Luxury Beauty Tech

Augmented omnichannel experiences

Following the e-commerce boom fuelled by lockdowns at the height of the pandemic, brick-and-mortar stores are now enjoying their time in the limelight: consumers are pleased to return to stores where they can immerse themselves in the brands’ worlds and connect with beauty advisors. Several truly spectacular points of sale opened in 2021, including the Shu Uemura flagship in Tokyo, whose design resembles a giant professional makeup case. Somewhat mysterious at first glance, it invites visitors to come inside to discover what lies within: a colourful world that pays tribute to creativity and individual expression. Designed around four makeup artistry areas augmented by online activations on a dedicated website, the experience-focused store offers a wide range of interactive and digital services to provide an unrivalled immersive experience.

In e-commerce, services are on the rise as well, becoming more indispensable as they evolve to create increasingly sophisticated and powerful user experiences. The new Giorgio Armani online service, Face Maestro, which launched in 2021, combines the brand’s makeup expertise with artificial intelligence. Using a patented algorithm, Face Maestro analyses the unique characteristics of each face to create custom looks. From a single selfie, the system suggests 200 personalised makeup combinations based on skin tone and features. The service is already available in China and will soon be rolled out to the brand’s online store.  

The best of luxury and technology for extreme personalisation

To ensure the beauty experience is unique and perfectly suits every consumer, L’Oréal Luxe brands are innovating to create devices and services to personalise products and experiences. The Yves Saint Laurent Rouge Sur Mesure device powered by Perso is one such state-of-the-art innovation, allowing consumers to create their own lipstick at home in bespoke shades that perfectly complement their complexion and natural lip colour. The smart device uses artificial intelligence and real-time data and features innovative, connected technology. The cutting-edge solution, which is already covered by several patents, contains three cartridges of intense colours grouped into four distinct shade families: red, nude, orange and fuchsia. Both high-tech and exclusive, the device brings the most elegant luxury codes to the personalisation trend. The mobile app allows consumers to experiment an infinite number of times via virtual try-ons to create the perfect shade, or to reproduce an exact colour, like that of a handbag for example, so that their lips match perfectly. 

Lancôme: a Beauty Tech pioneer

Lancôme combines its products with technology to meet consumer expectations through a mix of customised makeup, artificial intelligence, augmented reality, and more. Several services are available at its iconic Parisian store to ensure visitors enjoy the most immersive and personalised luxury beauty experience possible. First, a beauty advisor uses the high-performance imaging system Lancôme Skin Screen, inspired by clinical trial tools, to perform a skin “diagnosis” and recommend a personalised skincare ritual in just 20 minutes. There’s also Youth Finder, a tool that analyses the skin to build an assessment based on key factors in the ageing process. The Shade Finder tool recommends the most suitable shade of foundation, while Lash Anatomy, developed in 2021, assesses lashes. After the “diagnosis”, it’s time to try out the products with help from the Lancôme Virtual Mirror for digital try-ons. Le Teint Particulier technology then makes it possible to create a custom foundation in minutes: the product is made on site, right before the consumer’s eyes. This diverse palette of tech augmented experiences helps strengthen ties with consumers.

And to take packaging and gifts to new heights, there’s also engraving, using UV printing technology to personalise cases, along with the option to create a fragrant paper rose courtesy of the “Robot à Roses”. Lancôme Beauty Tech provides a bespoke luxury experience for consumers from start to finish.