THE beauty world is having its AI moment, with brands from NYX and Boots No7 to YSL, Laura Mercier and Armani all offering customers the opportunity to try on different products virtually, without leaving the house.
Forward-thinking foundation brands such as Dcypher even use artificial intelligence to analyse skin tones to create a perfectly matched product.
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Can AI really do your make-up for you?Credit: David Cummings
But how accurate is it – and can a robot really give beauty advice?
I wanted to find out.
So I enlisted the help of ChatGPT – a powerful, free-to-use AI chatbot – and asked it how to do my make-up for different occasions.
I then carried out the step-by-step instructions with the help of professional make-up artist Lisa Coleman.
But even with a pro wielding the brushes, the results were, well, take a look for yourself . .
Celebrity make-up artist Olivia Todd also demonstrates in a video below her easy ‘how to’ tutorial for date night makeup.
Look 1: Nursery run
I START with an easy one and ask ChatGPT to design “a make-up look appropriate for the nursery run”.
It takes only a few seconds for it to form a detailed response, telling me that this look “should be quick, easy and natural-looking while still helping you feel put-together and confident”.
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ChatGPT says a nursery look should be ‘quick, easy and natural-looking while still helping you feel put-together and confident’Credit: David Cummings
Hallelujah! If this works it will be a miracle.
It’s almost as if it’s been spying on my early-morning attempts at grooming while trying to stop a toddler chewing a make-up brush.
The step-by-step routine it suggests seems very sensible.
Professional make-up artist shows how to do your make-up for a date night
It starts with a tinted moisturiser or a BB cream.
“Choose a formula with SPF to protect your skin from the sun during outdoor activities,” says my skin-conscious digital pal.
I’m a big fan of sun protection every day of the year but given it feels like it’s been raining solidly for weeks, the chance of me doing any “outdoor activities” seems optimistic.
It then suggests a simple, neutral understated eyeshadow (to be honest I normally don’t bother with eyeshadow, but I’ll give it a go); mascara – “choose a waterproof formula if you’re worried about smudging or flaking throughout the day”; tinted lip balm; optional brow gel and setting spray for a dewy finish.
While it takes Lisa a little longer than the five minutes max I normally give myself, the result is natural, flattering and entirely appropriate.
With one exception – there’s no colour on my cheeks, which makes me look a bit flat.
I’d probably switch out the eyeshadow for a bit of blusher and, as Lisa points out, the setting spray isn’t really necessary for light day make up.
Ease of application: 5
Final look: 5
Look 2: Date night
I WAS now convinced that ChatGPT could do dressed-down day looks, but what about a date night?
Keen to amp things up a bit, I ask it to design “a sexy date-night make-up look”.
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ChatGPT says ‘a sexy date-night make-up look is all about enhancing your features with sultry tones and alluring finishes. Here’s how to create a captivating look’Credit: David Cummings
Within seconds, my virtual Charlotte Tilbury is on it.
“Absolutely!” it responds. “A sexy date-night make-up look is all about enhancing your features with sultry tones and alluring finishes. Here’s how to create a captivating look.”
The recommended base is a bit heavier, while the eye make-up starts with a neutral base, before building to a smoky eye with an extended line “for a seductive wing”.
Then it is on to contouring my cheeks with a matte bronzer, a highlighter “with a champagne or rose gold undertone for a romantic finish” on cheekbones, brow and the bridge of my nose, before finishing with a bold lip in “classic red, deep berry, or sultry plum”.
“Remember, confidence is the key to rocking a sexy date-night make-up look,” says my virtual make-up artist, who seems to have become some sort of life coach as well.
“Embrace your inner goddess and let your beauty shine through as you enjoy your special evening.”
Meanwhile, my real make-up artist was a bit less impressed.
“It was really lovely until we added the lip,” she says. “It looks very try-hard for a date. You look a bit like an air hostess.”
I have to agree.
I think my husband would be horrified if I turned up to date night looking like this and, as someone who is paranoid about the size of my nose, the idea of highlighting the bridge horrifies me.
Ease of application: 3
Final look: 2
Look 3: Party face
AFTER the date night look left me feeling as sensual as a turnip, I was concerned what ChatGPT might create for a dramatic party look.
And I was right to worry . . .
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ChatGPT says: ‘This dramatic party make-up look is sure to turn heads and make you feel confident and glamorous’Credit: David Cummings
The base was seriously heavy – a pore-minimising primer, full-coverage foundation, concealer then translucent powder to set it all.
For the eyes, first a primer, then a matte, neutral shade, then a “deep and richly pigmented eyeshadow, such as plum, emerald green or navy blue” worked from the corner into the centre – with a metallic or shimmer shadow on the inner corner and centre.
Finally, gel or liquid liner on the upper lashes with a sleek wing, then smudgy dark shadow on the lower line and “several coats” of volumising mascara, with false lashes optional.
With the eyes bringing so much drama, I assumed the rest would be minimal.
Hell no.
Matte bronzer to contour the cheeks, a “highly pigmented blush in a bold shade, such as coral, berry or fuchsia” on the apples, then highlighter.
I’ll look like Aunt Sally.
I thought everyone knew you never go for dramatic eyes AND dramatic lips. But not ChatGPT.
It says: “Choose a bold, statement-making lipstick, such as red, deep berry or vampy plum. For added intensity and dimension, layer a co-ordinating lip gloss or metallic lipstick in the centre.”
Lisa does her best not to make me look ridiculous but her brief was to follow the instructions.
ChatGPT says: “This dramatic party make-up look is sure to turn heads and make you feel confident and glamorous.”
Actually, my eyes are watering, my skin feels caked and I don’t feel like myself.
Pass the make-up wipes!
Ease of application: 1
Final look: 0
Can’t cover up flaws in AI make-up routines
THE instructions that ChatGPT spat out make it look, at first glance, as if it knows what it is talking about.
But speaking to Lisa, it becomes clear that, unsurprisingly, it lacks the human touch.
The AI suggests using powder immediately after foundation, which makes it harder to blend creams and tidy mistakes, Lisa says.
She’d use it at the end.
And the way it suggests applying eyeshadow outer corner first is, to say the least, unorthodox.
It also doesn’t take into account the difference in people’s faces.
Lisa says: “You might not want to highlight your nose but you’ve also got good cheekbones so you don’t really need contouring there.”
At the bottom of the ChatGPT website is written: “ChatGPT can make mistakes.
“Consider checking important information.”
Well it got that right.
Professional make-up artists, your jobs are safe.
