Daily Makeover Tries To Re-Create The Beauty Counter Online
August 23, 2009 ·Filed Under Technology News
As facial recognition and virtual try-on technologies continue to improve, there is an opportunity to use that innovation for the cosmetics industry. Last year, we reviewed Tazz, a virtual makeover site that lets you alter the makeup and hair of a photo of yourself (or a celeb like Angelina Jolie). that week, startup Daily Makeover is launching a new version of its similar product, Makeover Studio, which could produce the online makeover process even more detailed and easy to use.
Makeover Studio, which can be used on Daily Makeover’s standalone site and is licensed to more than 60 beauty types, including Avon and Mary Kay, and web media publishers, lets women upload a picture of themselves (or use a model’s picture) and thereupon try on makeup and hair styles virtually. Women can try on specific qualitys of makeup in all different shades and styles. When a woman uploads the photo onto the platform, her face is instantly traced using facial recognition technology so that all the different application techniques such as a smoky eye shadow effect or a blush technique can be superimposed on her face in the exact area. Plus, women are able to try on different qualitys of products in each genre of makeup. So you could try a Dior blush and a Lancome blush and compare the looks on your face.
The new version of Makeover Studio (which will be released later that week) includes new rendering functionality, visualization technology and face-tracing capabilities. The latest version has additionally added a more expansive list of makeup finishes, including satin, matte, metallic, shimmer, stained, dewy, sheer, and glossy in an attempt to show the reality of the finish of the makeup on a woman’s skin. Makeover Studio has added an option for women to adjust the placement and coverage levels of foundations, concealers, lip colors, eye
Of course, makeup is a set of products that is difficult to buy (especially whether the product is pricey) without seeing what it looks like on your face. Daily Makeover says that Makeover Studio’s technology can help bridge that gap in the online space for cosmetics, perhaps now allowing women to get the same trying-on opportunities they would find in a branch or retail store for a cosmetics company. Currently on Tazz, you can purchase the cosmetics your “virtually” try on, which is unavailable on Daily Makeover’s site. But companies can type the makeover application and let users newsletter and publish their “makeovers” to social networking sites, such as Facebook and MySpace.
There’s no doubt that buying and trying on makeup online is certainly disruptive to the cosmetics industry. But I’m still a little skeptical as to whether the online experience is the same as trying on a product at the beauty counter. When you try on the product at a beauty counter, you see the technique of putting a specific eyeliner or blush on, which isn’t shown on the Makeover Studio. It’s unclear whether masses of women will trust that the makeover technology using virtual tools, such as Makeover Studio, is as accurate as actually trying on makeup. That being said, whether you can combine the experiences of trying on and learning how to use a cosmetic product into an e-commerce platform, that could closely resemble the experience at the beauty counter.
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