Details:
Summary:
This research will test the color management and accuracy of lipstick packaging. This research is specifically targeted at drugstore brand products that typically cannot be tested by the consumer before purchasing. In purchasing makeup, we all want the perfect color for a reasonable price. At stores like Sephora, you can try countless shades of foundations, lipsticks and eye shadows before choosing ones that suit you perfectly. However, this luxury comes at a much higher price. Lower end products sold at drugstores usually cannot be tested before purchasing. This means that for consumers of lower-end products, there is not always a guarantee that a product will work for them. More often than not, the foundation does not match their skin tone, the lipstick is not the color advertised and the eye shadow is not as pigmented as they thought. This can be very frustrating for consumers on a budget who cannot afford to purchase several different shades of one product in order to find the right color. In fact, 32% of global consumers feel that personal care manufacturers do not understand their needs, according to PR Newswire. This also affects manufacturing companies; because if the makeup gets returned, it cannot be resold if it has been used. This ultimately creates waste, as well as a bad brand reputation. Even if consumers do not return lipsticks that failed expectations they are still unsatisfied with the product and may be less likely to purchase from that brand again.
A large aspect of this problem, specifically with lipsticks, is that printers typically cannot reproduce the same vibrancy of color that the lipstick provides. Moreover, many of the brighter red shades are out of gamut for the printer. By testing the color accuracy of lipstick packaging against the product, this research will determine what percentage of colors are outside of the printable gamut, and how this problem can be remedied with different printing techniques.