Tattoos breakthrough: L’Oréal invests in Prinker following Brow Magic collaborative launch

09 Jan 2023 --- L’Oréal is investing in Prinker Korea, a micro-printing start-up, to further research and technology of temporary tattoos, especially for enhancing eyebrows. The corporate venture fund Bold (Business Opportunities for L’Oreal Development) has carried out the financial move.

L’Oréal marks the investment as evidence of the company’s commitment to beauty technology that enables “self-expression and personalized beauty.” 

However, this is not the company’s first time working with Prinker. They have been collaborating for several years, says L’Oréal, to develop the award-winning and newly launched Brow Magic.

Moreover, Prinker carries a reputation for winning multiple CES Best of Innovation awards from the Consumer Technology Association and the global iF Design award.

Companies initiate R&D
Self-expression and personalized beauty form synergetic values for L’Oréal and Prinker.Barbara Lavernos, deputy CEO of research, innovation and technology at L’Oréal, emphasizes the importance of partnering to harness better technology applications.

“At L’Oreal, our researchers are partnering with high-end technology start-ups to create the future of beauty. By combining our expertise, we develop unmet personalized consumer experiences,” she says.

“Through this strategic investment, we can fulfill our deep commitment to bringing breakthrough beauty technologies that empower boundless personalization and self-expression into the hands of every person.”

Luke Yun, co-founder and CEO at Prinker, comments on how the investment will kick-start improved research.

“We are thrilled to enter this new partnership phase with L’Oréal, which aligns with our mission of empowering consumers with versatile and customizable tech to express themselves,” says Yun. 

“Their century-long heritage of beauty, R&D and sharp focus on beauty technology will allow us to reach more consumers than ever before. Their investment will enable us to create innovations that will have the best solutions for people worldwide.”

Magic is in the tech
The power of L’Oréal’s eyebrow printing device is in the augmented technology and patented artificial intelligence algorithms. Brow Magic was developed in partnership with Prinker, the inventor and manufacturer of the “world’s first” digital temporary tattoo device.L’Oréal is partnering to discover technologies outside beauty to find innovative ways of applying them to cosmetics.

L’Oréal’s Modiface AR technology allows a personalized brow shape by scanning the user’s face and providing recommendations in seconds. The handheld electric brow applicator device can be used to create precise brow shapes. 

Moreover, the printed brow is lauded for being easily removable and capable of lasting all day. Precision for eyebrow makeup is often time-consuming and requires expertise and multiple products. In contrast, Brow Magic can achieve the look efficiently while matching the user’s facial features.

The device contains 2,400 tiny nozzles and printing technology with up to 1,200 drops per inch (dpi) printing resolution. Brow Magic offers options for microblading, micro-shading or filler effects.

Using the L’Oréal Brow Magic app, users can scan the face with the Modiface brow reader and select the desired shape, thickness and effect. Once complete, the L’Oréal Brow Magic primer should be brushed on the brows, after which the printing device should be swept on – in a single motion. The shape can be locked in with a top coat.

“Often, we find a brilliant technology applied to something outside the beauty realm. Combining L’Oréal’s heritage of beauty with these advanced technologies allows us to create entirely new beauty gestures – reimagining the original technology and the traditional beauty experience in the process,” concludes Guive Balooch, global head of Research and Innovation’s Tech Incubator at L’Oréal.

By Venya Patel