There's nothing worse than going to buy new make-up, only to find that none of the shades of foundation are quite right. But the days of having to mix your own concoction at home are finally a thing of the past, thanks to a new AI-powered beauty brand.
DCYPHER Beauty uses artificial intelligence to scan your skin before coming up with a custom shade. According to the company, its creations not only match your skin colour, but also your tone, undertone, vibrancy, and depth. So far, DCYPHER has created over 90,000 shades – with 99.4 per cent accuracy.
Speaking to the Daily Mail, Ruth De Leo, co-founder of DCYPHER Beauty, explained: 'The tech allows us to rethink the whole model. Instead of customers trying to identify themselves in a shade chart, we use AI to understand their exact skin tone and create something bespoke. It removes the compromise completely.'
DCYPHER Beauty was set up in 2021 by Ms De Leo and Adam Triantis, who had become frustrated with the lack of shades available to make-up wearers. 'You'd stand in front of a display with 40 odd shades and still somehow none of them were quite right,' Ms De Leo explained. 'We launched DCYPHER because every person should be able to buy complexion products made specifically for them, rather than settling for the nearest option. Foundation is one of the most personal products people buy, so it should be personal by design.'
To create a custom foundation, users first select their skin type (oily, balanced, or dry) and their desired coverage and finish. Next, they're prompted to scan their makeup-free face with their smartphone camera in good lighting. That's when the AI gets to work. 'Our AI analyses a guided skin scan using machine learning trained on thousands of skin tone data points,' Mr Triantis told the Daily Mail. 'It measures depth, undertone and tonal nuance, then converts that information into a unique formulation recipe.'
The unique recipe is fed into DCYPHER's production system, which then blends four pigments drop-by-drop in exact measurements to create a perfect-fit shade. Mr Triantis added: 'It can then be amended and updated to tweak ingredients dependent on the customer's skin type and preferences. If they want more hyaluronic acid for example, no problem, we can tweak that.'
Crucially, DCYPHER isn't just choosing from existing shades – it's creating every single formula from scratch. Not only does that result in perfectly colour matched shades, but it also helps to keep costs and waste down. The custom foundation costs £39 while the custom concealer is £27 – similar prices to most high-end competitors.
Ms De Leo explained: 'Most beauty brands manufacture large quantities of dozens of shades in advance, which inevitably leads to overproduction and unsold stock. Because our foundations and custom products are created to order, we only make exactly what is needed for each customer. That significantly reduces waste in product, packaging and inventory. AI also improves accuracy, which means fewer returns from people ordering the wrong shade.'
DCYPHER is available online and is also in Sloane Square's Peter Jones throughout the Chelsea Flower Show (18th May – 4th June). And according to the company, the response from customers has been 'extraordinary'. Ms De Leo explained: 'The most meaningful stories are from people who had almost given up on foundation, often those with very fair skin, very deep skin or skin conditions like rosacea who've never found the right match. I can recount so many stories from customers who say they've spent years mixing two premium foundations every morning to create something close enough, and with DCYPHER she finally had one product made just for her. Those stories are what remind us why we built it.'
