METHOD OF SELECTING THE COLOUR OF COSMETIC PRODUCTS

PROCEDE POUR SELECTIONNER LA COULEUR DE PRODUITS COSMETIQUES

English Abstract

According to the present invention there is provided a method for selecting colour cosmetics which are most flattering for a given complexion shade.

French Abstract

La présente invention concerne un procédé pour sélectionner des produits cosmétiques de couleur qui conviennent le mieux à un teint donné.

Claims

6
Claims
1. A method of selecting a suitable/coordinating lip product shade in which
1) An assessment is made of the complete complexion shade of the user
2) A range of lip product colour cosmetics 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 40-45 units 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*40-49units and chroma C* 30-50.
2. A kit of colour cosmetics comprising selecting a foundation shade selected
from group consisting:
a) a complexion lightness L* of 41-52 units, C* of 18-24 units and a hue angle
h° of 54-60°;
b) a complexion lightness L* of 58-70 units, C* of 20-25 units and a hue angle
h° of greater than
63°;
c) a complexion lightness L* of 62-68 units, C* of 18-25 units and hue angle
h° of less than 50;
and
d) a complexion lightness L* of greater than 52 units, C* of 20-25 units and
hue angle h° of 56-
63, and combining it with the appropriate lip product colour cosmetic
according to claim 1

Description

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METHOD OF SELECTING THE COLOUR OF COSMETIC PRODUCTS
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 pre-
selected colour palette also sometimes incorrectly leading the user to an
incorrect palette choice. In

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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 54-600, then the user is matched with a lip product colour cosmetic with
hue angle h 5-
300, 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 500, 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.

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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-

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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 5-300, 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 10-300, 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.

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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
5 manipulated to understand and provide a similar objective method of
selecting other colour
cosmetics, such as blushers, bronzers, eye shadows, pencils and mascaras.