Coty’s direct-to-consumer brand Younique adds AI

20-Aug-2019 - Last updated on 20-Aug-2019 at 15:06 GMT

photo courtesy of Younique

This month, the social media – based beauty brand launched a new online tool called the Younique Beauty Guide. It’s a facial analysis tool that facilitates virtual product try-on for consumers as well as more informed product recommendations from presenters.

‘Presenter’ is the title Younique gives its representatives. And since the brand’s launch in 2012, Younique presenters have been selling product through personalized ecommerce sites, video tutorials, and social media content. “Since the very beginning, Younique has always been a brand at the forefront of technology,” Melanie Huscroft, co-founder and chief visionary officer says in a media release about the new tech tool.

“We are so excited to revolutionize the industry again with the Younique Beauty Guide—our new augmented reality tool—that is globally seamless and leverages innovation to further our mission that transcends borders, cultures, languages, and ultimately affects the mainstream perception of both inner and outer beauty,” says Huscroft. “We believe every woman is unique, and with our new tool we can now help our Younique Presenters and consumers discover what makes them feel the most beautiful.”

The guide is a mirror, an advisor, and more

The Younique Beauty Guide launched globally early this month and is already being used by shoppers and presenters in some 13 countries.

Besides facilitating consumer try-on, the beauty guide, which is available on both mobile and desktop devices, can “also serve as a diagnostic tool for each Younique Presenter in recommending the right products and product shades for their loyal customer base, thereby increasing overall consumer satisfaction.”

The beauty guide is equipped to let users try on several product formats: foundation, blush, mascara, brow color, eyeliners, eyeshadows, and lip products. And new products and new shades of existing products will be available through the AI system before they actually come to market, which the brand expects will let consumers pre-order with more confidence.

The digitization of direct-sales beauty

Coty’s Younique brand is not the only direct-sales / social-sales beauty brand using digital tools to help keep its representatives competitive and its consumers connected.

Mary Kay has a virtual makeup try-on tool as part of its digital business as well. The company’s digital marketing manager Maryanne Jouvenal demonstrated the Mary Kay MirrorMe tool for attendees at the 2018 SCC Annual Meeting and Technology Showcase in New York City. And this year, the tool became available in the US market and currently has a 4.5 star rating in the Apple App Store.

In April, Amway made headlines here on Cosmetics Design with the simultaneous launch of some 50 apps, configured to help that company’s team of global representatives create content and increase sales. “If you look at companies like Uber, they didn’t do anything unique,” Mike Edwards, vice president of global digital services at Amway, told the press earlier this year. “It’s still the taxi industry,” he continued, explaining, that what Uber did was “[leverage] digital tools to make that a very compelling opportunity. It’s the same thing if you look at direct selling and you look at Amway. If we don’t disrupt the industry by leveraging digital tools, we’ll become irrelevant.”

And just over a year ago, New Avon took its well-know product brochure digital, as Cosmetics Design reported. Just six months after the company’s current CEO Jan Zijderveld took the post, he was telling the media: “Digitization is at the heart of our strategy as we build a new, modern, and relevant Avon that is both high-touch and high-tech.”

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Deanna Utroske, CosmeticsDesign.com Editor, covers beauty business news in the Americas region and publishes the weekly Indie Beauty Profile column, showcasing the inspiring work of entrepreneurs and innovative brands.