fashion on add-on filters in Snapchat and Instagram, 3D-makeup developers create an unusual artistic look that can be applied to your digital photo or video.
