France/Canada: L’Oreal acquires app provider that gives virtual makeovers

French cosmetics group L’Oreal said on Friday, March 16, it was buying Canadian beauty technology company ModiFace, as it looks to roll out more digital services such as virtual make-up tests, reported Bloomberg.

ModiFace specializes in augmented reality and artificial intelligence applied to the beauty industry, an area L’Oreal and other peers have been developing as their online sales grow and customers increasingly follow cosmetics trends on social media.

The Maybelline maker has built a stable of more than 30 of the world’s biggest beauty brands by acquiring names like Kiehl’s, but this is the first time the company has added a tech company to its roster. L’Oreal had dabbled in augmented reality with projects including the “Makeup Genius” app, which has been downloaded more than 20 million times.

“The way our consumers are searching for, discovering and trying products is really changing, and we wanted to incorporate that more deeply,” L’Oreal Chief Digital Officer Lubomira Rochet said in a phone interview.

Full Content: Bloomberg

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