A tech-savvy uni student has developed an at-home 3D makeup printer, Mink, which can print out eye shadow, blush and lip colours in the same FDA-approved ink used by makeup companies.
Harvard Business School student Grace Choi told TechCrunch Disrupt in New York that the makeup industry makes a whole lot of money on a whole lot of bullshit.
“They charge a huge premium on something that tech provides for free. That one thing is colour. Big makeup companies take the pigment and the substrates and mix them together and then jack the price.”
Choi’s printer, Mink, has the ability to copy the colour codes and exact hues used by all beauty brands. Simply choose a colour on a website or Pinterest board, or snap one with your phone in the real world, then use a colour picker to locate the colour’s hex code. Once you have the code, you can put it into any image program (think Photoshop or Paint), and simply press print.
Mink can be hooked up to any computer, just like a normal printer.
Reports vary as to what it’ll cost when it hits the market later this year, but around AUD$300 looks likely.
I’ll bet it’s already bringing a nervous blush to the cheeks of the $55 billion dollar makeup industry. What a clever mink.
Words by Vanessa Murray