Skin tone matching for cosmetics

Accurate skin tone matching is more than a cosmetic need; it is an important factor for self-image and the impact a positive self-image can
have on a person’s life. People often face limited foundation shade ranges that don't cater to their diverse skin tones, which can be damaging to self confidence and self-esteem. Foundations should match both skin tone (the lightness/darkness dictated by melanin levels) and the undertone (the degree of redness dictated by haemoglobin absorption). The CompleXion is a system that enables suppliers to accurately match cosmetics to customers' skin by capturing the true colour of the skin in all lighting conditions. 

The Complexion is a spectrophotometer that measures transmittance and reflectance of light for all colours in the light spectrum. This reveals how the transmittance and reflection varies as the colour of the light is changed, extending even beyond the visible range into the infrared and ultraviolet. A scanning wand is held against the skin and is operated by a single press of a button. The scanner then transmits the data wirelessly to a docking station with a display. Users can scan the skin in up to 9 different locations and the system will average the results. The system then finds the closest match to a range of pre-scanned target colours available to the cosmetics supplier. For more exact formulations the system will also display a spectral curve (see below). 

The system comprises a scanning wand and a dock that provides charging and a touch screen user interface. Genesys developed the printed circuit assembly and associated embedded software that operates the system. Key features include network setup, scanner calibration, data management and memory functions including time and date of scans for individual customers, communications between the scanner and the dock, lookup of formulations that match the scanned skin colour, spectral curve display and multiple user interface display pages to facilitate the systems workflow. 

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