Data-driven innovations in the beauty industry

Posted on 20-mei-2021 15:47:14

Buying make-up products online is a challenge for most. It's very difficult to choose the right product, especially the right shade of foundation, concealer. Cosmetic products are already very expensive so buying the wrong shade would be a waste of money, not to mention the costs or wasted mileage on returning products. Even though companies share product information on the website, reviews, etc. but it’s still hard to make the right decision.

Luckily there are solutions to this problem, and with the current restrictions on shopping in stores, innovations in e-commerce to combat problems like these with technology and data are on the rise. Let’s take a look at several of these innovative applications. 

Computer vision as your online shopping assistant

Computer vision is a futuristic solution that can revolutionise the shopping experience, especially now that online shopping is increasing. 

Computer vision the part of AI that deals with the theory and technology for building artificial systems that obtain information from images or multi-dimensional data and further process it. This would help recognize facial features, analyze the data obtained and come up with a prediction or a conclusion about the appearance.

It would help (potential) consumers by choosing the right product. With online shopping for beauty products, it’s very difficult to know how eyeshadow, foundation shades would look on your skin without testing it in the stores. Data scientists are currently working on AI systems which can understand the human face. Testing out new products and how they will look on us while still at home can become reality. Virtual try-on is one of the examples.

face, mirror

Using data to find the perfect scent or tint

Data is not only useful for make-up products, but also for other cosmetic products such as perfumes. We already know that we can only test a perfume physically. But according to Sciforce's blog "data can currently be used to optimize specific scent ratios to create the next hit. Data analysis can lead to better cosmetics. Leveraging data means better, longer-lasting formulas."

How do companies really incorporate these ideas into their products?  

Big data is used as a method in order to determine what is statistically attractive.

For instance, deep learning is also used by a company to determine the most attractive people. This is analysed by the algorithm based on the following features: face symmetry, wrinkles, ethnicity, skin colour, gender, age group.

Another example is Sephora. The French multinational retailer of personal care and beauty products uses worldwide tests, more than 1000 range/kind of foundations to help customers finding the right shade and product by using the ColorIQ app. The app determines the skin conditions of people thanks to the 27 colour-corrected images, eight light settings, and one ultraviolet light that is recorded. 

It’s obvious that people are spending billions in the beauty industry. Thanks to AI’s computer vision the needs of the customers might get satisfied by choosing the right product so nothing goes to waste. 

 

 

Artiola Cakmashi

Written by Artiola Cakmashi

Sales and Marketing intern at tengu.io | Student International Entrepreneurship

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