P&G Opte Beauty Wand Is Like an Inkjet Printer for Your Skin

After a decade of R&D, its Opté beauty wand gives a targeted, diagnostic approach to putting makeup on your skin.

Photographer: Kelsey McClellan for Bloomberg Businessweek

Tiffany Kary

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Inkjet printers aren't often ­associated with luxury, beauty, and luminosity. But Opté, a handheld makeup printer for your face, promises to deliver exactly those things. With tiny cameras that take photos at 200 frames per second, Opté quickly scans for blemishes such as age spots and hyper­pigmentation, then covers them precisely as you run the device over your skin. It clicks ­quietly as it goes, shooting out pigment, to instantly camouflage for the day, and also a serum containing niacinamide, a form of vitamin B3 designed to fade imperfections such as dark spots in 8 to 12 weeks.

"It's about not looking fake," says Becky Kaufman, a group head in R&D at P&G Ventures, a division ofProcter & Gamble Co. in Cincinnati. The target consumer is anyone who wants the look of flawless skin without the appearance of wearing ­foundation—men or women who are looking to have the natural translucence of their skin show through.