DIY Makeup Project Shows that Girls Can Rock Tech, Too!

Many women have felt the frustration of searching for that perfect shade of makeup, only to have it discontinued a few weeks later. For most people, the search for the perfect shade will just cycle back to the beginning and the search willcontinue. But for tech genius Grace Choi, “no solution” was not an option.

In this Business Insider article, journalist Alyson Shontell sat down with Choi to learn about her startup, Mink, which promises to help anyone easily 3D print their own makeup from any home computer.

After graduating with a hotel administration degree from Cornell University in 2005, Choi became an assistant to Dr. Martin Prince, an established inventor and physician in New York. According to the article, it was there that her interest in technology began to blossom. Dr. Prince took her under his leadership, where she was able to work on his inventions, learn from other physicians, and experiment.

Choi later continued onto Harvard Business School, in hopes of learning the investment skills she would need to kick start future ideas. While at Harvard, Choi began developing ideas for DIY makeup lines after being disappointed in the lack of color options for her skin tone.

"I felt pretty insignificant when there was no Asian Cover Girl model," she told Shontell. "America is supposed to be progressive."

Choi’s idea began to come to fruition when she realized that the colors and dyes most makeup companies mix into their formulas could be created with simple computer printer colors: Black, Cyan, Yellow,  and Magenta. By simply manipulating a $70 HP printer, pigment can be printed on the top layer of blank white shadow, cream, lipstick, or moisturizer for a DIY product.

"[Makeup companies] charge a huge premium on something that tech provides for free. That one thing is color," Choi explained during her TechCrunch Disrupt presentation.

According to the article, “Choi envisions a world where celebrities have iTunes-like pages for makeup, where a girl can log on and print Kim Kardashian's exact lipstick shade to wear.”

We love that while Choi is dedicated to showing young girls that anyone can become an inventor with simple products at home. At this time, the Mink printer is not being sold as a ready-made, but Choi is touring the country hosting “hack-a-thons” and DIY online tutorials to inspire young girls to create the solutions themselves.

"I'm willing to take a hit financially because my number one motivation is for change. I think of Mink as an educational tool for kids, and one that can get girls interested in technology. I don't need to be on some billionaires list.”

Read the rest of the article here:http://www.businessinsider.com/grace-choi-mink-2014-9#ixzz3DUiJdHN1