Technical Field

The present invention relates to a method of selection of colour cosmetics that provides an objective assessment of colours that suit a given user.

Background of the invention

The use of colour cosmetics is not a new concept or habit. Today, a user will make their own choice of colour cosmetics from the array of products that are presented in a shop.

In the former scenario, the user is required to subjectively decide which colour cosmetics may suit their complexion. The lighting in a shop will play an important role in the perception of colour, and in particular, whether a colour cosmetic will suit the user or not. Moreover, the light output can be different from different light sources, for example daylight light is slightly bluish in colour compared to an incandescent light bulb, leading to a slightly different perceived colour. Users are often seen to 'test' a product on their hand, however the skin tone and texture of skin on a hand is not equivalent to complexion of the face, resulting in the user buying a product which may well have suited the skin tone of their hand, but not their face. Furthermore, even if the user correctly selects a suitable colour cosmetic, if foundation is applied to the skin, the foundation may change the tone of the skin to the extent that the colour cosmetic is no longer suitable.

Alternatively, a user may seek advice from an in-store colour cosmetic adviser. However, although more experienced in colour choice than some consumers, the offer of an adviser may also be subjective.

Attempts have been made in the past to group people of similar complexion, such as the system used by 'Colour Me Beautiful', whereby a user will be grouped into a warmer or cooler shade or by 'season'. The aim of such a system was then to offer the user a pre-selected palette of colours that were defined to suit. Whilst the theory behind such attempts may be good, the user would often get the grouping wrong, because of some of the lighting issues discussed above, or their own perception of their skin tone. However the system was too simplistic and users often made an incorrect initial choice of which warm/cooler shade or 'season' they fell into , as well as the preselected colour palette also sometimes incorrectly leading the user to an incorrect palette choice. In brief, it did not follow that if one found oneself to be of 'cool' skin tone, that one should wear 'cool' colours. The systems were subjective, and thus subject to human error.

The above inadequacies of the colour cosmetic selection process results in a poor experience of the user, which the Applicant has sought to address.

Summary of the invention

According to the present invention there is provided a method of selecting a suitable/coordinating lip product colour cosmetic in which

1) An assessment is made of the complete complexion shade of the user

2) A lip product colour cosmetic is selected according to one of the four complexion groups wherein, if

a) the user has a complexion lightness L* of 41-52 units, C* of 18-24 units and a hue angle h° of 54-60°, then the user is matched with a lip product colour cosmetic with hue angle h° 5- 30°, lightness L* of 40-45units and chroma C* of 30-50;

b) the user has a complexion lightness L* of 58-70 units, C* of 20-25 units and a hue angle h° of greater than 63°, then the user is matched with a lip product colour cosmetic with hue angle h° 10-30°, lightness L* of 40-47 units and chroma C* 30-50;

c) the user has a complexion lightness L* of 62-68 units, C* of 18-25 units and hue angle h° of less than 50°, then then the user is matched with a lip product colour cosmetic with hue angle h° 5-20°, lightness L* 40-49 units and chroma C* 30-50;

d) the user has a complexion lightness L* of greater than 52 units, C* of 20-25 units and hue angle h° of 56-63, then the user is matched with a lip product colour cosmetic with hue angle h° 5-25°, lightness L*40-49 units and chroma C* 30-50.

Detailed description of the invention

The Applicants of the present invention have been primarily concerned with improving the objectivity of the colour cosmetic selection process. The Applicants have found that not all colour cosmetics, such as lip shades for example, will suit every skin tone. For example, for users with a golden tone to their complexion, lip shades that are tonally more blue, such as magenta/fuchsia in colour, are less flattering to the complexion than lipstick shades that are more yellow, such as ruby or auburn toned shades. A wide variety of lipstick shades will flatter skins that are darker in tone, such as for example, magenta, rose, raspberry, ruby, coral and auburn toned shades flatter these skin tones. However for those users whose skin is very pink in tone will find that yellow toned shades, such as auburn or coral lipstick shades, are less flattering. Alternatively, bluer-toned lipstick shades, for example rose, magenta, raspberry shades will be more flattering.

For all other skin tones a wide range of lipstick shades are flattering, but orange-toned shades , such as coral, orange, auburn will be less flattering. There is no accurate method for deciding whether a colour flatters a user or not, but instead this is a instinctive decision based on the perceived appearance of the user. When a shade of a colour cosmetic suits a user, their skin appears healthier, more radiant, lighter and energised. Contrarily, when a shade does not suit the user, the skin appears grey, drained and unwell, and tends to highlight negatively perceived areas, such as dark marks or bags under the eye, the appearance of blemishes, or uneven skin tone.

Colour of the complexion, foundation and colour cosmetic are measured within the CIELAB(L*a*b*) method. CIELAB (L*a*b*) is a three-dimensional colour space that can be used to describe all colours visible to the human eye. A particular colour can be specified in CIELAB using three different parameters: L* denotes the lightness of the colour and runs from 0, representing black, and 100, representing white; a* denotes the red/green value of the colour; and b* denotes the yellow/blue value of the colour. CIELAB uses Cartesian co-ordinates to describe a colour. Polar co-ordinates can also be used. This method is called CIELCH (L*C*h°) and is derived from CIELAB. Here, L* denotes lightness, C* denotes chroma and h° denotes hue angle.

The objective of the present work was to identify which shades of colour cosmetic was flattering to a given complexion shade. The Applicant is able to measure shade of complexion using their marketed colour-measuring instrument, the 'Match Made' device, and will then be able to offer a client a pre-chosen range of colour cosmetics, for example lip shade, that will flatter either their complexion, or their complexion with foundation applied thereto. It has been possible to group complexion shades into 4 different areas of the colour space.

The first group are defined by a complexion lightness L* of 41-52 units, C* of 18-24 units and a hue angle h° of 54-60°. These complexions are darker in colour, an example of which may be an Afro- Caribbean origin and the like?. When a user has a complexion tone in this range, then the user is matched with a lip shade colour cosmetic with hue angle h° 5-30°, lightness L* of 40-45units and chroma C* of 30-50. The second group are defined by a complexion lightness L* of 58-70 units, C* of 20-25 units and a hue angle h° of greater than 63°. These complexions have golden tones and examples of which may be people of Asian-origin When a user has complexion tone in this range, then the user is matched with a lip shade colour cosmetic with hue angle h° 10-30°, lightness L* of 40-47 units and chroma C* 30-50.

The third group have a complexion lightness L* of 62-68 units, C* of 18-25 units and hue angle h° of less than 50°. These people have a complexion with a pinker undertone and examples of which are people of Caucasian origin with a ruddy complexion. When a user has a complexion tone in this range, the user is matched with a lip shade colour cosmetic with hue angle h° 5-20°, lightness L* 40- 49 units and chroma C* 30-50.

The fourth group have a complexion lightness L* of greater than 52 units, C* of 20-25 units and hue angle of 56-63. These people have a range of complexions and examples of which are people of darker toned Caucasian or Hispanic origin. When a user has a complexion tone in this range, then the user is matched with a lip shade colour cosmetic with hue angle h° 5-25°, lightness L*40-49units and chroma C* 30-50.

Suitable lip colour products include lipsticks, lip pencils, lip gloss, lip liners and mixtures thereof. Historically Lip colour shades were developed by random choice based on a preference of the formulator. The present colour understanding has permitted the Applicant to be able to develop an organised, logical range of lip colour shades which permit a selection of shades which are suitable for each of the four complexion groups. The Applicant has produced a range of lip shades along fixed increments of L* C* h° within the area of CIELAB colour space where lipstick shades sit. By developing lip shades in this way the Applicant is able to ensure improved suitability of a lipshade for a given user, reducing the level of subjectivity in the lipshade choice.

Suitable lipstick products may be creamy and matt or glossy and shiny. Preferably lipstick products are creamy and matt, as the Applicants have found that creamy shades enhance lipstick suitability. In a preferred embodiment a kit may be provided including a colour cosmetic foundation and one or more suiting lip products.

Whilst the present invention is designed toward selecting lip colour cosmetics, the invention can be manipulated to understand and provide a similar objective method of selecting other colour cosmetics, such as blushers, bronzers, eye shadows, pencils and mascaras.