L'Oréal to Debut New Makeup Genius App

L’Oréal announced the launch of its first connected beauty digital innovation called “Makeup Genius,” exclusively available through L’Oréal Paris. Based on the insight that beauty is one of the most Googled topics in the world (about four billion searches a year), the group’s innovation incubator decided to respond to the needs expressed by consumers by offering greater customization and interaction with their brand.

“By combining our knowledge of consumers and the science of colors with technologies for monitoring facial expressions, we have been able to calculate the best possible algorithm capable of producing an extremely realistic color-rendering in real time using just an iPhone camera,” said Guive Balooch, director of the connected beauty incubator, L’Oréal Research & Innovation. This innovation will enable L’Oréal Paris to offer all women an unprecedented beauty ‘e-routine.’

L’Oréal Paris aims to be a pioneer in tools offering consumers a personalized experience. Makeup Genius will enable consumers to test makeup products using their mobile phone or tablet as a virtual mirror. Consumers can now test makeup products, a new makeup look, or scan a bar code at the point of sale and instantly experience the most premium and innovative before-and-after service.

“We believe that one of the major trends to come concerns the virtual reality experience, which will offer consumers a new and effective way of trying products, learning how to use them and personalize them, with unparalleled results for the consumer," said Cyril Chapuy, president of L’Oréal Paris International.

Makeup Genius will be launched in France, the U.S. and China in May 2014, then in other countries where the brand is present.

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