Up until now, you’ve probably bought your beauty products – be it a hairbrush or foundation – from the Superdrug down the road or online. But as you might have already heard, technology has and is revolutionising everything from the workplace to how we interact with each other and that goes for the beauty industry too. There’s now magical mirrors, apps like dermatologists and more customization than ever before.
Take a look at the new foundation app that analyses your skin tone and sends you the foundation directly through the post: MatchCo. An American brand (now bought over by Shiseido) that analyses your skin tone and mixes the matching foundation. Quite similar to the Boots version except it’s not pre-mixed. It could mean that in years to come, you’ll be going down to your local store to get a customized product at a much lower cost than luxury brands.
Slightly more extreme and technologically advanced is the Panasonic Smart Mirror. It will help you become even more fabulously flawless than you were before. Similar to the many currently available apps, it shows you different styles of make-up but it’s also promoted as being able to print make-up which can cover scars and tattoos.
The beauty industry promotes a great deal of negative marketing, playing on people’s obsession with their image, yet the new technology is also very much revolutionary. Whilst many people are not enthused by make-up or they like some skincare, trying on your purchases first could reduce the amount of money spent on products that you later take home and don’t use.
There’s also similar products like HiMirror, a relatively inexpensive mirror which allows you to track the products that you use and to analyse your skin; dark circles, wrinkles, fine lines, over time. And L’oreal and Kérastase Smart Brush monitors your hair by recording the way you brush, how dry your hair is and what you can use to improve your hair quality.
Does this mean the end to buying certain beauty products from humans? It’s safe to say, probably not. However, it could make us more obsessed with our complexion, heightened by the fact that, as technology advances, certain products will become cheaper and more advanced. Thus, the industry will generate more ethical questions and many might ask whether we really need to become obsessed with wrinkles. Yet, consumer choice is important and perhaps society needs to answer the question of what we should really be focusing on, when for example, normal skincare and luxury make-up form a large part of a person’s budget and many cannot really afford it.
Written by Kate Betts.
