The Future is Bright. Literally, according to Grace Choi. More details you say? She is a Harvard graduate with a very interesting vision for the future where your face is concerned. If you have ever mourned your favourite discontinued lipstick you will be putting your name down for a 3D makeup printer before you've finished reading this sentence. But bear with us
The idea is you can capture any shade of anything - existing makeup, favourite t-shirt, particularly appealing leaf on the ground - anything, scan it, print it into blusher, eyeshadow or lipstick form.
Presented yesterday at a big Technology Conference in NYC, this contraption claims to create products comparable to any high-end colour brands. This is a big, generalising promise, and until we can get our hands on one to try, we'll reserve judgement, but the main thing here is, we REALLY want to get our hands on one. Potentially bad news for beauty companies, potentially good news for you, but worth noting that the market it's aimed at is decidedly teenage. Which challenges the idea that the products it produces will be less Miners, more MAC.
It works by taking 'subtrates' (which form the base of your makeup products before they're mixed with other ingredients and pigments etc), and mixing them with inkjet pigment to produce any number of colour options. Inventor Grace says Big make-up companies take the pigment and the subtrates and mix them together and then jack the price, she said. We do the same thing and let you get the make-up right in your own house.
But like we said, we'll be reserving judgement until 2015 when we're promised general release of the Mink Makeup Printer - which will be under $200. Would you invest? Join in the conversation at @ELLEbeautyteam
