The real "new black" has been found after researchers report a new dark material that absorbs 99.96 percent of light -- the highest ever recorded.

Up until now, the existing black materials absorb between 95 and 98 percent of light, according to CNN. Surrey NanoSystems, a British company, reported the new material Thursday, calling it Vantablack, and said it is made of carbon nanotubes.

The material is so dark that the human eye has trouble determining its shape and only placing it in a material like foil can reveal its shape.

"Some people describe it as a hole because there is literally not enough light coming from the surface to allow the eye to discern the contours that are in that foil," Steve Northam, of Surrey NanoSystem, told CNN.

The new material has caught the attention of military and space clients, who can use it for cameras, telescopes and infrared scanning systems in order to capture light and allow the devices to work more efficiently.

Since many visual devices are highly sensitive and can see in high quality during the day, Vantablack would help with the sensitivity at night and block out stray light so the devices can pick up fainter images further away.

How would that concept fare in the beauty world? Could it get rid of fine lines and wrinkles or make the ultimate black dress? It wouldn't work, Northam said, because the material requires its own outer layer in order to determine its shape. Wearing it is the same as trying to figure out its shape outside of a foil encasing.

"The wearer [would] look like a two-dimensional cardboard cut out," Northam said.

For now, the material has only been grown on foil, but Surrey NanoSystems said they plan on trying different materials, eventually including three-dimensional shapes.

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