New Beauty Trend-AR Cameras
Imagine one day, you randomly bump into the friend who you have not met for years on the street, and in order to record down this precious memory, you take out the smartphone for a selfie. However, without make-up, you find that fine wrinkles and acne scars make yourself far from perfect. To look better on the photo, you click in the AR camera app, choose the filter and effect you prefer, strike some poses, and post the photo on Facebook with satisfaction. Or another midnight, you just finish taking a shower and removing make-up, your other half suddenly asks if you want to make a video-call with him/her, so you turn on the webcam and add the lipstick or emojis on your image; with these elaborate AR effects, you can still look good even with your bare face.
Augmented Reality, short for “AR”, is the technology often applied to many genres in daily life, including filming. Perhaps you have heard of the term “AR camera”, but you may not know its functions and the fact that it even makes the difference to the beauty industry. As a result, this essay can be your first step to understand this amazing technology.
This article consists of three sections. The first section, Introduction of AR, focuses on AR itself. The second section, The Company’s View toward AR Cameras, mentions how AR cameras are applied to the beauty industry, and here we take L’Oreal as example. Lastly, the third section, Costumers’ View toward AR Cameras, is our questionnaire about people’s opinion on cosmetic AR cameras and the results of the questionnaire.
Introduction of AR
What is AR?
AR is defined as “a technology that uses computer calculations to generate virtual images and real-world spatial visual superimposition” (Lin et al., 2017). To break it down, Augmented Reality can be divided into three aspects: (1) it combines the reality and virtual effects; (2) it involves real-time interaction; (3) it requires 3D registration of the objects in the real world (Azuma, 1997). Use Pokémon GO as an example. It is a popular AR mobile game all over the world. The game provides the players with the virtual images on their phones after the data of the location is processed by the computer and when people move in the real world, their move would be the movement in the game.
How does AR work?
After you know the definition of AR, you may then be curious about how AR actually works. The usage of AR contains two steps. First, the real-world picture as well as the accurate position and angle will be captured by the devices people use, and be calculated by the computer vision program to collect the detail information. Second, after AR-enabled device collects all the information needed, the virtual information will then be created to cover on the surface of the real world, constructing an immersive experience for the AR users (Rangaiah, 2020).
The difference between AR and VR
AR is often confused with VR—Virtual reality— because they both use computergenerated images. However, AR is different from VR. The easiest way to understand the difference between them is to contrast the different extent that they change the real world. Paul Milgram and Fumio Kishino proposed the concept “Reality-Virtuality Continuum” in 1994 (p. 3). Imagine that there are two extremes in the poles, one is real environment, the other is virtual environment. VR is at the complete opposite side of the reality because it will replace the whole reality with virtual images. While AR is at the place where it is closer to the reality because it is still based on the real world and will only add on a bit virtual element. If we take changing a person’s face for example, the function of AR is like putting on makeup while VR is like putting on a mask. The former may change the appearance a bit but is still based on the original face while the latter will change the whole face and is able to create a whole new image.
The Application of AR
This technology was first used in the late 1960s and the early 1970s, and later got its name “Augmented Reality” from the researchers of Boeing in the 1990s (Lin et al., 2017). AR then quickly grew and had many different applications among different fields, including navigation, video games and camera.
◇Navigation
Many people may not know that they are actually so close to the seemingly advanced technology. For instance, AR has been applied to the navigation system. When people use the Google Map to see the direction route, there is a button that people can choose to use AR navigation. When people use that function, it will turn on the camera on the device and direct the person the road in front of them. It uses the computer to gauge the distances from the place people at and the destination people are going to in real-time and then generates the virtual images such as the yellow line with an arrow to serve as the path onto the real-world base.
◇Video Games
Another example is the application of AR in the entertainment. One of the examples that rages all over the world is Pokémon Go. It is an augmented reality mobile game based on location services. People can play it on their smartphones to capture, fight, train and trade virtual monsters “Pokémon” (Webster, 2015). What makes the Pokémon Go different from other mobile games and its other old series is that it requires the players to move in the real life. If the players want to move in the virtual world, he/she has to move in the real world because the systems of Pokémon Go are based on the real-world position (Concepcion, 2016). All the virtual monsters are at the spatial places in the real world.
◇Camera
As for the last application, it is the main focus of this essay—AR cameras. Take ARCore for example. It is an app developed by Google to create the augmented reality experiences for the Android and iOS users. According to the statement on the official website of ARCore, motion tracking, environmental understanding, and light estimation are the three capabilities that allow ARCore to integrate virtual content with the real world through a phone's camera (Google Developers, 2020). People can enjoy the diverse filters with different colors and tones. For example, there is a filter that can add puppy ears and tongue to people’s faces. People can also add many different cute stickers like rainbows or suns on their photos. Moreover, people can create an imaginary figure beside them in their videos; that is, people can film a video with the imaginary figure they created in the video as if they are in the same space.
This video shows how AR can be applied in navigation, video games, and camera.
The Company’s View toward AR Cameras
AR Camera and Cosmetics Companies- Take L’Oreal as Example
Here, we take L’Oreal as example to present how AR camera combines with beauty industry not only because L’Oreal is an iconic cosmetics company with many popular brands, but because it has been engaged in the digital area for years. Paris Lo, the CMO of Digital Strategy in Taiwan L’Oreal, once stated that digital strategy is an effective way to interact with consumers, and AR is one of the examples (Paris Lo, 2019).
To start with, in 2018, L’Oreal declared that they acquired Modiface, a Canadian leading company specializing in AR for the beauty industry, as their first step into AR fields. In the announcement, L’Oreal claimed this acquirement was to “surpass expectations, providing a truly immersive and personalized customer experience through technology.” On the official website of Modiface, they boast that their highly accurate 3D facial micro-feature tracking enables the lens to track each facial movement precisely (Modiface, nd). With the advanced AR technology provided by Modiface, L’Oreal were therefore able to launch AR services on their official website, allowing each cosmetics product to be virtually present on users’ face through AR camera.
L’Oreal not only launched AR services on their own website, but they also pioneered the AR field with different companies, and below-mentioned are two of the examples.
◇Instagram: In 2019, L’Oreal created several AR filters on Instagram story, which enable people to choose and try different lip colors on their face. On the stories, there would also be some basic information about the product. Furthermore, when people post the stories out, there would also be additional information about the creator of the effect, which is’Oreal. If you see others stories and are interested in the AR filter created by L’Oreal, you can download it and click in the Instagram account of L’Oreal for more AR effects. It helps L’Oreal promote the company itself and products to more people on the social media
How Instagram allows users to try on AR effects created by L’Oreal.
How Instagram helps promote the creator (which is L’Oreal) of AR effects.
◇Watsons: In 2019, L’Oreal launched AR camera #ColourMe with Watsons. As soon as you click in Watsons APP, we can see #ColourMe at the top of the page. #ColourMe not only allows you to try on all kinds of L’Oreal products, from lipsticks, foundation, to eye liners, it also provides detailed information about the products we choose. If you are interested in that product, all you need to do is to make the order on Watsons APP, and we you either ask workers to directly ship the items to your house or pick up the items in the Watsons nearby.
How Watsons allows users to try on different products by #ColourMe
COVID-19 Proves the Value of AR in the Beauty Industry
Since the beginning of 2020, the beauty industry was seriously affected by COVID19, and some cosmetics companies even faced the danger of going bankrupt. According to the investigation conducted by Department of Statistics, revenue of cosmetics companies in Taiwan had decreased 3.6 percent during the first eight months in 2020. The revenue of cosmetics in Japan and America, two countries which were under even more severe epidemic, had even slumped 9.5 percent and 22.6 percent respectively (Department of Statistics, 2020).
There are three reasons to explain why the cosmetics industry have become one of the victims during the pandemic.
◇Drugstores in Taiwan, like Watsons and Cosmed, once stopped offering cosmetics samples to lessen people’s indirect contact, so the risk of germ infection may be lower.
◇Many cosmetics duty-free shops in airports were shut down because few people need to fly abroad, and corporations were no longer able to afford the expenditure.
◇As surgical masks have become a must-bring item and people’s faces are mostly covered by masks, it is not that essential to apply make-up as before.
Traditional sales strategies of cosmetics companies may be useful in the past, but not during the COVID-19. It is time for cosmetics companies to turn the tide and eliminate traditional sales strategies to meet the trend of 0-touch economy era, and AR can be the solution.
In the essay “Effects of perceived interactivity of augmented reality on consumer responses: A mental imagery perspective,” the authors came into the conclusion that “AR may be an important and easy-to-identify aspect that can increase both the elaboration and quality of mental imagery for less-involved consumers” (Minjung Park and Jungmin Yoob, 2020). This essay can perfectly show how AR solve the difficulty: as most consumers do not feel the desire of buying cosmetic during the epidemic, it is even more significant for cosmetics companies to apply AR.
During the Pandemic-Multiple AR Strategies of L’Oreal
Although L’Oreal had already showed their unique insight into AR before the outbreak of COVID-19, the net profit of L’Oreal had still dropped more than 20 percent in the first half year of 2020, which force them to seek for different AR solutions to increase sales (L’Oreal, 2020).
◇Snap Camera: In 2020, L’Oreal launched several AR filters on Snap Camera. During the lockdown, many people have to make video conferences with family, colleagues, and friends. Since Snap Camera is compatible with video calling software like Zoom or Skype, people start downloading Snap Camera to make themselves look good without make-up. It is a way for people to leave a positive impression to L’Oreal even when they temporarily do not need cosmetics products.
◇Google: In the future, if we search L’Oreal or brands of L’Oreal on Google, the website would automatically pop out the page of online cosmetics try-on (Google, 2020). This technology is also provided by Modiface. Lubomira Rochet, the chief digital officer in L’Oreal, claimed that this collaboration is aiming to make up for sales decrease caused by the pandemic (Lubomira Rochet,2020). This function would not only available on Google search, it would also be on Youtube, a subsidiary of Google.
Thanks to their digital promotion, the sales figures of the third-quarter increased 1.6 percent, proving that the transformation helps L’Oreal resist the attack of the pandemic.
Apparently, these are not enough for L’Oreal, as Rochet estimated that within three to four years, the percentage of online sales of L’Oreal would climb from 24 percent to fifty percent (Lubomira Rochet, 2020), which means that the importance of AR would only increase by and by.
The Customers’ View toward AR Cameras
After you learn the information from the company’s perspective about the promotion of cosmetic products with the application of AR camera, you may want to know about the opinion from the customers’ point of view. Therefore, my partner and I conducted a survey using google form of 75 college students in Taiwan. The form of the questionnaire is designed as 5 statements and the subjects can choose 1 to 5 to show their agreement extent. 1 is extremely disagree and 5 is extremely agree.
5 Advantages of AR Make-Up Try-On
1. Avoid the Embarrassment
People often feel awkward and embarrassed when they go into the cosmetic store to try on the products because they have to bear the pressure of the clerks at the stores, but if people use the AR camera to try the color online, the annoyance can be solved. According to our survey, about 70.4% of the subjects agreed with the statement “AR online color test can avoid the embarrassment caused by testing the color for too long, and prevent people from the stares of the shop assistant.” The result showed that most of the people approved of this advantage—avoiding the embarrassment— that AR provided.
2. Save Time
With the advance of technology and the fast pace of modern life, people become less willing to go out for shopping. The AR make-up try-on app enable people to try out the color at home. According to our survey, about 74.7% of the subjects agreed with the statement “AR online color test can save time because there is no need to go to the physical store.” The result showed that most of the people approved of this advantage—saving time— that AR provided.
3. Try Out Different Colors Easily
On-site color test can be really inconvenient because the customers cannot try it with efficiency. Take lipstick as an example. When people apply one color onto their lips, they must remove it before trying out another color. The step of removing the last product can make the progress of testing really long. According to our survey, about 68% of the subjects agreed with the statement “AR online color test allows the customers to try different styles easily.” The result showed that most of the people approved of this advantage—trying out different colors easily— that AR provided.
4. Find Out the Suitable Product
Using the AR camera, people get to see the effects that the cosmetics apply on their faces. However, the customers seem to have doubts about this feature. According to our survey, only 37.3% of the subjects agreed with this idea “AR online color test enable people to know which product they are suitable for.” While 34.7% of the subjects held a neutral perspective. The result showed that only one third of the people approved of this advantage—finding out the suitable product— that AR provided.
5. Reduce Sanitary Concerns
The sanitary problem is an issue people often talk about when they want to try on the make-up products. Some people suggest that the customers only put the product on their hands or arms to avoid touching your lips or eating something dirty or leaving the saliva on the products. However, this practice is complained by others that it may lead to an inaccurate try-on because of the color differences of lips and hands. Therefore, if people can see the effects without applying it in reality, the sanitary problem can be no longer a problem. According to our survey, about 86.7% of the subjects agreed with the statement “Color test on AR is more sanitary because there is no need to use public product testers.” The result showed that a high percent of the people approved of this advantage— being more sanitary— that AR provided.
Based on the survey results, you can come into the conclusion that for those 75 participants, the biggest benefit of AR make-up try-on is “reduce sanitary concerns”, which may also be an incentive for customers to give AR make-up a try during COVID-19. However, less participants agree that AR make-up try-on helps us find out the suitable product easily. In the response, one participant even proposed that AR may lead to color difference, and it can be a challenge for not only L’Oreal, but also for other cosmetics companies which are planning to apply AR.
Conclusion
AR is the technology that provides the vivid fusion of reality and fantasy. Also, when AR camera is applied by cosmetics companies like L’Oreal, it allows consumers to put on different cosmetics products at anywhere and anytime. During COVID-19, AR cosmetics is acknowledged as a new beauty trend, since it further proves its value by stimulating customers’ willingness of taking out their pockets.
Our survey shows that most people hold a positive attitude toward AR make-up tryon. Although there may still be some problems for cosmetics companies, like L’Oreal, to deal with, you can definitely anticipate what advantages AR will bring to the beauty industry and our daily life. Institute for Information Industry has acknowledged AR as one of the flourishing trends in 2021 (MIC, 2020), and it is never too late for you to understand and make the best use of AR.
Authors
Wendy Fang and Jennifer Chen: Two NCCU sophomore students from Department of English who not only pay heed to cosmetics issues, but also have a lot of experience of using AR effects.
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