Ever wanted the exact shade of lipstick to match your shoes? Sigh. Haven’t we all? Enter the magnifique Yves Saint Laurent Rouge sur Mesure. What’s this, you cry? A portable device that prints bespoke lipstick shades. Maybe she’s born that way, maybe it’s technology.
It prints lipstick?
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All it takes is the installation of the app on your smartphone (Android or iOS), linking it via Bluetooth with the YSL Rouge sur Mesure, and the fun begins. The printer’s base swipes open to reveal three cartridge slots. Every trio cartridge comprises three different YSL Velvet Cream Matte Finish lipsticks, across a range of shades.
There are four trio cartridges to choose from; nudes, oranges, pinks, and reds. Each tube has its own NFC tag, which allows the device to recognise an individual cartridge, the expiration date, and how much lipstick is left. Like an actual printer, each cartridge trio can create up to 1,000 shades, so if you have the cash to buy all four, you wind up to 4,000 lipstick shades. Just insert the cartridges, calibrate (as with any printer), and get your sass on.
Get your shade on
There are three steps to creating the perfect bespoke lipstick. First take a spin on the Shade Wheel, for those who know what colour they want. There is a Shade Match function, where you basically use the Photoshop colour dropper IRL and get the same shade of red as on Harley Quin. Provided you have the correct cartridge, that is.
And finally, there is a Shade Stylist function, “..a proprietary algorithm infused with YSL’s colour expertise, designed to recommend coordinating lip shades with any outfit.” This is where the AI part comes in. Users get themselves a personal stylist and make-up artist that examines an outfit with a snap of a phone camera and recommends the best lipstick shade to go with it.
Users can also try on suggested lipstick shades using AR filters. After picking one, the device dispenses a ready-to-mix drop that may be applied with the included YSL lipbrush. The disc top is also a detachable portable compact so you can take your lipstick to go.
More beauty tech, please?
The haute couture brand doesn’t exactly scream ‘lipstick printer’. It actually falls underneath L’Oréal, which is responsible for loads of beauty tech in the past couple of years. That’s how Perso came to be. L’Oréal’s Perso is a customisable smart device that creates bespoke skincare and foundation based on skin type, skin colour, and daily conditions. This was a breakthrough in the tech beauty industry in 2020. L’Oréal is also known for customised at-home-hair-colour, 3D nail wraps, and more.
The Yves Saint Laurent Rouge sur Mesure by Perso isn’t available in South Africa. Yet. The device goes for $300 (about R4,500) and one set of cartridges costs $90 (about R1,400). They say beauty doesn’t have a price, but apparently, some parts of it may be purchased with a credit card.
