L’Oréal To Partner With Amazon On Makeup Tech

L’Oréal’s virtual reality business ModiFace will be working with Amazon to provide makeup testing technology, according to an announcement from the French beauty powerhouse. The tech will allow customers to virtually “try on” lipstick using mobile phone videos or pictures. It will work with multiple brands, according to reports – including those not owned by L’Oréal, such as Maybelline and Lancôme. However, the technology will only work with lipstick, at least for now.

The service will launch in the United States and Japan in mid-2019; no financial details of the arrangement have been disclosed.

ModiFace was acquired by L’Oréal in 2018 as part of its larger technology-based push to bring innovation to cosmetics for the selfie generation. ModiFace specializes in augmented reality and artificial intelligence, as specifically applied to the beauty world.

L’Oréal has already applied the technology to its own digital sales business: Facebook users can use it to test and shop for L’Oréal-owned labels such as NYX, as well as Urban Decay, Lancôme and Yves Saint Laurent.

The Facebook utilization of the technology is a bit more comprehensive than Amazon’s. Rather than being limited to a single cosmetic, customers are able to try everything from foundation shades to eyebrow shapes.

Amazon, on the other hand, has just launched its own in-house Belei beauty line – though at present, Belie is more focused on skincare than cosmetics. The collection has 12 different items, ranging from vitamin C serums to retinol moisturizer, the eCommerce retailer said in an announcement.

“Our goal is to help customers spend less time and money searching for the right skincare solutions,” Amazon’s Head of Beauty for Private Brands Kara Trousdale noted. “We took a simple, no-nonsense approach when creating Belei, developing products with ingredients that are both proven to deliver results and also offer customers great value for the quality.”

Amazon is also the digital home to scores of cosmetics brands and sellers. The eCommerce site sells lipsticks from a range of brands, including Estee Lauder’s Clinique and Revlon.