While online shopping has skyrocketed in this pandemic year, virtual makeup testing is now emerging as a must-have tool in the beauty industry. Following moves by several giants in the sector, it is now Google's turn to offer its users the opportunity to virtually try on makeup essentials from several cosmetic brands.

It's hard to buy a lipstick or eyeshadow without being able to test them on your skin tone. But that's what we would have been forced to do during 2020, if virtual makeup testing hadn't made its way to our smartphones to save the day. Faced with the acceleration of digitalization in certain sectors, including fashion and beauty, this tool, which we owe to augmented reality, is now indispensable.

While some brands had already anticipated this transformation long before the health crisis, others are now accelerating the pace to offer this innovative service to their users. This is the case of Google, which is now enriching its search engine with augmented reality to allow you to test a selection of essential makeup services offered by several brands. Several features have been launched this week in the United States to improve your shopping experience, and as is often the case, they should soon arrive in the rest of the world.

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Virtual testing and recommendations

The shopping experience has been totally transformed by the global pandemic of 2020. While stores still have a bright future ahead of them, there is no doubt that brands will -- if they haven't already done so -- step up the pace to make virtual shopping more and more like a physical experience, and vice versa.

Google is experimenting with virtual makeup testing, in partnership with ModiFace and Perfect Corp, offering users the chance to test different shades and textures of lipsticks and eyeshadows from brands such as L'Oréal, MAC Cosmetics and Charlotte Tilbury.

And it doesn't stop there; you can also get product suggestions. By browsing Google Shopping, for example, you can find tips and recommendations from enthusiasts and experts in various fields, such as fashion and beauty.

These first tools should quickly give way to a complete overhaul of services dedicated to online cosmetics shopping in the coming years -- perhaps even months.