Although applications that allow you to try on makeup digitally have been there for some time, L’Oreal is hoping to make them accessible to a broader audience through the integration of ModiFace, the company’s AI-driven AR platform with Amazon’s increasingly growing product catalog.
As from last week, shoppers who use their mobile phones to shop on Amazon will be in a position to try out various lipstick shades on live videos and pictures of themselves.
The release comes one year after L’Oreal joined forces with Facebook to allow the social platform’s users to test out different samples of virtual makeup via the Facebook application.
“We are excited to team up with ModiFace to make shopping for cosmetics online even easier by offering customers the ability to virtually try-on before they buy.
With this new AI-powered virtual experience, Amazon customers can now … purchase with greater confidence — wherever they are, whenever they want, with products delivered right to their doorstep,” said head of Amazon Beauty Nicolas Le Bourgeois.
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“This launch is another important milestone in our vision to be the best possible place for customers to discover and buy beauty products online.”
In several identified beauty listings, shoppers will soon have the ability to digitally try out different products using their phone’s selfie or front camera.
This capability is powered by ModiFace’s augmented reality simulation, which takes advantage of the data analyses offered by makeup companies alongside the product descriptions and images drawn from social media networks.
For Amazon, this endeavor marks another move towards augmented reality (AR)-driven fashion future.
Two years back, the globally leading retailer rolled out the Echo Look, which is a connected camera known for combining both machine and human intelligence to recommend color-filter clothes, stay updated on what is in people’s wardrobes, and compare two outfits.
The Echo Look connects to the Prime Wardrobe, which is a program that is similar to the ones provided by Trunk Club and Stitch Fix that allow users not only to try clothes but also send back the clothes they do not want to purchase.
An A.T. Kearny survey conducted in 2016 revealed that 69 percent of American women, particularly those who shop for their beauty products online, begin their all their searches at Amazon.
“We are delighted to team up with Amazon to provide its customers an AR makeup try-on that offers highly realistic results and makes online shopping even more comfortable,” said ModiFace CEO Parham Aarabi.
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“Thanks to a precise color rendering, enabled by our unique AI-powered technology, shoppers can easily try on thousands of lipsticks available on Amazon and purchase the shades that fit them best.”
Back in 2018, L’ Oreal bought ModiFace, which helped in the creation of custom augmented reality beauty applications from Estée Launder, Sephora, and more than 80 others.
Before the acquisition, ModiFace partnered with L’Oreal on the release of the company’s Style My Hair mobile application, which allows users to preview an array of hairstyles.
ModiFace has about 70 scientists, researchers, and engineers who have submitted over 200 scientific publications and registered more than 30 patents.
