Estée Lauder research decodes skin tone perception to improve shade matching

The Estée Lauder Companies (ELC) and the University of Leeds, UK, are researching how people perceive their skin tone to improve shade matching of complexion products, and how they are developed. 

The duo says that, despite significant advances in beauty innovation, one of the most common consumer frustrations is matching makeup to their skin tone.

Multiple industry players have turned to technology like AI to help consumers find their right shade, but ELC’s move takes a different approach. Its partnership intends to use psychophysical methods and visual perception science to investigate how people see and notice differences in colors.

ELC hopes to identify when subtle differences in tone are noticeable to consumers and when they are not, and use those insights to develop more natural-looking complexion products with reduced mismatches.

The move reflects the growing movement of neurocosmetics, applying neuroscience to product design. By understanding how people perceive color on a neurological level and match it to their skin, ELC may be able to prevent frustration before the matching process starts.

“Delivering transformative innovation in complexion and color cosmetics begins with a deeper understanding of how consumers perceive their own skin tone,” says Claude Saliou, SVP of Advanced Technologies and Global Clinical & Consumer Sciences at ELC.

He says that measuring consumers’ skin tones can be done with increasing precision, but understanding how they perceive their own skin tone is “a complex scientific challenge.”

“These insights help us improve shade accuracy, develop higher-performing formulas that look more natural and consistent, and support continued innovation across our luxury and prestige portfolio.”

ELC is investigating how consumers perceive their own skin tone rather than relying solely on objective color measurements.Saliou frames ELC’s partnership with the University of Leeds as part of the company’s prioritization of inclusivity in innovation. The two hope to yield formulas with exact skin tone matches and natural-looking finishes. 

Understanding color neuroscience 

The beauty industry’s foray into neurocosmetics has largely focused on formulating products that influence the consumer’s nervous system post-use, such as through certain ingredients that can reduce stress or boost mood through the senses. However, ELC’s partnership represents a more foundational application of the science.

The cosmetic giant and the university’s research will investigate visual perception to understand the consumer’s mental response to complexion products, before it is developed. 

Traditionally, beauty brands’ approach to neurocosmetics has focused on engineering a consumer’s emotional response to the final product, such as fostering calmness by using the scent of lavender. Instead, ELC appears to be using neuroscience to build a more empathetic and precise product that resonates with consumers’ skin type, and also with the way their brains experience and judge their own reflection. In doing so, the company is helping reduce the psychological frustration of a poor shade match before it can occur.

By focusing on the emotional needs of individuals shopping for face makeup, neurocosmetic-led thinking is helping ELC head toward delivering the personalization and satisfaction of an accurate shade match.

The project is led by Dr. Kaida Xiao, professor of Color and Imaging Science at the University of Leeds’ School of Design. His expertise will help ELC examine how color is measured by scientific instruments, compared to humans’ visual perception of the same colors. 

“Skin color perception is highly complex, shaped by subtle interactions between multiple factors,” says Dr. Xiao. “This partnership brings together academic expertise and industry leadership to advance understanding in this important area of color science.”

Inclusive beauty drives match demand

ELC’s research also aligns with recent industry movements toward inclusivity in makeup shades. Consumers’ frustration with shade matching has emerged as a whitespace for innovation in color cosmetics. The issue is often regarded as relating to inclusivity, where historically, complexion products were not available in a large range of darker shades.

ELC’s color science research may help it create complexion products that deliver more natural-looking results in everyday life.In 2017, artist Rihanna’s Fenty Beauty debuted with a 40-shade foundation line, and around that time, the beauty industry accelerated its reevaluation of what “inclusive” means.

As inclusivity in beauty now matures out of a courtesy add-on and into a baseline expectation, more makeup labels are expanding their shade ranges. Last year, MAC launched a campaign boasting 67 foundation shades and in-store activities to help match them, as part of the company’s Match Day.

With expanding options, choosing the right shade can become more difficult, and beauty giants have rushed to address the confusion with tech.

Clarins, for example, launched an AI-powered foundation shade-matching technology in February. At the time, the company hailed the intervention as the “most precise ever” in its field and integrated it into its in-store experience for consumers.

Researchers at Florida International University and the University of Miami, US, also leaned on AI to help fill the shade-matching gap. Their research built a tool capable of identifying people’s skin tones from images uploaded under different lighting conditions.

Instead of sending consumers to an AI-powered bot or a help-desk to find their correct foundation match, ELC’s partnership goes a step further by aiming to decode how it can formulate complexion products according to how people view color, so that they can identify their own shade easily and independently.

“By partnering with the University of Leeds, a global leader in color science, we have an opportunity to better understand how consumers experience shade matching in the real world,” Saliou concludes.