L’ORÉAL INVESTS IN PRINKER KOREA

THE WHAT? L’Oréal’s corporate venture fund, BOLD has announced a minority investment in micro-printing firm Prinker. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

THE DETAILS The Korean start-up’s temporary tattoo products have won multiple CES Best of Innovation awards as well as the global IF Design award. The two companies have been working together to develop the newly unveiled L’Oréal Brow Magic, which purports to be the first handheld electronic brow makeup applicator. Using AR technology and patented AI-algorithms, the at-home microblading device scans the user’s face and makes recommendations on the best brow shape which is then printed in seconds automatically.

THE WHY? Barbara Lavernos, Deputy CEO in charge of Research, Innovation and Technology at L’Oréal, explains, “At L’Oréal, our researchers are partnering with high end technology start-ups to create the future of beauty. Together, by combining our expertises, we develop unmet personalized consumer experiences. Through this strategic investment, we can fulfil our deep commitment to bringing breakthrough beauty technologies that truly empower boundless personalisation and self-expression into the hands of every person.”