In light of Coty’s continuing digital strategy—the company named Sean Foster as SVP e-commerce Tuesday—Beauty Insider wanted to reflect on the company’s efforts on engaging consumers. Rimmel, Clairol and Sally Hansen each have apps to allow consumers to experiment with color, discover trends and personalize their beauty. Here’s what’s on offer.
Sally Hansen ManiMatch
Availability: iTunes, Google Store
What it does:
Using cutting-edge, proprietary technology, the app senses and analyzes pigments in each user’s hand and tailors polish-shade suggestions to flatter to their skin. Sally Hansen ManiMatch looks to guide consumers to color choices and lets them try on more than 200 nail polish shades in real time.
What need this solves: With the Sally Hansen app, consumers can experiment with all shades—there’s no more guessing.
Date launched: September 2015
Results: The app has been a hit among consumers with approximately 8MM shades having been tried on since the launch. The most popular shades include Cream of the Crop, Red Eye, Mintage, Re-nude and Sweet Talker.
Rimmel Get The Look
Available: iTunes, Google Store
What it does: Rimmel’s Get the Look app is the first to utilize and combine cutting-edge, patented face tracking and visualization technology, which allows the user to try on any makeup look featured in a picture. This can be a friend or a celebrity in a magazine. The Steal the Look feature then generates an image of how the makeup will look on them in real time, as well as a list of Rimmel products that will help them achieve it.
What this solves: Consumers enjoy replicating and trying on various makeup looks and take their inspiration from celebrities and from the street. With this app, Rimmel London is empowering women to seek out and try real life looks for themselves.
Launch date: September 2016 Results: Consumers refer to the app as a “game-changer,” “so realistic,” “addictive,” “impressive,” and “life-saver.” More than 60 percent of visitors, on average, come back to try new looks.
Clairol MyShade
Available: iTunes, Google Store
What it does: MyShade is the first app that allows users to scan any permanent at-home hair coloring product on their own hair—virtually—and match it to the closest Clairol shade. The application features ModiFace’s patented hair coloration and shade matching technology to accurately depict the most realistic result.
What this solves: Finding the most flattering at-home hair color shade is no easy task. Shade selection is one of the biggest barriers to at-home hair color. In fact, on average, women spend eight minutes in the hair color aisle – twice as much time as they spend shopping for hair care products – but only 50 percent actually purchase a product. Through this app, women can experiment with color and personalize products to their needs.
Key Features: MyShade features a hair advisor, which through a series of questions selects the best hair color products personalized for each user and her specific needs. The technology uses an artificially intelligent hair recommendation engine that can understand and personalize shade selection to a level that has not been done before in a digital experience.
Date launched:
November 2016; in February, it was made available in Canada.
User results:
Since launch, MyShade has been downloaded 230,000 times (According to ModiFace, 100,000 downloads is considered successful for a first-year launch.) The average session is five-plus minutes and 12.1 million shades have been tried on. About 180,000 users have had more than one session. The average iOS App Store rating is 4.5, with reviewers raving about its simplicity, user interface and how useful it was in finding their right shade.
