- Gonna need a lot of help here.
Hey guys, I'm Brent Rose.
A.K.A. Instagram's top skinfluencer.
So, imagine a world where it's your big day,
and something's wrong with your skin.
So you run down to the makeup counter
at the big store near you,
and despite there being hundreds of options to choose from,
not a single solitary shade matches you perfectly.
Boom, apocalypse.
For people of color, the odds of finding the perfect match
are worse by orders of magnitude.
But what if technology could help?
What if there was a machine that could
accurately analyze your skin tone,
and whip you up a batch of the perfect foundation
right there on the spot?
Well, that's what we're gonna check out today.
So, let's make up, not break up.
This is Bespoke America.
(upbeat music)
So we're at Bloomingdale's on 59th Street in New York City,
and my brilliant co-host today
is Gizmodo's very own, Yessenia Funes.
- What up, y'all?
- Yessenia, do you know about makeup stuff?
- You know, I put on makeup every now and then,
maybe if I'm going out to eat,
or if I'm gonna be on camera, but
you know, I'm not like a makeup expert.
- As far as I'm concerned, you're an expert.
(Yessenia laughs) Compared to me,
you're an expert.
So let's go check out what they got.
- Let's do it, I'm excited. - All right.
(upbeat techno music)
- I am the Director of Face and Multicultural Beauty
at L'Oreal USA.
And I've had the amazing opportunity
to work on Le Teint Particulier.
Le Teint Particulier is our custom-made foundation line,
that started several years ago.
- Okay.
- And it started off with understanding that consumers
have pain points.
Those pain points, specifically for foundation,
is the inability to find shades that match them.
So, with this device,
we're able to measure the skin,
and accurately dispense the ideal, perfect shade for them.
What's great about this system,
is that it's truly customized, not only for shade,
but also based on your skin type,
and the coverage that you want.
- I have combination skin.
- Awesome, we can do that with the same one.
What is the coverage that you're looking
for your foundation?
Do you like something that's more sheer?
More natural?
Or do you like full coverage?
- Um, I'm more of like a sheer, natural kind of person.
- Save sheer, and we move to our next screen.
So now, this device is our handheld,
you can almost call it "lab."
- Like, right now I feel like my face is a little blushy,
will it pick up more reds because of that?
- It sure will, it sure will.
So, it actually is giving me exactly what I am seeing.
- Balanda was the chemistry mastermind
behind Le Teint Particulier,
but to hear how the hardware came together,
I hopped on a video call to Paris.
- The color measurement tools out there,
these colorimeters, they're x-rite,
which is the one we use, is a pretty standard one,
But, what was challenging was getting from that value
to the formula.
And so, the experience is basically,
you come in, you take this measurement of the skin tone,
then there's this smart algorithm we wrote,
that goes from that measurement to a formula.
And the machine itself uses these like,
peristaltic pumps and very high level of precision
to make you the perfect product right there in five minutes.
- And if you can see closely, you'll see,
on this side, the cleared solution. (laughs)
- Uh Huh.
- Then you have red, you have black,
yellow, white, and then your moisturizer additive.
- Oh, there's the color!
- There's yellow.
- It looks a little bit like mustard.
- Yes.(laughs)
and ketchup. (laughs)
- Then the ketchup is coming.
- So we have a first portion, we'll mix it, test it out,
and if you want us to further modify it,
we can do that.
- When you shake it, do you just like,
put your thumb over the bottle and,
- No! - cocktail style?
- Because we want it to be uniform,
from the top to the bottom.
So now we get to open our mixer.
- Oh, this is very "secret lab."
- Beauty meets science.
- Right.
- So science at the counter.
And we close it, and we press start!
And watch it go.
Now, one second, we'll get to look at your perfect shade!
- Ooh!
- They first did a test patch on Yessenia's face,
and it was amazing to watch the makeup just disappear.
The color was absolutely perfect,
and it didn't stand out at all.
It didn't even look like she was wearing makeup.
It just looked like her skin was slightly more smooth
and her tone was a little more even.
- And how does it feel on your skin?
- It feels like my skin! (laughs)
I'm a fan, I'm excited to see
what it looks like with like, all over.
- What I see for the future is that,
we need to be everywhere.
We need to be able to get that accuracy on a smartphone,
and this way, you don't need to only go into the store,
but you could get the perfect shade,
just being at home within one or two days.
You know, that's really the vision,
it's more of a platform than it is just a project.
- To me, this is like one of the best parts.
We now create your label.
We put all of your lovely information, your name,
or, whatever you wanna be called. (laughs)
And then we'll also have your customized number.
And starting very soon, you can also order online.
(Yessenia laughs)
- Send it to your backwoods cabin in the middle of Montana.
(laughing)
- Exactly.
- Still look beautiful.
- Livin' the dream. - And still look fabulous.
- What kind of feedback have you gotten
from women of color who, like yourself,
have traditionally struggled to find these shades?
- I swear, I was at one of the stores, for the launch.
And we had a woman who actually broke down in tears.
This was the first time that she was able
to find her perfect match.
So now, with this, every woman can have their perfect shade.
(Balanda laughs)
- Or man.
- Or man, because you're next.
- Up until this point,
my experience with foundation,
is that it changed the color of my skin,
and generally looked kind of weird.
Not this time.
I went for the medium coverage,
so I could use it as a cover up when needed.
And it was incredible to see the various spots
and discolorations in my face become
suddenly de-emphasized, while the color matched perfectly.
My skin still looked like my skin.
Yessenia and I liked it so much
that we had our whole faces done,
ahead of our Friday night plans.
So, let's talk conclusions.
Yessenia, what do you think about all this?
- It's a really beautiful foundation.
It's really soft on the skin.
- It really does match your skin perfectly.
So you don't have to worry.
You don't have to stress out about
finding the right one on the wall.
Or, God forbid, blend two of them,
just to get the color your want.
Like, I feel like it's setting out, and achieving its goal.
- That sample, I think, was really cool,
cause if I didn't like it, I could've been like,
"Actually, can we do this a little differently?"
- So, it's definitely a luxury product.
But, there is the idea that maybe,
then you need to buy fewer types of makeup.
Especially if you're one of the people that
has to blend makeup.
- It's opening the door for more people of color
to have access to makeup that they didn't
have access to before.
- Exactly, thanks technology.
(upbeat music)
- Thanks for getting glam with Gizmodo.
- Damn straight.
To see more of the art and science behind custom,
check back for another Bespoke America.
- Woo!
(hands clap together)
- The face is a battlefield.
Very upper east side Beverly Hills.
Very very pretty.
(laughs)