Brand News
04 January
L'Oréal's new device applies eyebrows with AR, printing
New devices debuting at CES point to how the beauty brand is expanding access and striking unlikely partnerships.

New devices debuting at CES point to how the beauty brand is expanding access and striking unlikely partnerships.
L'Oréal will demo new beauty technology this week at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. A pair of new makeup applicator prototypes are showing how a brand can get involved in charting the future of not just in the products they make, but also the tools that help to apply them.
Here’s a look at the products, and takeaways on what this innovations shows about where beauty is heading:
This handheld makeup applicator is designed to help people with limited hand and arm mobility steadily apply lipstick. Seeing as how this group numbers 50 million people worldwide, the device represents a step toward inclusion.
The technology includes:
The handheld, electronic brow makeup applicator is designed to draw and apply a precise brow shape. Achieving the right look typically requires several products, as well as expertise in techniques like microblading that are the province of professionals. This is designed for home use.
To develop the device, L'Oréal partnered with Prinker, which makes printed, non-permanent tattoos. The device has 2,400 tiny nozzles, which apply up to 1,200 drops per inch.
The process begins by using L'Oréal’s Modiface augmented reality technology.
Here’s how it works:
Users scan their face with the Modiface app, then receive recommendations on microblading, micro-shading, or filler effects.
Personalization is next. Users select the desired shape, thickness and effect.
Then it’s time to apply with the device. Users brush Magic Brow Primer, move the printer across the eyebrow in a single motion and apply a topcoat to complete the look.
The tool will launch in 2023.
The devices point toward a few important ways that beauty is evolving:
Beauty tools go digital: Beauty products have long been accompanied by devices to apply them. These prototypes underscore a new wave of development is bringing smart and digital technologies into an industry that still mostly defaults to manual. The use of augmented reality shows that a crossover between digital and physical is on the horizon, as well. AR has largely been used for try-on, but the use of Modiface with Brow Magic points to a role within primary use.
Expanding access: With the beauty technology announced this week, L'Oréal is putting these tools in the hands of more people. HAPTA is helping people with limited fine motor skills, while Brow Magic is allowing services that would be performed by professionals to be completed at home. In turn, it is empowering consumers to apply the look they want, and do it themselves.
Vertical growth: L'Oréal is often seen expanding its chemically-based product lines to cover more categories of beauty, whether that's hair, cosemetics or skincare. These devices show that L'Oréal can also expand vertically as a provider of the tools that help to put these core products on. That also means a consumer will see the name L'Oréal each time they look at their tool. That presents incremental sales opportunities when that consumer look to buy their next product.
Cross-disciplinary partnerships: Technology isn’t developed by individual firms alone. L'Oréal employs its own scientists and engineers who are developing these prototypes, but they are working with others. The projects show how partnerships may not always originate in the exact use case for which a company is building. HAPTA partner Verily is owned by Alphabet, works in life sciences and originally developed the technology for use with dining utensils. Brow Magic partner Prinker’s technology was built for temporary tattoos. Don’t be limited by the industry you’re working in. Focus on the outcomes you want to achieve, not where you are today.
Amazon partnered with Hexa to provide access to a platform that creates lifelike digital images.
A 3D rendering of a toaster from Hexa and Amazon. (Courtesy photo)
Amazon sellers will be able to offer a variety of 3D visualizations on product pages through a new set of immersive tools that are debuting on Tuesday.
Through an expanded partnership with Hexa, Amazon is providing access to a workflow that allows sellers to create 3D assets and display the following:
Selllers don't need prior experience with 3D or virtual reality to use the system, according to Hexa. Amazon selling partners can upload their Amazon Standard Identification Number (ASIN) into Hexa’s content management system. Then, the system will automatically convert an image into a 3D model with AR compatibility. Amazon can then animate the images with 360-degree viewing and augmented reality, which renders digital imagery over a physical space.
Hexa’s platform uses AI to create digital twins of physical objects, including consumer goods. Over the last 24 months, Hexa worked alongside the spatial computing team at Amazon Web Services (AWS) and the imaging team at Amazon.com to build the infrastructure that provides 3D assets for the thousands of sellers that work with Amazon.
“Working with Amazon has opened up a whole new distribution channel for our partners,” said Gavin Goodvach, Hexa’s Vice President of Partnerships.
Hexa’s platform is designed to create lifelike renderings that can explored in 3D, or overlaid into photos of the physical world. It allows assets from any category to be created, ranging from furniture to jewelry to apparel.
A Hexa 3D rendering (Courtesy photo)
The result is a system that allows sellers to provide a new level of personalization, said Hexa CEO Yehiel Atias. Consumers will have new opportunity see a product in a space, or what it looks like on their person.
Additionally, merchants can leverage these tools to optimize the entire funnel of a purchase. Advanced imagery allows more people to view and engage with a product during the initial shopping experience. Following the purchase, consumers who have gotten a better look at a product from all angles will be more likely to have confidence that the product matches their needs. In turn, this can reduce return rates.
While Amazon has previously introduced virtual try-on and augmented reality tools, this partnership aims to expand these capabilities beyond the name brands that often have 1P relationships with Amazon. Third-party sellers are an increasingly formidable segment of Amazon’s business, as they account for 60% of sales on the marketplace. Now, these sellers are being equipped with tools that enhance the shopping experience for everyone.
A video displaying the new capabilities is below. Amazon sellers can learn more about the platform here.
Hexa & Amazon - 3D Production Powerhousewww.youtube.com