L’Oréal unveils new beauty innovations at CES

L’Oréal unveiled two new technology prototypes to “expand access to beauty express” at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show (CES), including the world’s first handheld computerised make-up applicator and a smart eyebrow make-up applicator.

“For L’Oréal, the future of beauty is inclusive. And this future will be made more accessible by technology,” said Nicolas Hieronimus, chief executive of the L’Oréal Groupe. “The two consumer technologies we are unveiling this year at CES represent the true purpose of our company: to create the beauty that moves the world.”

HAPTA make-up applicator empowers people with disabilities

With an estimated 50 million people globally living with limited hand and arm mobility, some daily gestures, like applying make-up, can be challenging. To address this, L’Oréal’s scientists and engineers are developing the HAPTA applicator to advance the beauty needs of people with limited fine motor skills.

The handheld, ultra-precise smart make-up applicator offers users with limited hand and arm mobility the ability to steadily apply lipstick at home. HAPTA incorporates technology originally created by Verily to stabilise and level utensils and is equipped with a magnetic attachment that allows for easy ergonomic use enabling 360 degrees of rotation and 180 degrees of flexion.

The key to HAPTA is its combination of built-in smart motion controls plus customisable attachments, explains L’Oréal, which gives the user an improved range of motion, increased ease of use for difficult-to-open packaging, and precision application that is otherwise hard to achieve.

Barbara Lavernos, deputy chief executive in charge of research, innovation and technology at L’Oréal, said: “Inclusivity is at the heart of our innovation and beauty tech strategy. We are dedicated and passionate to bring new technologies powering beauty services that augment and reach every individual’s ultimate desires, expectations, and unmet needs.”

HAPTA device to be piloted by Lancôme

HAPTA’s levelling device will be piloted with L’Oréal-owned Lancôme in 2023, first with a lipstick applicator followed by additional make-up applications in the future.

Françoise Lehmann, global brand president at Lancôme, added: “For years, Lancôme has sought to provide every woman with beauty solutions adapted to their needs. Beauty tech has enabled us to fulfil this mission in an even more powerful way, revolutionising the way we develop beauty products and services and enabling greater personalisation.

“With HAPTA we are going one step further by making beauty more accessible to use, because everyone should have equal access to it.”

L’Oréal Brow Magic

L’Oréal also introduced a first-of-its-kind, at-home electronic eyebrow make-up applicator that gives users bespoke brows for their face shape in seconds. The device uses L’Oréal’s Modiface AR technology to scan the user’s face and makes recommendations for microblading, micro-shading, or filler effects, before utilising the 2,400 tiny nozzles and printing technology with up to 1,200 drops per inch (dpi) printing resolution to provide professional-like brows.

L’Oréal Brow Magic is expected to launch in 2023, and the eyebrow look can easily be removed with a standard make-up remover.

The product has been developed by L’Oréal in partnership with tech company Prinker, a pioneer in printed, non-permanent tattoos, in which the beauty company just acquired a minority stake in.

“The strength of L’Oréal’s beauty tech program is supported through the quality of our partnerships,” said Guive Balooch, L’Oréal’s global head of research and innovation’s tech incubator. “Often, we find a brilliant technology that is being applied to something outside the beauty realm. Combining L’Oréal’s heritage of beauty with these advanced technologies allows us to create entirely new beauty gestures—reimagining the original technology, and the traditional beauty experience, in the process.”