#modiface

3D Real-Time Video Hair Coloration Demo

Impressive!

Bagallery partners with L’Oreal and Modiface to launch a Virtual Try on for Beauty Products in Pakistan

Bagallery, in association with L’Oreal Pakistan, have launched a Virtual Try On for Make Up powered by Modiface. This partnership is the first venture of its kind in Pakistan, which enhances consumer shopping experience from the comfort of their handheld devices. Modiface’s virtual try-on service enables consumers to experience L’Oréal Paris, Maybelline New York and NYX Professional make up…

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L’Oréal buys beauty tech startup ModiFace

L’Oreal acquires Modiface, a major AR beauty company

L’Oreal announced today that it has acquired Modiface, a company that’s had a hand in the creation of many custom augmented reality beauty apps, including those from Sephora and Estée Lauder. L’Oreal didn’t disclose the amount spent, but it did tell Reuters that it now owns Modiface’s numerous patents that help users visualize makeup and hairstyles on themselves. The partnership makes sense in that Modiface has already worked with L’Oreal multiple times, including on the launch of its Style My Hair mobile app, which lets users try on different hairstyles. For that app, Modiface manually annotated 22,000 facial images to create the experience.

Photography by Bruce Mars (Pexels)

Can digital means really fulfill the needs of the shoppers?

 We have all had those days where there is a standard wardrobe item that you know is desperate need of replacing, such as a top with lacey details that has far more holes, that it was originally intended to have. Then if you manage to see any worthy pieces, your eyes land on the long dreaded dressing room. The thought of being under sub par lighting, and dealing with less than pleasant room temperatures, is enough to make anyone decide the purchase is not worth the effort. What results from these dreaded moments? The trend for virtually trying out products is slowly picking up steam.

Photography by Shattha Pilabut from Pexels

L’Oréal and Gap, according to sources including WWD, Bloomberg, Business of Fashion, and The Daily Mail, are aiming to allow customers to broaden the online retail experience, by simulating what beauty and apparel items will look like on the wearer. L’Oréal plans to assimilate the technology Modiface, into their own brand, allowing users to see not only the products available, but also how to apply them to their face. Essentially the makeup tutorial process will now be interactive. Gap and Amazon versions aim simulate the dressing room experience. Will these technologies be the answer to all fashion and beauty conundrums?

Source: YouTube from The Wall Street Journal YouTube Channel 

What are the potential flaws in the virtual retail experience?

In the field of beauty, there is plethora of problems that could occur. Superficially, it could be argued that the true way to test any product is to see it under a variety of light sources. Unless the software and devices can simulate the affects that various forms of lighting can have, you can’t get a true picture of how the product will appear. Dyed hair looks vastly different under natural light, than it does indoors. Additionally, the app likely can’t anticipate how the hair color will change after being in contact with the sun. One serious problem, that this technology is that it can’t truly anticipate, is the allergic reactions that can occur after purchasing the products. As a daughter of a cosmetologist, I am aware that trained cosmetologists are taught to look for visual signs, related to health conditions, that could hint that a person has the potential to have a bad reaction to hair dyes and other products.

Photography by Bruce Mars (Pexels)

What problems could be experienced with digital apparel mockups? 

Unless you have access to a 3d printer, or a familiarity with fabrics, consumers may end up purchasing items that may fit, but are in an uncomfortable fabrication. Additionally, these technologies may not be able to fully anticipate how much the body can fluctuate in a short period of time.

As in the case, with fad diets, inevitably in the long run, these technologies will show that there is no swift solution to purchase dilemmas.

Sources Consulted and For Additional Information: 

Liberatore, Stacy. “Is this the end of dressing rooms? Gap reveals app that lets you virtually try on clothes without leaving home.” The Daily Mail, Associated Newspapers Ltd., 4 Jan. 2017. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-4089338/Gap-reveals-new-app-lets-virtually-try-clothes-home.html. Accessed 18 Mar. 2018. 

Collins, Allison, L’Oréal Makes First Technology Acquistion With ModiFace Deal.” WWD, Penske Media Corporation, 16 Mar. 2018,

http://wwd.com/beauty-industry-news/beauty-features/loreal-makes-first-technology-acquisition-with-modiface-deal-1202630936/, Accessed 18 Mar. 2018.

Bloomberg editors, “L’Oréal Buys Beauty Tech Firm ModiFace,” The Business of Fashion, 16 Mar. 2018. https://www.businessoffashion.com/articles/news-analysis/loreal-buys-beauty-tech-firm-modiface, Accessed 18 Mar. 2018.

Carman, Ashley. “L’Oréal acquires Modiface, a major AR beauty company.” The Verge, Vox Media, 16 Mar. 2018,

https://www.theverge.com/2018/3/16/17131260/loreal-modiface-acquire-makeup-ar-try-on. Accessed 18 Mar. 2018.

Alvarez, Edgar. “Gap envisions a future with augmented-reality ‘dressing rooms.’” Engadget, Oath Tech Network, 30 Jan. 2017,

https://www.engadget.com/2017/01/30/gap-augmented-reality-dressing-rooms/, Accessed 18 Mar. 2018.

Aubrey, Dave. “Amazon Has Plans for An Augmented Reality Dressing Room.” VR Focus, 7 Jan. 2018, https://www.vrfocus.com/2018/01/amazon-has-plans-for-an-augmented-reality-dressing-room/, Accessed 18 Mar. 2018. 

Yurieff, Kaya. “Amazon’s smart mirror patent teases the future of fashion.” CNN, Time Warner Company,