Shifting the Beauty Landscape, Virtually

Technology—what don’t we use it for today?

We use it to stream our favorite TV shows and movies directly to our phones or other portable devices, when we want them. We use it to research and design presentations while on the go. It gives us the capability of having live, face-to-face discussions with nearly anyone on the planet at any time.

We can even utilize technology in the application of home security and control of our own home climates, while being comfortably nestled within the folds of a virtual identity, created on some 3rd party internet site, to live out our own versions of an ideal “life.”

Should it come as any surprise then, given its level of saturation in these myriad facets of our lives, that technology would also be incorporated into the beauty space?

Or, more remarkable still, that it be incorporated into the beauty space for the oxymoronic, materialization of virtual reality?

The fact is, technology is advancing at a breakneck pace and businesses in all markets are doing their best to innovate and stay ahead of the curve in order to maintain a competitive advantage over others in their respective industries, the crux of which is in the proper utilization of technology.

While technology in other areas of our lives is constantly being made to simplify, interconnect, or enhance our lives, there is little difference to be found in in the beauty space. Indeed, the very pulse of similarity resides in the vein of a positive, convenience-based experience.

“With the digital mobile trend, the beauty brands and retailers are in the stage of transition regarding their contact to their customers,” says Ulrich Krzyminski, managing director, Techkon GmbH. “The smartphone display turns into a storefront.”

The effort to drive technological implementation, by beauty brands, revolves around the simple
objective of creating an outstanding user experience.

According to Parham Aarabi, founder and CEO, ModiFace, “These transformative technologies include the shift by consumers to mobile, the dependence of social especially for building relationships, and the personalization of augmented reality.”

This is critical to tap into, because, as Aarabi notes, these transformative technologies are beginning to “impact the bottom lines of the largest beauty brands.”

Technological implementation can take on many shapes and many more forms from one industry to another—and the beauty industry is no exception in this regard. Many companies, as is the focus of this article, have chosen to employ the advanced technological capabilities of smartphone/mobile device cameras in various ways to their own, unique benefit. With their high resolutions, these modern cameras are critical in an effort to connect with users and potential customers in a way never before seen, and with an estimated 1-2 billion smartphone users, this is one market opportunity that absolutely cannot be missed out on. 

Color Detection

In this area, companies have either created, or have had created for them, apps that can accurately and consistently identify exact colors by using the high-quality cameras built into modern smartphones and other mobile devices. Companies like Techkon and FaceCake Marketing Technologies are excelling in this area by coming up with intuitive apps that, at their core, are designed to increase customer satisfaction and retention.

“The advantages for cosmetic and fashion brands are obvious,” stated Krzyminski. “This powerful technology builds the bridge from conventional commerce to e-commerce. It increases sales, decreases return rates, furnishes smart data about the consumer’s buying behavior and strengthens the customer relationship.”

Catching Your Color

According to Krzyminksi, Techkon, Frankfurt, Germany, Techkon’s specialized capabilities in color technology, precisely measuring color pigments and values, gives brands color reproducibility within their own product lines.

“This is why the industry regards Techkon’s ColorCatcher technology as a smart solution as a perfect mass-customization tool,” states Krzyminski. “It belongs to today’s digital toolset, transforming the uncommitted consumer into a prosumer with long-term brand loyalty.”

Realizing the hesitation most shoppers exhibit when making decisions online, especially when purchasing cosmetics, Techkon decided to bring their technology to the digital realm through the introduction of their ColorCatcher technology. Partnering with Google’s Explorer program, Techkon was able to see their ColorCatcher technology embedded into the Google Glass platform as well, turning smartphones and wearables into points of access for consumers to enter stores, without actually entering the stores.

Intending it to be used by cosmetic brands that wanted to implement smartphones into sales and user experience, Techkon created an app that uses their proprietary color technology to accurately determine the user’s skin tone via the smartphone camera.

The Catch Your Skin Tone app is a smart and easy-to-use beauty app,” says Krzyminski. “It recommends the right product, for example a makeup foundation that matches the consumer’s skin tone perfectly…it lets premium beauty brands bond digitally with their current and future customers.”

The ShadeScout

Similar to the Catch Your Skin Tone app, FaceCake has developed multiple apps of its own, designed to make shopping easier, thereby altering consumer perception of online shopping and virtual dressing rooms.

“FaceCake’s 360° solution – online, in-store, mobile – simplifies the shopping process while offering a broad range of choices, giving the user a personalized, self-directed experience,” says Linda Smith, CEO and founder, FaceCake Marketing Technologies. “Our 360° multi-platform solution gives brands the opportunity to reach more consumers, offering personalized advice, real-time product visualization on their own image, and social shopping, all of which are key engagement points for customer acquisition and conversion.”

ShadeScout, the mobile part of that 360° solution, “incorporates visual color search,” which is how the searching experience for beauty products should be, according to Smith. The ShadeScout app is designed to match any color in real life to current available products that any particular brand may have in their database or product inventory. Using the app allows the consumer to gain product information, share images via social media, and save or purchase those products directly - after virtually trying them on, of course.

“Receiving product options based on color and incorporating the ability to visualize products on your own image allows users to take style leaps, shop, and most importantly, buy with confidence,” explained Smith.

Both ShadeScout and Catch Your Skin Tone apps are designed to be specifically adaptable to match the branding and look of individual cosmetic companies interested in pairing the power of color detection with their online sales via specialized, color-based, product databases.

Virtual Augmentation

Swivel Close-Up, the online and in-store portion of FaceCake’s 360° solution, is where the rubber meets the road, so to speak. ShadeScout detects exact colors, while Swivel Close-Up takes the user on a journey of discovery to find products that match those colors. Once found, these products - be they jewelry, accessories, cosmetics, eyewear, etc. – can be visualized by being “tried on.” This whole process can be done from the comfort of home, without any risk of buying a product that may not look the way the customer initially imagined that it would. This is the beauty of virtual augmentation.

Launched with Lancôme at the DreamDry salon in NYC, as a kiosk installation, Swivel’s Close-Up technology has been popular with the public and entertainment spheres, having its online companion application featured on the TLC reality show Love, Lust or Run. According to Smith, the technology is utilized in a way that allows the show’s viewers to (virtually) try on the cosmetics, hairstyles, and even the makeovers that Stacy London creates on the show.

These are not FaceCake’s cosmetics being tried on, but it is their technology that is designed for the manufacturers of the cosmetics – enabling sales and new try-on experiences.

“We use a proprietary asset ingestion method, along with a color scrape that ensures accuracy,” explained Smith. “Since we work directly with brands, they benefit from having their entire product line represented in Swivel Close-Up, as there’s no limit to the number of items that can be featured.”

ModiFace, in some ways similar to FaceCake, is also a prominent developer in this field, with their own virtual mirror software and a history of quality skin care apps, specializing in antiaging, as well as makeup application.

Based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, their software has been utilized by brands such as Lakme (Unilever), Vidal Sassoon (P&G), Yves Rocher, and more than 40 other major beauty brands intending to increase online conversions and encourage brand loyalty. Boasting more than 2 million makeovers per day with their apps, the exposure that brands have the possibility of attaining, through channels like ModiFace, is astounding.

“The trend we are seeing is that brands are realizing this, and are adding augmented reality inside their own applications,” says Aarabi.

ModiFace offers apps ranging across many varied industries, with a framework that powers more than 150 web and mobile apps, acting as the basis of the leading patent portfolio on skin analysis and facial visualization.

This technology, and other technology like it, is being utilized by the majority of leading beauty brands who are looking for new ways to encourage customer interaction with their respective brands. Companies like L’Oreal with its MakeupGenius app; Sally Beauty with their Instant Beauty Virtual Makeover app; and Mary Kay with their own interactive makeover webpage, are all looking at the future and tapping into the current trend involving smartphone and mobile device integration.

Conductive Inks

Another area of interest is the use of conductive inks. Though relatively untapped, this area is young and still has much to offer to the beauty space industry. Jill Tomandl, VP, product development and innovation, Smashbox, believes this technology has great potential in this industry and is still to be largely discovered.

“Conductive ink technology is the next iteration of the QR code,” she stated. “People want to be able to use their phones to access any kinds of information that companies may be putting out there. Apps are one way, T+Ink technology is another.”

Education, On A Business Card

Smashbox, a company founded around photography and makeup that works to enhance it, has begun engaging consumers on their smartphones via a new product called the Shapematters Palette. This palette features an assortment of cosmetic products designed for the face, brows, and eyes, including contour powder, eye shadow, brow wax, highlighters, bronzer, and a double-ended shadow/brow brush.

This, on its own, would be a tremendous value, according to Tomandl. Not only does this high-quality compact have formulations offered from their core line formulas—as opposed to lower quality ones which are often used by companies as promotional items—but the compact also contains a large mirror and a labeled window that overlays the products to prevent cross-contamination. All of this is housed in a sleek, black case that is made of heavy-duty materials, giving the compact a distinct, luxe feel.

It doesn’t end there, however.

“Smashbox is a makeup artistry brand. We teach consumers how to apply makeup based on the shapes of their features, or face shapes. In order to make this easy, these T+Ink cards provide a very small format,” explained Tomandl.

Included in the purchase of the Shapematters Palette is a set of four cards—all approximately the same size as a standard business card. The first card is an instruction sheet that explains the steps involved in activating the other three cards, thereby unlocking the content within their system.

Using T+Ink’s patented Touchcode technology, Smashbox is able to “attach” data to these cards through utilization of a smartphone’s ability to detect capacitive touch.

Following the directions on the cards, the consumer is instructed to go to a specified website on their smartphone, then - when cued - place the second, third, or fourth card on the screen of the phone. Once this is done, the phone detects the data through this capacitive touch, and loads up instructional videos and tutorials dependent on the card scanned; the videos are designed for face, eye, and brow product application and offer techniques from industry professionals.

“It is a convenience factor. Apps are expensive and time-consuming to develop, but this is very instant. All you need to do is create the URL, then you have something tangible for the consumer,” stated Tomandl. “This is especially useful for those who may be less tech-savvy; this is an efficient way of teaching people stuff.”

In this way Smashbox has taken a route that engages consumers from the comfort of their own homes via their smartphone. Consumers are able to learn and develop a relationship of sorts with their beauty product provider through this innovative use of conductive ink technology.   

It’s All Connected

What all this boils down to, is there is a huge market out there that needs to be reached. The old methods do not guarantee any level of success anymore, forcing companies to think outside the box and come up with new strategies for engaging and winning over customers’ interest and loyalty. Whether they are beauty brands, or software developers, there is a lot of opportunity where virtual beauty space technology is involved, providing far-reaching possibilities.

“[This technology] means that customers expect certain capabilities when they visit a brand’s mobile app or their store. On mobile, customers expect the ability to share interesting content, and the ability to try-on the brand’s products,” says Aarabi. “The future we see is ubiquitous with augmented reality try-on, being a fabric that is a part of every beauty app. Similarly in stores, customers will expect virtual mirrors that allow them to see any product instantly on their own live video.”

The future of the beauty industry is bright and chalked full with innovation.