According to a recent report by Charlotte Libby, Senior Beauty Analyst at the Mintel Research Group, over a quarter (26%) of colour cosmetics users in the UK find it difficult to match products to their skin tones.
Incredibly, this figure rises to 40% in the 16-24 age group, likely due to the ever changing ethnic mix in younger generations.
The research showed that as many as 1 in 3 makeup shoppers would be interested in using tools and devices that could help identify suitable products for them, prompting British drugstore chain Boots to follow in the footsteps of French cosmetics company Sephora and launch their own skin tone colour reading service the No7 Match Made Service.
Both Sephora and Boots No7 use the same ‘CAPSURE’ technology developed by global colour management expert X-Rite, whereby a handheld spectrophotometer scans your skin and suggests foundations that match your skintone based on the sophisticated colour reading technology.
Photo Credit: www.xrite.com
How does it work?
Traditional cameras capture images using ambient lighting, whereas spectrophotometers take photos of your skin in complete darkness to help eliminate lighting variables that can distort shade selection.
Photo Credit: www.xrite.com
CAPSURE’s cutting edge technology makes it a uniquely flexible tool for measuring colours of multi-coloured surfaces such as human skin. The device uses a black & white camera and 9 different colour LEDs to illuminate the measured area from three different directions. In total it takes 27 (3×9) photos of a single sample surface.
From the 27 photographs, CAPSURE measures the amount of light that is absorbed and reflected off the sampled surface across each of the visible wavelengths (between 400 to 700 nanometers), and then translates the combined information back into a single, colour accurate, textured image.
Photo Credit: www.xrite.com
The main difference between the skin tone matching service of Sephora and Boots No7 is that the Boots CAPSURE device links to a colour library of only No7 products, whereas the Sephora Colour IQ system can search a product database of over 50 mainstream cosmetics brands to find you a perfect match.
Where to have your skin tone scanned?
Your chances of finding a good matching foundation is higher at Sephora because they’re not limited to the colour range of just one brand, however, since Sephora doesn’t have stores in the UK, the Boots No7 Service is still worthwhile if you don’t own a good matching foundation.
Other than Sephora and Boots, many major brands are now using the CAPSURE technology to find a matching foundation for their customers, including Douglas, Kicks, Dior and Elizabeth Arden.
Chromology customers also enjoy the benefit of having their skin tone matched to the nearest ‘Pantone Skintone’ colour during their Colour Analysis Consultation, and whilst we don’t carry our own foundation range, knowing your exact Pantone skin tone colour will make future foundation shopping a breeze.