Digital beauty saves the world

During the pandemic, people started using less perfume and makeup, which inevitably affected the market. In order to reduce economic losses, many fashion companies retrained. For instance, a beauty giant LVMH, producing Dior, Guerlain, and Givenchy cosmetics, began to make masks.

Whereas L’Oreal is actively working on the digitalization of their products and e-commerce development. Those are all small steps towards success. Though forward-looking companies are aware of the key beauty tendencies — mindfulness, digitalization, and cross-collaboration.

Lockdowns have strongly affected the beauty industry. Only in 2020, it lost 30% of the revenue. Therefore, the beauty market has to upgrade its structure and range. New technologies not only help increase sales but also substantially reduce costs. Moreover, they create new products which are in great demand.

Now the beauty industry is facing new demands. This is not just an individual approach, quality goods, but also security which is provided by digital technologies. With AI and AR opportunities, cosmetic companies are exploring a completely new space. They are shifting to contactless beauty services.

Trends

Smart Mirrors

The tendency towards care and personalized services is being intensively implemented in different apps. Artificial intelligence collects your data, analyzes it, and offers proper skincare with respective products.

• One of them — Hi Mirror or smart mirror by Taiwan's New Kinpo Group. It is synchronized with Alexa. So every time you log in, the mirror scans your face, considering every feature: wrinkles, bumps, pigmentation. Finally, the device gives you recommendations on skincare. Besides, the mirror enables users to create perfect makeup depending on the age and lighting.
• One more example is Alibaba A.I. Labs — Queen Pro. It will say good morning, wish you a good day, advise fashionable makeup and skin care products.

Smart apps

• A Japanese company Shiseido is developing an advisor for skincare — Optune. This app integrates digital technology, skincare and beauty exploration. The algorithm identifies the features of your skin in real-time. In addition, the technology analyzes secondary factors which affect your health. These include the menstrual cycle and even the air temperature and humidity. Only then, based on the data, Optune gives recommendations on self-care.
• Olay has been working on a similar app. Besides the competitors’ functions, their service Skin Advisor demonstrates the way you will look after following the app recommendations.
• La Roche-Posay is in L’Oreal’s company group. They are also developing an AI-based app for testing skin condition, focusing on acne. After uploading a photo, the app analyzes a problem zone.
• Henkel Beauty Care is a German cosmetic company. It is building upon Choicify — an app that helps choose suitable hair dye color. The user selects a wanted color, and the app advises them particular hair dye.
• Undoubtedly, you are familiar with Snapchat filters. Companies decided to go further and use the images not like a mask, but a makeup product assistant. One of the wide-spread apps in the US — Virtual Artist by Sephora. It enables users to pick different makeup variations. The app offers a lipstick, foundation, and eye shadows personally for your appearance. Once you like the picture, you can buy everything needed at their online store.

Makeup 3D-printer

• Procter&Gamble is launching a new product this year. The technology is still being developed: a microchip analyzes all the skin flaws and applies a sufficient amount of skin care products on one’s face. According to Seymour Powell, the 3D concept is bound to expand. It will allow makeup artists to upload different kinds of makeup. Predicated on this, the printer will apply as much makeup as needed by itself.

E-makeup

• VR content is actively evolving as well. Makeup artists are creating their own VR masks using particular cosmetic products. Users can try a new makeup on both in virtual and real space.

Test-tube beauty

• The beauty industry is more and more influenced by biotechnologies. Companies are offering ‘test-tube’ innovations that can replace traditional cosmetic ingredients. This resolves the problem of long supply chains and makes the production cycle more credible.
• Businesses are going to decrease their negative impact on the environment. Particularly, they refuse animal testing. Geltor — a startup growing vegan collagen with the help of yeast. This way they don’t have to kill animals.
• The methods of gene engineering enable Ginkgo BioWorks to produce rose oil. Additionally, Biossance is making up organic squalene — the compound normally obtained from shark liver oil.
• Johnson&Johnson paid attention to the beauty market innovations. They have invested in Curie Co — a startup creating eco-friendly preservatives for cosmetics. L’Oreal has concluded an agreement with Micreos for developing target medical cosmetics.

Waterless products

• The beauty production chiefly consists of water: it constitutes 90% of shampoo. That’s why producers strive to refuse water for saving water resources and reducing transpirational and packaging expenses.
• Concentrated products are a sustainable solution. In 2020, Garnier launched a solid shampoo. Humankind has developed a wide range of such products: mouthwash in the form of pills and shampoos in pieces.

Virtual changing rooms

• Thanks to VR and AR technologies you try clothes and shoes on without leaving home. Now you can do the same with makeup. L’Oreal, Smashbox, Benefit Cosmetics offer virtual cosmetic fitting. In 2020, Google launched an AR-based tool in order to try makeup products via frontal phone cameras.

Live sales

• Innovative technologies change not only beauty products but also the formats of sales. Cosmetic companies seek to acquire voice purchases through smart speakers. Sephora in partnership with Google released Google Assistant. This is an app that allows ordering products, getting skincare recommendations, and watching YouTube videos.
• B2C beauty sales are shifting to social media. Live sales on Instagram or Alibaba are extremely popular now.

The world is firmly shifting to the online future. The beauty industry is implementing AI in order to personalize the service and attract a young audience. They tend to go online and use virtual assistants more and more often. Probably, smart mirrors will strongly settle in our lives. They are supposed to substitute real cosmetologists and answer all the beauty questions.