'InStyle' Pilots AR Try-Ons For Beauty Advertisers

• by Rob Williams , September 25, 2019

Meredith Corp.'s fashion magazine InStyle is expanding an augmented reality try-on experience for beauty products after piloting the technology in stories, The Drum reported.

InStyle tested the feature in its June issue, letting readers scan quick-response (QR) codes in its print or digital editions with a mobile phone to activate the virtual try-on.

Augmented reality has been popularized in social-media apps like Snapchat and Instagram. Many beauty brands have adopted the technology to showcase lipstick, eye shadow, blush and hair coloring.

InStyle is working with beauty tech developer Perfect Corp. on the AR experience, the Drum reported. Perfect's artificial intelligence and AR technologies power its own apps, like YouCam Makeup, which lets mobile users try on virtual makeup and buy beauty products online.

AR has become a popular marketing tool for beauty brands that either advertise on social-media apps or sell products directly.

Facebook last year partnered with Modiface -- a developer of AR technology for the beauty industry that was acquired by L'Oreal -- to offer virtual makeup try-on's to its users.

In June, Amazon integrated Modiface's technology with its mobile app to let shoppers try out different shades of lipstick before placing an order for delivery.