2020 was the year of Zoom meetings, online shopping and virtual consultations. As beauty businesses attempted to adapt to the changing environment, which saw social distancing measures brought into place as well as shop closures for months at a time, appointments held via FaceTime became the norm for a moment.
With much of the world still in various stages of lockdown, tech giant Google has released a new piece of technology that will make online shopping easier — especially when it comes to beauty purchases. Google’s new shopping feature allows you to visualise makeup looks and try on products, in order to see whether it’s right for you.
“Say you want to know how sheer a lip gloss is, how much pigment is in an eyeshadow or what a product will look like on your skin tone, it can be difficult to understand these things without seeing the products up close,” said Archana Kannan, Google’s group product manager for shopping.
In order to create this virtual technology, Google teamed up with augmented reality firms ModiFace and Perfect Corp so you’re able to visualise thousands of lipstick and eyeshadow shades from some of your favourite brands like L’Oreal, MAC Cosmetics and Charlotte Tilbury.
For example, if you search for L’Oreal’s Infallible Paints Metallic Eyeshadow, you can see what the product looks like on a range of different skin tones. Otherwise, you can also virtually try products on yourself via the Google app, which helps you discover which shades work for you and which don’t.
“Find the perfect nude lip by searching for MAC Powder Kiss Lipstick and quickly trying each shade in the collection,” Kannan said. “If you’re looking for a velvety matte lipstick for your holiday video calls with family and friends, search for NARS Powermatte Lip Pigment and find the colour that matches your style.”
For those who can’t easily access the shops and are keen to browse makeup online, Google’s latest tool will make it far easier to find the right shade for you so you won’t end up with eyeshadow and lipstick shades that don’t work with your skin tone.