L’Oreal and ModiFace Bring AR Tech to Amazon Canada

Need to Know

• Toronto-based company ModiFace—which is owned by L’Oreal— will be bringing augmented reality tech to Canadian customers shopping via Amazon.
• Customers will be able to virtually “try on” color cosmetics while shopping for products.
• Virtual testing can be done using a selfie, live video, or on a model with a similar skin tone.
• Technology will be made available on L’Oréal Canada’s L’Oréal Paris, Maybelline New York, and NYX Professional Makeup brands.

Analysis

L’Oreal is expanding its AR capacities to Canadian consumers, with the help of Toronto-based ModiFace, a company L’Oreal acquired in 2018. Consumers purchasing the brand’s color cosmetics via Amazon will now able to virtually try on products before buying.

In June 2019, L’Oreal brought its augmented reality tech to U.S. customers. The company allows prospective buyers to use a selfie, live video, or the image of a model with a similar skin tone to “try on” cosmetics from lipstick to eye shadow; this same technology will now be available to Canadian customers when they shop for L’Oreal products on Amazon or using Amazon’s app.

Customers will be able to use the platform to try on products from L’Oréal Canada’s L’Oréal Paris, Maybelline New York, and NYX Professional Makeup brands.

In a statement, ModiFace CEO Parham Aarabi said the company is “delighted to team up with Amazon Canada to provide its customers an Augmented Reality makeup try-on that offers highly realistic results and makes online shopping even more comfortable.”

In addition to its rollout of AR for color cosmetics in the U.S. in 2019, L’Oreal also currently uses ModiFace’s technology for hair dye in a similar way: customers can use a selfie to experiment with different boxed hair colors before purchasing. The partnership with ModiFace has paid off for the cosmetics brand: according to a 2019 report in The Drum, L’Oreal has found that conversion rates triple when consumers use AR to try on their products.