Help me find a 1980s makeup computer please.

August 16, 2020 4:18 AM

I am looking for a picture of an interactive display for makeup that I liked in the 1980s. I used it at a CVS in a mall in Massachusetts. It would ask questions about you (hair color, eye color I think, maybe information about your style?) and then give some output, probably suggestions for makeup products as well as some generalized description of your generic type. I am making a cartoon and I'd love to find an image of the display so I can include it.
posted by stinker to Clothing, Beauty, & Fashion (7 answers total)

IRRC, Clinique had something like this in that time period. It was an acrylic stand with chrome sliders that stood on the counter. You moved the sliders to answer questions about your skin (burn easily, oily after washing, etc.) and it made product recommendations for their 1-2-3 skincare collection. I can't find an image, but it was a thing, for sure.
posted by XtineHutch at 5:35 AM on August 16, 2020

Clarion makeup! I used to play around with this while waiting for my mom to do her shopping at Target. Here’s a YouTube video with some shots of the computer.
posted by Fuego at 6:56 AM on August 16, 2020

Was it maybe this 1988 Avon Beauty Vision Personal Color Computer System or some variation of it? (I don't know that Avon would have had product at a CVS in a mall, but maybe they weren't the only ones using this thing. If nothing else, maybe the image would serve for your cartoon.)
posted by sourcequench at 7:09 AM on August 16, 2020

@foone On Twitter was talking about a late 90s Version of this on Twitter, and they generally make quite the rabbit hole.
posted by wotsac at 7:38 AM on August 16, 2020

Here's a pin of the Clarion Beauty Computer.
posted by jocelmeow at 8:33 AM on August 16, 2020

Here's the Clinique one.
posted by mefireader at 12:41 PM on August 16, 2020

Thanks so much, it was the Clarion one I loved so much, but they're all so great.
posted by stinker at 3:37 AM on August 18, 2020