Makeup for the Metaverse
Have you tried SPECTRA yet?
Here at THE UNSEEN Beauty, innovation lies at the heart who we are as a brand and people. We want to reveal to the world what it cannot see for itself — to reveal the unseen. And one of the ways we've been able to reveal the unseen is through our transformative Eye Colour, SPECTRA.
SPECTRA is our first product – a cream-based, easy to blend pigment we launched in October of 2021 in two shades:
Shade 8.08 𝚫
- IRL colour: subtle grey
- Digital colour: reflective silver
Shade 4.10 𝚫
- IRL colour: pigmented black
- Digital colour: reflective silver
How does SPECTRA work?
A cream-based product, SPECTRA's unique formula features retroreflective beads, creating that bright, reflective effect that it's known for. These retroreflective beads are essentially tiny glass microspheres, semi-coated in aluminium — they reflect light straight back at you, instead of scattering in different directions, or at an angle like most materials do. That's why when you shine your phone camera's flash over the product, you only see it in the video or image you take and not in real life.
What's the story behind SPECTRA?
SPECTRA's story begins seven years before its creation, when the founder of THEUNSEEN, Lauren Bowker was at gig with some friends. Here, she noticed how most of the audience was viewing the performance through their phone screens, rather than in real-time.
It occurred to Lauren, that a whole generation of people live and consume through a screen and that for some, this is their reality — enhanced even more so now after the lockdowns triggered by COVID-19.
This experience triggered a thought process of "wouldn't it be great if you created a colour that exists physically, but you can only ever see in the digital space?". So, it became a question of digital vs physical reality. What is real? And how can we create something that can exist in both realities?
Where does the SPECTRA name come from?
Curiosity about the planet Venus and its reflective atmosphere is what led founder of THEUNSEEN, Lauren Bowker to look into Spectrometers and Spectrophotography.
Spectrophotography is a scientific technique that detects and records different wavelengths of light, and it's how scientists were able to see Venus — because of its reflective atmosphere.
Spectrometers are used in tools like telescopes and by scientists to shine UV, infrared and visible light into the universe, in search for unseen parts of space. When this light is shone into space and it reflects back, it creates something called a spectrograph, which tells us what wavelengths hit what materials. These learnings on how science uses light to explore unseen realities are what inspired SPECTRA's name.
How do you use SPECTRA?
The simple answer here is however you want. SPECTRA, like COLOUR ALCHEMY, is designed to help you express your most authentic self.
For best results, we recommend applying SPECTRA with a brush or your finger. Leave it a couple minutes to dry. Once dry to the touch, watch the product transform under your phone's camera flash, through the screen.
Show us how you express yourself with SPECTRA and tag us on Instagram with @theunseenbeauty.
