Digital makeup artist copies celebrity looks using 3D printing

MODA uses facial-scanning technology and a 3D printer to adapt the latest makeup trends and apply them to the user's face in 30 seconds.

For those who never quite got the hang of applying makeup with their own hands, MODA from Foreo is the world’s first digital makeup artist. The device uses facial-scanning technology and a 3D printer to adapt and apply the latest makeup trends directly to the user’s face, in just half a minute.

To begin, users download the integrated smartphone app and select the style they want to emulate — this might be a catwalk look from MODA’s image library, a photo of a celebrity from the internet or even a picture of a fashionable friend. MODA then customizes the colors and shapes to suit the wearer’s skin tone and face shape. The user then places their face into the device, enabling MODA to paint it using FDA-approved makeup ink, which is even suitable for sensitive skin. The makeup is applied in three stages — primer, foundation and color.

With the vast number of online videos showing users how to copy celebrity makeup styles, there is certainly a potential audience for MODA. However, much of the pleasure of makeup comes from the pampering ritual of the application process, which the device all but eliminates. Perhaps the machine’s speed and precision would make it a useful tool for the theater, where identical looks must be recreated every night under pressure.