Meet Mink, the makeup printer

By: Bella Dalba

            Makeup, in general, is expensive: department store makeup is very expensive. No matter how creamy it is, $25 is a lot to pay for one square of blush. However, from the cheapest lip gloss to the highest-end eye shadow, the basic ingredients for most beauty products are the same. The difference in price originates either from the brand name or the quality (dilution) of the ingredients. Mass market distributors, such as CVS or Walmart, only purchase shades that are guaranteed (through market research) to sell, so they can order in bulk and receive a discount. Due to the massive demand, the producers create a cheap product to satisfy the temporary demand.

            A Harvard Business School graduate is looking to change this entire process. Inventor Grace Choi created Mink, a printer that mixes ink with powder, cream, or whatever raw material necessary to create an endless variety of cosmetics on your desk. As makeup comes from the same basic substrates, Mink can turn any image into a kind of makeup.

            Mink will act as both an inkjet printer, which will produce the color, while also combining the physical ingredients of makeup, like a 3D printer. It uses a cosmetic-grade dye that's FDA-compliant, and, instead of printing on paper, it will print its colors onto a powder substrate that is like the raw material of regular makeup. "It comes from the same sources as those products that you see on store shelves," said Choi.

The hardware itself is proprietary, but it uses the standard image editing software already on your computer to actually print. You can pick a color from anywhere -- a website, a YouTube video, a photo you took -- by using a picker tool to extract the exact hexicode for the color, drop it into Photoshop (or even MS Paint) and print the shade in the comfort of your own home. Choi is excited by the prospects: “We’re going to live in a world where you can take a picture of your friend’s lipstick and print it out.”

By eliminating the middleman, Choi can give consumers Sephora sophistication at drugstore prices. The idea is that consumers are increasingly focused on instant gratification and DIY solutions. Choi also noticed that makeup consumers aren’t always loyal to certain brands, but rather focused on convenience. Moreover, drug stores offer an incredibly limited selection of colors and options. More niche retailers like Sephora have a wide selection of colors, but at a much higher price. With Mink, users can satisfy the desire for instant gratification while still having access to any color in the world at an affordable price.

Although the prototype is currently the size of the average at-home printer, Choi says that the final product (out later this year) will be about the size of a Mac Mini and will sell for about $300.