• by Sarah Mahoney  @mahoney_sarah, April 29, 2020

In a move bound to make your next Zoom meeting more colorful, L’Oréal USA is teaming up with the Snap Camera desktop platform. The beauty company is releasing eight custom-branded augmented reality lenses, which Snap says it will feature for a week in a beauty area on the opening page of the platform. 

When they’re bored with putting on dog noses and lighting their hair on fire, users can experiment with L’Oréal’s hair colors and cosmetics, fragrances and skincare. 

It’s Snap Camera’s  first collaboration with a beauty company, and the lenses offer products from L’Oréal’s Garnier, Lancôme and Maybelline brands, as well as L’Oréal Paris. Snap allows people to try on the lenses in any video platform they use, including Zoom and Skype.

This is not L’Oréal’s first try-it-on rodeo, however. The company has been steadily beefing up its AR arsenal for years. Earlier this year, it announced a try-on option with Pinterest. 

At this year’s Consumer Electronics Show, L’Oréal also impressed onlookers with Perso, a Bluetooth-connected device that can mix up customized colors and regimens, and can even pull images from social media so users can  stay current with color trends.

Last year, L’Oréal generated plenty of buzz for its LaRoche-Posay skincare, using AI to scan photos and make specific product recommendations. Back in 2018, L’Oréal acquired ModiFace, and has incorporated much of that AR and AI technology into offerings throughout the brand portfolio. 

“Snap technology creates new avenues for self-expression, and at L’Oréal we view self-expression as the foundation of beauty,” says CMO Gretchen Saegh-Fleming, in its release. “Offering the first beauty lenses for Snap Camera means we can provide our consumers with a new and engaging way to experience our products and brands -- and a no-fuss addition to their at-home beauty routine, at the ready for their next video chat.”

The pandemic-driven stampede to Zoom and other videoconferences has led to a 30-times increase in the daily downloads of Snap Camera, it says.