In 2022, I watched a video of mine and wanted to hide under a rock. My skin looked sallow, the dark circles under my eyes pronounced. Loved ones reassured me I was seeing things, but commenters confirmed my worst insecurities. While relating my woes to a friend, she interrupted my pity party to say I was using the wrong foundation color. Did I know my undertone? Choosing the wrong color, she warned, could make me look far more jaundiced on camera than in real life.
About three years later, I finally found the right shade of foundation. I didn’t find it at Sephora, Ulta, or the K-beauty counter at my local H Mart. I custom-printed it using the $295 BoldHue.
BoldHue is a foundation printer that pairs with your phone. The back panel hides six cartridges: five for pigments (red, blue, yellow, white, and black), and a sixth containing a base with skincare ingredients, including glycerin, propanediol, vitamin E, vegan squalane, and antioxidants like tremella mushroom and rice bran extract. These are popular ingredients to hydrate and protect the skin. Unlike most commercial foundations, which use four pigments, BoldHue adds blue to the mix, increasing the number of possible shades.
The front contains a detachable wand that shines light onto your skin. You take readings from your forehead, chin, and neck, then pop the wand back onto the machine. A little drawer pops open, you stick a jar in it, and the machine whirrs. About a minute later, it spits out goo, and you can see all the colors that go into your skin. You mix it all up with a spatula, and then, bada bing, bada boom. You should have your perfect shade match.
Why go through the effort and expense if you can just stroll into a CVS and buy foundation for $20? The short of it is the makeup industry hasn’t always been inclusive, especially for people with darker skin. Rihanna rocked the entire cosmetic industry when she launched 40 foundation shades for her Fenty makeup line. In 2017, launching with such an extensive shade range was unheard of, but while other brands have since jumped on the bandwagon, it’s not a solved problem. Last year, indie makeup brand Youthforia sparked outrage online when it released a pitch-black foundation shade. Some influencers dubbed it “tar in a bottle.” Even among “inclusive” brands, there are many more options in the light-and-medium range and perhaps three or four darker shades. It can also be difficult for the extremely pale or people with albinism to find shades that work for them.
All skin has undertones that make foundation buying tricky. I spent 34 years thinking I was warm-toned because my skin has yellow overtones. It wasn’t until I went to two personal color analysts that I discovered my skin has neutral to cool undertones. Even then, knowing your undertones doesn’t guarantee you’ll have an easy time finding your shade. Foundations can oxidize, meaning they first look like a match and then turn orange as the day progresses. I’ve had trouble finding a neutral shade that doesn’t look too beige or a cooler shade that doesn’t turn me into a ghost.
Considering all that, BoldHue — a device that promises to always print the right shade — starts to make more sense.
BoldHue’s premise is quite bold. But does it work, and is it worth the cost?
In two weeks of testing, I’ve scanned and printed my shade three times. The first was in a demo with the device’s cofounder, Rachel Wilson, and artistic director Sir John, who also happens to be Beyoncé’s makeup artist. This scan had all five pigments — though much more red, yellow, and white, with some black and a hint of blue. Perhaps it was the magic of getting my makeup applied by hands that have also touched Beyoncé, but to my eye, it was a perfect shade match.
I did my second scan at the office and a third at home, both under different lighting conditions. For the second, I had no blue in the mix, but a smidge more black. At home, the blue reappeared. The differences in the final product were negligible and could easily be attributed to me scanning slightly different areas of my chin, forehead, and neck each time. It proved the scans are consistent regardless of lighting conditions. (You don’t have to scan each time you need more foundation; while it’s probably good to rescan when the seasons change, you can also save one to the app and reprint that way. I rescanned for testing.)
I scanned a colleague with a much darker complexion. She was skeptical when we swatched it on her cheek for these photos, as it appeared darker than her actual skin tone. However, once it was blended out, it was an excellent match.
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The formula is medium coverage, lightweight, and has a dewy finish. That makes it versatile for minimalist and fuller-coverage makeup looks. I also scanned a friend with rosacea and dry skin. She had to apply a bit more than I would, but a single foundation layer covered most of her redness.
So based on my testing so far — yes, it does work. Is it worth the cost? That depends.
BoldHue reminds me of the YSL Rouge Sur Mesure, a lipstick printer that lets you custom-print 4,000 shades. It also uses cartridges to mix and match the shade of lipstick you want and allows you to take it on the go. Every person on earth has their own hue, so why not use tech to ensure you always have a perfect color match? Mass-produced makeup will always be limited in the same way that a shirt from H&M will never fit you quite as nicely as a tailored one.
Custom makeup requires cartridges. Cartridges run out. BoldHue’s cartridges cost $15–20 to replace. That’s not terrible. I don’t wear makeup every day, but I’ve gone through two of the three jars I printed for myself in two weeks. All my pigment cartridges are still full, while the base is at about 80 percent. (In fairness, as I noted, I’ve also been printing foundations for my coworkers while testing.)
The cartridges are also proprietary. If BoldHue goes out of business, you’re left with a bricked device, and the hunt for the perfect shade begins all over again.
Professional makeup artists would benefit most from BoldHue. Instead of buying dozens of foundations for your clientele, you could buy one $295 machine. You’d save a lot of money and wouldn’t have to worry much about expiration dates. It’s easy to imagine this device in a Hollywood dressing room.
But the cost is hard to swallow unless you do your makeup daily — or have a hard time finding a shade. I can spend $50 for a bottle of not-as-perfect foundation that’ll last me months. Am I annoyed that my current foundation often oxidizes? Yeah, but it’s not so mismatched that anyone would think I’m doing the Republican makeup trend. Still, BoldHue is onto something. Trial and error sucks. This eliminates that. It’ll be a while before everyone replaces half-filled makeup bottles with a makeup printer. But my wallet and I are ready for that future.
