Too glam to scan: Shanghai airport stops woman with 'bridal-level' makeup as her face didn't match passport

A woman flying out of Shanghai was forced to scrub off her makeup at airport immigration after facial recognition scanners couldn’t match her heavily contoured face to the photo in her passport, sparking a viral moment.

In a video that has now racked up thousands of views on Chinese and international social media, the flustered traveller is seen using wipes to remove what commenters called “bridal-level makeup” while being berated by an airport employee off-camera.

“Wipe everything off until you look like your passport photo,” the person is heard saying. “Why would you do your makeup like that? You are asking for trouble.”

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The clip, shared by @wchinapost, shows the woman visibly mortified as she tries to scrub off foundation, contour, eyeliner, and possibly even her will to travel. It's unclear if she eventually made it through immigration, but the scanner definitely didn’t approve of her glow-up.

Online, reactions flew as fast as a delayed boarding call.

Some were merciless. “This is cosplay. Not just regular makeup,” one viewer joked.

“It’s not like she can walk around with a filter in real life,” another quipped.

Others, however, called out the behaviour of the staff member and the person filming:

“She was already embarrassed. No need to keep nagging her like a boomer,” said one comment.
“This is bullying. Poor girl,” added another.