AI Isn't Just in Your Pocket, It’s in Your Vanity Too
I’m a creature of habit. Summer rolls around, my periwinkle veins become slightly concealed by my elfin tan, and like clockwork, my L2 “Vanilla” NARS creamy concealer blossoms into a L2.8 “Marron Glacé” emblem of pride. It is the one time of year my olive-toned Ashkenazi Jew of a father actually deems me a part of his lineage. In the alternative months, I opt to humbly hibernate behind my paleness and fancy a chamomile tea once in a while. In any case, this year I fulfilled my long-lived tradition of heading to Sephora once again, except this time, there were no beauty gurus to scope my complexion and provide a shade prognosis, IRL that is.
Instead, the saleswoman was there merely as a formality, prompting me to engage in an interaction between my “digital artist” and myself. The process was fairly simple: walking me through a beta phase implementation, my liaison instructed me to try opening Facebook Messenger and send the message “color match” to the Sephora Visual Artist profile. After uploading a photo of my bare face and deeming my “favorite product and shade” to be my NARS concealer, my pocket artist instantly pulled 20+ compatible brand and shade recommendations from the company’s concealer inventory. The 360-degree service was eerily comprehensive, even garnering compatibility recommendations with my favorite clothing hues. Needless to say, I did not walk out of Sephora with solely my NARS.
Photo provided by Community Impact
Sephora’s implementation of ModiFace facial recognition and visualization is but the tip of the iceberg when it comes to artificial intelligence in the beauty industry. While this type of augmented reality is a frequent gamification concept in technology, its uniqueness truly lies within its ability to drive transactions in the eCommerce space. Sephora’s AI plug-in combines two keen market strategies: make the brick-and-mortar experience accessible to online consumers and keep them engaged by housing the buying experience in an attention-retaining social platform. With a Facebook page on the brink of 20 million followers, Sephora knew where their audience lied, and they took advantage of it.
Photo courtesy of Pinterest
I mentioned that automated retail experiences are merely one slice of the beauty-AI pie. The others are further embedded in our digital companions. It’s no secret that AI-powered virtual assistants practically monopolized digital storefronts. Beyond the retail frontline, household names like Estee Lauder, L’Oreal, and Vichy Laboratories are using AI to forecast demand, select and refine suppliers, and optimize shipping routes. In doing so, the suppliers are able to increase both efficacy and ethics by reducing product waste.
As New York Fashion Week runs through Wednesday, AI will be working overtime (or under time, arguably) to analyze consumer preferences and predict the hottest looks going into Fall 2024. Whereas traditionally the beauty industry would rely on brand representatives to spectate and manually categorize artistry, business development teams are now able to upload photos from their spotlight shows and instantly pull the most resonant makeup features.
“But wouldn't a human eye be necessary to see what was actually well-perceived at these shows? Robots can’t feel emotion.”
Oh but they can. Using a common technique called sentiment analysis, AI is able to identify the emotional tone of images and text. Moreover, bots are able to interpret an audience's reaction, whether that be a flick of Versace show audience or 500 customer reviews on Armani’s new Prisma Lip Gloss. From emotional fortune-teller to shade matcher extraordinaire, artificial intelligence has become one of the most coveted beauty gurus in the aesthetics industry.
Courtesy of The New York Times
Unlike most buzz around on-demand intelligence and modern technology, AI in the beauty industry looks optimistic and accommodating. If all else fails, I have AI to thank for deeming my skin 2 shades tanner than it was in the winter, and the same AI to blame for hurting my wallet. Next time I may turn a blind eye to emerging technology for fiscal reasons and reach only for my tried-and-true L2.8.
