Modeling the Color Preference of Liquid Foundation: The Individual Skin Tone Matters

Abstract

Modeling the quantitative relationship between physical measurements and human perception offers a research-driven guide for mass customization and personalization of products. In China, individuals often select liquid foundation to improve skin whiteness when applying makeup, but there is currently no quantitative research on this preference for whiteness. The aim of this study is to investigate the quantitative impact of the whiteness index on the color preference of liquid foundation and to examine the relationship between individual skin tone and color preference evaluation. A total of 495 women, aged 18–40, from Shanghai, were included in this study. Ten popular liquid foundation colors were formulated by professional colorists from cosmetics companies. Facial skin color was measured using VISIA 7, and the results of subjective color evaluations across different skin tone groups were statistically analyzed to explore the influence of individual skin tone on color preference. The findings revealed that the whiteness scale of liquid foundation and subjective preference evaluation achieved the highest fitting result (R² = 0.97 for nonlinear fitting), suggesting that the whiteness index is the optimal metric for evaluating the color preference of foundation. Meanwhile, variations in color preference evaluation results for liquid foundation were observed across different skin tone groups. Finally, a color preference evaluation model based on individual skin tone grouping was established, with an R² value of 0.93.