[NFB-Seniors-Discussion] APP to assist checking your makeup! - Has people with visual impairment in mind

[robertleslienewman at gmail.com]

Hi You All

RE: Not that I’m looking for this type of assist for me…

 

Check this out. You tell me if this is trustworthy; hope it works good!  

 

Disability:IN - Tuesday, January 9, 2024 at 11:45 AM


Cosmopolitan: Meet VMA: The App That’s Going to Forever Change How Blind People Do Their Makeup


  <https://disabilityin.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/DI-Blog-In-the-News-Featured-Image_Cosmopolitan_In-the-News-Horizontal.png> 


Voice-enabled Makeup Assistant is here—and Cosmo chatted with four of the app’s users.


For those with low-vision or blindness, putting on makeup is typically a two-person job. Sure, you can learn to dab on concealer <https://www.cosmopolitan.com/style-beauty/beauty/g37482918/best-concealers-reviews/>  or blend out your Drunk Elephant Bronzing Drops <https://www.cosmopolitan.com/style-beauty/beauty/g45530717/best-drunk-elephant-bronzing-drops-dupes/>  with a couple of #GetReadyWithMe TikToks (that is, if the creator talks out their steps versus just overlaying an ~aesthetic~ Mitski song or “My BFF dated my ex” story time). But to make sure your foundation <https://www.cosmopolitan.com/style-beauty/g3849028/best-full-coverage-foundation/>  is fully blended and your eyeliner <https://www.cosmopolitan.com/style-beauty/beauty/g25643335/best-eyeliner/>  isn’t smudged, you’re likely going to need to ask someone for help—whether it be a family member, friend, or literal stranger—and just hope they give you an honest answer. This is obviously less than ideal, and it gave Estée Lauder Companies an idea: Voice-enabled Makeup Assistant (VMA), a voice-enabled app to help people with vision loss and blindness check their makeup application.

“We identified that there was a huge accessibility gap in the beauty industry for those with disabilities, specifically for individuals who are low vision and blind,” says Lamia Drew, global inclusive technology director at Estée Lauder Companies. So after years of research, interviews, and testing done in tandem with people in the low-vision and blind communities, Estée Lauder launched VMA in January 2023. “Many people told us that when they put on makeup, they would have to send a selfie to a person that they trusted to give them honest feedback,” Drew explains. “The consistent theme really was that many people in this community felt like their makeup routine created a dependence on others and we want VMA to change that.”


Hannah Chadwick


I strive to be as independent as I can with everything that I do. So when I got the chance to help develop this app all the way in Colorado Springs, Colorado, I was so excited. It’s super incredible to just have something like this out there. A real game changer.

I think back to when I was in high school and first became interested in makeup. I’d experiment, but certain products like lipstick were challenging. Overall, the hardest part of makeup for me is that I’d have to get people to check it every single time. The older I get, the less I care about it, but when I was younger, I was so easily embarrassed, so I would never want to go out with weird, blotchy makeup. I just remember spending so much time in the bathroom doing my makeup, and then getting frustrated and just asking someone else to do it. Ultimately, makeup was time-consuming and deflating, and I felt like I just couldn’t do it myself. That was something that really bothered me. It felt like it went against my entire definition of independence.

https://disabilityin.org/in-the-news/cosmopolitan-voice-enabled-makeup-assistant-vma-app/?utm_source=rss <https://disabilityin.org/in-the-news/cosmopolitan-voice-enabled-makeup-assistant-vma-app/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=cosmopolitan-voice-enabled-makeup-assistant-vma-app> &utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=cosmopolitan-voice-enabled-makeup-assistant-vma-app

 

 

 

David Goldfield,

Blindness Assistive Technology Specialist

 

If you need help using your assistive technology learn about my training services by visiting

WWW.ScreenReaderTraining.com <http://www.screenreadertraining.com/> 

 

Am Yisrael Chai

The Nation of Israel Lives!

 

JAWS Certified, 2022 <https://www.freedomscientific.com/Training/Certification/> 

NVDA Certified Expert <https://certification.nvaccess.org/> 

 

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Respectfully yours,

Robert Leslie Newman

NFBN Senior Division, President

 

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