Yahoo News The future of beauty? A magic mirror that scores your skin and plays fitness consultant
Mirror, mirror on the wall, analyse my skin and give me a score.
And while we’re at it, order my cleanser, play me an exercise video, tell me the weather forecast and read me the news headlines. All while I get ready for work.
This is not a dystopian nightmare but a vision of the near future with the HiMirror: a new internet-connected smart mirror that doubles up as an at-home beauty and fitness consultant.
Peer into its glass and it will scan your face, give you detailed feedback on your complexion and analyse any changes to your skin, so you can select the products that will suit you best.
Just sign in with your face and use the interactive touch screen to navigate — or connect to Alexa so that you can go hands-free (no grubby make-up marks, please).
The concept conjures images of Snow White’s magic mirror but instead of it declaring that I was the fairest of them all on a Monday morning — which would have been a nice way to start the week — it told me I had five prominent wrinkles, nine fine lines and darker circles than I did the day before — 2.25 per cent darker, to be precise.
The daily skin analysis measures 10 different indicators, from dark spots to overall roughness: you’ll receive a rating between 0 and 100 for each one, as well as a score for your overall skin health.
The results are presented on the mirror in a kind of slide show, with diagrams of your face, but you can also access them on an app on your phone — I looked over mine later on the bus to work.
The level of detail may seem excessive but the concept is practical: the idea is that you scan your skin once or twice a week (scans are stored on a calendar) and track your results.
Unsurprisingly, mine were worse after a boozy weekend at Latitude (being told my skin condition had “slipped back a bit” didn’t help the hangover) and better after a couple of early nights — but I did begin to notice a trend according to which moisturiser I used, which I’ll bear in mind next time I need a top-up. Inevitably, you can save products in My Beauty box for easy ordering.
The mirror is fitted with strips of LEDs and has five lighting settings for different environments. Unlike a traditional mirror, HiMirror also lets you zoom: the magnifying feature comes with three options. Whether or not you want to is a separate question, though it was useful for applying eyeliner.
There’s a fitness function, too — you can stream exercise videos and track various body measurements, including your weight and BMI. You can stream music and scan the headlines and weather forecast on the screen while getting ready.
Its creators say it’s a reaction to consumers’ growing desire to track their health and fitness in a quantifiable way: think of it as a Fitbit for your face.
On the other hand, highlighting flaws in such a blatant way feels like it could be double-edged — campaigners have warned about its effects on self-esteem — and it’s further fodder for selfie narcissists. It’s not hard to go from quantified self one minute to obsessive the next.
But provided you are careful it needn’t be depressing: just keep your perspective and use it as a tool for discovery rather than a chance to pick out imperfections.
Smart powers aside, it’s shiny, well-lit and super high-spec, so will look good on your dressing table.
