Grupo Boticário, Brazil’s beauty powerhouse, revealed its revolutionary Smart Lipstick®—the world’s first prototype AI-powered lipstick application system. This innovation, developed in partnership with the cutting-edge CESAR Innovation Hub in Recife, marks a major milestone for beauty tech: it’s a device designed from the ground up for inclusivity, specifically to empower individuals with motor disabilities or visual impairments to apply lipstick hands-free, with flawless results and full independence.
Seven Years of R&D: How Smart Lipstick® Works
The Smart Lipstick® is the result of a painstaking seven-year collaboration between Grupo Boticário and CESAR Innovation Hub, blending AI, computer vision, and robotics into a single, elegant home device. The process is as futuristic as it is intuitive:
- The user rests their face on a specially designed chinrest—echoing the care of a medical-grade device.
- AI-powered cameras photograph the face from multiple angles, with computer vision mapping the precise shape and tone of the lips, regardless of skin type or personal features.
- A robotic arm—soft and precise—then smoothly applies the lipstick with millimetre-level accuracy, guided entirely by advanced sensor feedback and intelligent algorithms.
- Finally, a verification photograph confirms flawless coverage. The full process takes under two minutes, ensuring both speed and confidence.
Engineering for Everyone
- Accessibility by Design: Smart Lipstick® addresses traditional beauty barriers—tubes that require grip strength, standard applicators difficult for users with fine motor challenges, and visual precision that only some of us can manage. The result: a system that creates autonomy where there was none, according to CESAR’s chairman Giordano Cabral.
- User-Centric Development: More than 263 women of different ages and abilities were interviewed, ensuring design and machine learning truly addressed practical, real-world difficulties—from shaky hands to not being able to see precisely during application.
- Tech in the Service of Humanity: As the device entered pilot use in select Brazilian retail stores in mid-2024 and at CES 2025, feedback highlighted its blend of precision, comfort, and human warmth—a machine that mimics the gentle, personalized touch of a makeup artist.
Global Recognition
The innovation world took notice quickly. Smart Lipstick® earned the People’s Choice Award at SXSW Innovation 2025—an accolade sometimes referred to as beauty tech’s Oscars—and was spotlighted as a breakthrough at CES 2025 in Las Vegas.
Why This Matters
- Redefining Beauty for the 21st Century: Grupo Boticário’s Gustavo Dieamant, R&D Executive Director, explains: “Our Smart Lipstick® was inspired by Grupo Boticário’s desire to make the beauty market more diverse and inclusive, thereby positively influencing society,” explained Gustavo Dieamant, R&D executive director at Grupo Boticário. “The project began in 2018, in partnership with CESAR Innovation Hub, Neurobots, and EMBRAPII. After more than seven years of development across five phases, it’s incredible to see our work recognized on this global stage.”
- Industry Imperative: Recent market research shows truly inclusive brands are growing 1.5 times faster than peers—a signal that making beauty accessible isn’t just socially crucial, but a smart business move.
- Potential Beyond Beauty: By solving the precise application challenge, the technology demonstrates what’s possible in the wider assistive tech sector—helping people live more independently, confidently, and creatively.
What’s Ahead for Smart Lipstick®?
- Pilot Rollouts: The system is currently in select Brazilian retail stores, gathering user feedback and preparing for commercial release. There are plans for global expansion in leading beauty markets and ongoing partnerships with accessibility and advocacy groups.
- Further Iterations: Grupo Boticário and CESAR are refining the prototype—making it more affordable, even more portable, and compatible with other types of makeup or cosmetic application tasks.
Smart Lipstick® is more than an AI gadget—it’s a statement for the future of beauty where technology exists to serve the needs, dignity, and self-expression of all people. Grupo Boticário’s breakthrough paves the way for a world in which no one is left out of the ritual and joy of personal beauty. It’s about autonomy, inclusivity, and the confidence to smile at yourself—no matter your story.
