Estée Lauder Companies Works With University of Leeds to Improve Complexion Matching

Screenshot Foundation and concealer shade matching remains one of beauty’s most persistent customer challenges. A product can appear suitable under one lighting condition but look different outdoors, in a store mirror or during a video call.

Undertones can also be difficult to identify, particularly when customers are choosing among closely related shades. The new partnership brings together The Estée Lauder Companies, the School of Design at the University of Leeds, and Dr.

Kaida Xiao, Professor of Color and Imaging Science at the Leeds Institute of Textiles and Color. The goal is to develop a stronger scientific understanding of the point at which small differences in complexion colour become visible and meaningful to consumers.

The research will use advanced psychophysical methods, which study how people notice and interpret visual differences. In practical terms, the work will examine how an individual sees skin undertones and subtle shifts in colour, rather than relying only on readings taken by scientific instruments…