The beauty business gets an AR makeover

The Future. Beauty companies are stocking up on AR and AI-powered tech in order to reach customers who don’t want to go to a store to try new looks. By utilizing gamification, social platforms, and BuzzFeed-like quizzes, beauty companies may make new customers out of the casually curious.

Try-on tech
What if you could try on makeup and keep your face totally clean?

• The new trend in beauty is “virtual try on” or VTO.
• That’s because people no longer want to drive all the way to the store just to try on lipstick or blush.
• Brands like L’Oreal, Maybelline, and NYX Professional Makeup have acquired AR and AI startups or have launched their own divisions to bring VTO to customers.
  • L’Oreal even built its own VTO app called Makeup Genius.

Using these platforms, customers can virtually try on makeup or change hair colors, speak with pro stylists, and even share their looks on social media (got to get that feedback).

Facetainment
Like every sales journey these days, VTO is all about creating an experience that is entertaining and engaging.

Tyler Wozny, senior vice president of the hair color company Madison Reed, said that the company’s color quiz, which uses its AR Virtual Try-On tool, has led 38% of users to become paying customers. Welcome to the gamification of beauty.