L'Oreal aims to transform beauty buying on Amazon via AR makeup tech

In a latest effort to revolutionise the retail and beauty scene, L'Oreal's AI and AR company, ModiFace, tied up with Amazon to enable consumers to use the front-facing camera on their mobile phones to digitally try on different shades of lipstick in a live video of themselves or on a selfie. With this partnership, retailers can seamlessly incorporate virtual try-on experiences for an unlimited amount of products.Available to consumers in the US and Japan, the AR simulation of each shade is done automatically, based on AI-powered analysis of information provided by makeup brands, but also images and descriptions of the product available on social media. The technology is able to analyse textual and visual information related to a particular makeup shade and to realistically reproduce it via AR.This comes a few months after it announced a virtual makeup try-on service #ColourMe for Watsons' mobile apps in Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Taiwan. Done in partnership with A.S. Watson Group, #ColourMe enables shoppers to virtually try on 300 makeup products including lipsticks, mascara, eyeshadow, brow colouring, and foundation for its L'Oreal Paris and Maybelline brands. ASW said it will consider extending the collaboration to other brands and markets across its portfolio in Asia and Europe in the future.Parham Aarabi, CEO of ModiFace, said: “Thanks to a precise color rendering, enabled by our AI-powered technology, shoppers can easily try-on thousands of lipsticks available on Amazon and purchase the shades that fit them best.”Nicolas Le Bourgeois, head of Amazon Beauty said that with the new AI-powered virtual experience, Amazon customers can now conveniently try-on thousands of lipstick products, save photos on their devices to share with friends and ultimately purchase with greater confidence –wherever they are, whenever they want, with products delivered right to their doorstep."This launch is another important milestone in our vision to be the best possible place for customers to discover and buy beauty products online," he added.ModiFace was acquired by L'Oréal in 2018 as part of the latter's digital acceleration strategy to provide the group's 34 international brands with the most innovative technologies in terms of services and beauty experience. ModiFace has developed advanced technologies of 3D virtual make-up, color and skin diagnosis services using proprietary know-how which track facial features and color, and are used by nearly all the major beauty brands.Join us at Customer Experience 2019 as we discover the experience innovations of tomorrow, break down business silos, and learn about prioritising data security for the most important person in the room – the customer. Sign up now!