Foundation virtual try-on goes mainstream with UK's biggest skincare brand

By

Nigel TAYLOR

Published
Nov 9, 2021

Technology and beauty continue to become essential allies with the latest collaboration a particularly notable one. Tech beauty company Perfect Corp has linked up with giant UK cosmetics brand, Boots-owned No7, to launch the “first-ever virtual try-on foundation-matching diagnostic solution” online.

It’s called the ‘AI-Powered Personalised Foundation Shade Finder and Analysis Tool’ and its gone mainstream to “provide best product recommendations based on unique skin needs and skin tone”. It achieves this by “leveraging skin big data and cutting-edge AI and AR technology to provide a personalised foundation range and shade match”. 

The analysis is available to be used via mobile or tablet on health & beauty retail giant Boots' websites. 

The process begins with an algorithm-based questionnaire that diagnoses customers’ personal skin needs, foundation preferences, including coverage and finish, and lifestyle concerns that could impact skin, in order to provide the best No7 foundation range match.  

No7’s Skin Expert technology, powered by Perfect Corp’s AI Foundation Shade Finder, then analyses skin tone in real-time against 10 million samples across nearly 90,000 diverse samples.

The analysis uses “adaptive environmental lighting adjustments and guidance” to capture the “optimal image for analysis and skin tone shade matching”. 

Once customers are matched with their foundation range and shade, they can “instantly virtually try-on their match and experiment with shade options”. 

A before and after sliding function also allows for comparison of the shade match against the customer’s natural skin tone through a live camera view. It also provides information about the matched foundation range and delivers personalised matches across other face products, including powders, concealers, primers and fixing mists.

“AI and AR technology is fast becoming a crucial part of a beauty brand’s digital transformation strategy, as more shoppers become accustomed to shopping online and seek out more opportunities for personalisation,” said Alice Chang, founder and CEO of Perfect Corp. 

Kiran Sandhu, Global Innovation Manager at No7 Beauty Company, added: “We’re responding to ever increasing consumer demand for personalisation and the accelerated shift to digital beauty behaviours due to the global pandemic.

“Through qualitative consumer research we discovered that for foundation users finding the right shade is just one half of the picture. Finding the right range that works with individual skin goals and concerns is the other. No7 Personalised Foundation Analysis, offers a holistic solution which combines skin and colour analysis to provide a truly personalised recommendation.”