RFID to help women pick makeup

Customers visiting Japanese drugstore chain Seijo will soon be able to try on makeup without having to actually put it on, thanks to a new RFID-enabled makeup simulator developed by NTT. The customer just has to sit down in front of a terminal, where a video camera snaps pics of her face. The customer can then just smear makeup on a pad with an embedded RFID reader, which checks the chip in the makeup and automatically applies it to the onscreen image using facial recognition algorithms to avoid, say, applying lipstick to cheeks (a problem we have all the time here at Engadget HQ). The system can recommend matching colors based on a customer's preferences, and print out an image for later use. And it promises to be faster than the typical try-on, something that those of us who've spent hours cooling our heels in the makeup department will definitely appreciate.

[Via RFID in Japan]

[Tazeeyore @ Feb 14th 2006 1:11PM]

That's pretty cool. The Home Depot has a computer program that they give you for free that does the same thing except you can take a picture of your house and then choose different color paints. The only problem is that the paint colors look more like Microsoft Paint than anything else.

[gadzook @ Feb 14th 2006 1:29PM]

How does RFID help do this in a way that barcodes could not already do cheaper and easier?

In my opinion, the only reason they probably are using RFID is so that they will get more press about it. This is just another example of the 'media' slurping up the RFID hype.

[Su @ Feb 14th 2006 2:25PM]

#2, you obviously don't understand the technology. Bar codes require a line of sight to work, RFID will pick up anything in the proper range. So from a user standpoint, RFID is easier. But yes, bar coding would be cheaper.

[diulei @ Feb 14th 2006 3:24PM]

I would think the last thing people want is the girls in Shibuya and Harajuku to wear more makeup.

But perhaps this will make their makeup more tasteful. Who knows.

[John Stracke @ Feb 14th 2006 3:43PM]

What's wrong with, say, painting the makeup onto a piece of paper with a picture of their face?

[kitkat @ Feb 14th 2006 4:16PM]

It would smear weird and not blend at all. and the colors would be weird. men. *sigh*

[Larry Johson @ Feb 15th 2006 10:29AM]

#3, You clearly didn't read the article:
"The customer sits in front of the system and places the desired make-up on a pad in front of the monitor. The make-up samples are tagged with RFID chips and the pad includes a reader so the system can grab the RFID tag number and look this up in a database for product details."

[Matt @ Feb 15th 2006 12:03PM]

Lady sits down hold up the makeup and the face recognition comes back,

a) you are going to need more than that to pretty that up.
b) no comment
c) sure that looks great on you.
d) can I have you phone number

[PocketGoddess @ Feb 15th 2006 12:22PM]

I think this is a great idea; I don't care if it's RFID or barcodes. Would probably save a ton of money buying makeup & finding out when I get home that it just doesn't look the way I thought it would, and prevent the spread of germs from testers/sampples.

[Su @ Feb 16th 2006 4:17PM]

#7, What is it you think I am missing? If you are talking about line of sight with the pad, what I am saying is you would not have to turn the make-up a certain direction for the pad to pick it up, it would not matter. With a bar code, you would have to scan it first directly through a reader in the right position for the laser to read the bar code. I don't get your point.