Microsoft Skype and Shiseido create make-up filter for women who teleconference

Microsoft has teamed up with Japanese cosmetic giant Shiseido to create a plugin for Skype for Business to help women teleconferencing through the “appearance barrier” where female employees are supposedly so distracted by their appearance on-screen that they have a hard time paying attention to the official business at hand.

The “Telebeauty” plugin applies virtual make-up to its user’s video image by scanning the user’s face and adjusting her skin tone, smoothing skin, blurring pores, dark spots, and pimples. It also adds blush, lipstick, and eye makeup and lets users choose from one of four palettes: natural, trend, cool, or pretty.

The app can distinguish between a user’s face and the background, so the makeup “stays on” even as the user talks and moves around.

The app is being tested by Microsoft Japan but is expected to eventually become available overseas. The app is likely to not have a great reception in the West, but of course in the East so-called “beauty” filters have long been part of the photo landscape, and it is likely Skype users there have long been wondering when the feature will become available.

See the app in action below.