YouTube introduces a new feature to virtually try make-up before buying. Here’s how the AR Beauty Try filter works
Make-up tutorials are among the most successful and popular content on YouTube, and there are many women and men who, thanks to this channel, show daily how to apply makeup at a party, a job interview, a romantic dinner or try cosmetics of all kinds live.
The video streaming platform wants to take advantage of this trend and a few days ago presented the new filter to try make-up. It’s a feature that takes advantage of augmented reality and allows you to try makeup virtually right from the YouTube app. It’s called AR Beauty Try-On and it’s designed to be used even with screen sharing so that the audience can be even more involved while the movie is playing. Is the platform preparing to revolutionize the industry? Surely the new feature will influence the purchasing choices of many users.
AR Beauty Try-On: how YouTube’s make-up filter works
It’s called AR Beauty Try On the new YouTube feature that allows you to try on your skin, and in a virtual way, the tricks that are shown in a make-up tutorial posted on the online platform. All this works thanks to the sharing of the screen where, in the upper part appears the person who makes the video, in the lower part the person who watches it and wants to try the product and apply it, albeit virtually, on their skin and see the final effect before buying it.
Thanks to the front camera, those watching the video can try the make-up filter, applying lipsticks, eye shadows and other beauty products to their face. This feature is still in the testing phase, and is offered to YouTube creatives who join the FameBit program. Through this partnership, brands that join the program can make paid sponsorships to let the public virtually try their cosmetics. YouTube says it has already had several beauty brands try AR Beauty Try-On and found that 30 percent of viewers chose to activate the experience in the iOS app. Those who tried it out stayed inside the filter for about 80 seconds, trying out different colors of lipstick and other make-up.
MAC Cosmetics: how did it take advantage of YouTube’s make-up filter?
Although the filter is in the testing phase, MAC Cosmetics has already experimented with an ad campaign using YouTube’s beauty filter. The film uses just Beauty Try-On: at the top a YouTuber presented MAC lipsticks, while at the bottom of the video, the audience could activate the filter and try out the different colors on their lips as they were presented.
YouTube isn’t the first to leverage augmented reality to create ad campaigns that focus on virtual experiences. Staying in the make-up industry, Sephora has also come up with a similar technology, which is called Sephora’s Virtual Artist. L’Oréal, on the other hand, offers so-called Live Try-Ons on its website, and has partnered with Facebook to create interactive social campaigns that engage fans and make them try out products of all kinds.
In short, the cosmetics industry is taking advantage of this important aspect of Augmented Reality and reaping several benefits. Maybe these new technologies won’t take the place of the classic tester products found in physical stores, but they certainly offer one more opportunity for companies to increase sales.