Overview

• A passenger at Shanghai airport was ordered to remove her makeup at immigration after a facial scanner could not match her heavily contoured face to her passport photo.
• A viral video shows an airport employee scolding the traveler as she wipes off “bridal-level” cosmetics while bystanders record the incident.
• Online viewers expressed sympathy for the passenger and criticized the official’s harsh tone, with some likening the look to “cosplay.”
• Commenters and security experts have urged airports to enhance facial recognition software to accommodate variations from heavy makeup and cosmetic surgery.
• Model and influencer Janaína Prazeres was similarly detained for 40 minutes when immigration officers failed to recognize her surgically altered face, prompting her to update her passport photo.