The minority investment in Prinker Korea has been made via L’Oréal’s strategic venture fund, Bold. 

Prinker Korea was established in South Korea in 2015. The business has developed a handheld inkjet printer that can print tattoo designs direct-to-person, using either a design library or personalised designs.

It is described as “the world’s first digital temporary tattoo device”.

A special primer is applied to the skin first, and the print output is described as water-resistant, but also easy to remove with soap or make-up remover. The inks used have been approved by US and EU authorities, and are classified as cosmetic products.

Prinker’s bestselling system is currently on offer priced from £230.99, with additional primer and ink sets at around £100.  

The two companies have already been working together developing a new application for the Prinker technology – L’Oréal Brow Magic. 

L'Oréal's Brow Magic system 

This was described as “the first handheld, electronic brow make-up applicator to provide consumers with their most precise brow shape”. It was unveiled at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas last week and uses AR technology and patented AI-algorithms. The device scans the user's face and makes recommendations on the best brow shape “which is then printed in seconds automatically”.