This month technology continues to thrive in an already booming market: the cosmetics and skin care categories. L’Oréal garnered much success with their virtual app, MakeupGenius, and other companies such as Sephora are engaging consumers with with an array of high-tech innovation, most recently seen in their slick, new 34th Street store in NYC.

Not surprisingly, more and more brands are looking at interactive ways to keep loyal customers loyal and attract new ones – while increasing brand awareness and sales.

Burt’s Bees and Smashbox enter this creative arena in two different ways, with two different partners – Google and ModiFace.

When Burt Shavitz, co-founder of Burt’s Bees passed away in 2015, it was important to the brand that they keep his name and legacy thriving. To ensure that goal, his bi-level, 300-square-foot converted turkey coop was relocated from rural Maine to the company’s headquarters in Durham, North Carolina, and reconstructed as Burt left it.

The unveiling took place this past December. To further educate consumers, and allow them to fully understand the photojournalist-turned-beekeeper’s vision, the company teamed up with Google to create a virtual 360° tour inside his home – be it on one’s computer or through a viewfinder planted on Burt’s front porch that offers a high-tech experience when fans visit the manufacturing facility, also located at the company’s HQ.

“This wasn’t designed to sell products, but rather give the consumer an experience while bringing the brand to life and telling the founder’s story,” said Jim Geikie, General Manger of Burt’s Bees. “Through Google, the consumer is immersed in a high-tech touch to Burt’s low-tech lifestyle, so there’s this great dual delivery. It’s a terrific gateway into who we are, and where we came from.”

Since Google has an affiliation with the Clorox Company, which owns Burt’s Bees, the partnership was effortlessly formed; the brand’s marketing plan easily understood.

“Now that a strategic media relationship has been forged and integrated, we’ll look to do additional product launches with them,” he added. “Real effective marketing is about content and delivery and enhanced consumer engagement. This is where you can marry content with a state-of-the-art, sophisticated digital delivery system.”

While Burt’s Bees is an encounter of its founder, Virtual Try-On Studio from Smashbox is a more consumer and sales driven experience, as customers can try on, play, buy and share all of the company’s products without going to a store.

“The retail environment is changing, sales are moving online. Makeup is difficult to do this with because people want to try on colors, and everyone has different skin tones. We wanted to remove that barrier with this virtual try-on tool,” said Ginny Chien, Executive Director, Global Digital and Consumer Marketing for Smashbox. “This new generation is much more open to buying makeup this way. They are so digitally savvy. Virtual reality is blowing up. It made sense for us to enter this space.”

Six months ago the brand re-launched their website. This new digital platform is the second part of their online makeover. Users can see how every Smashbox product will look on them, in any environment, in any light, in any photo. And to keep things feeling fresh, the company will launch a new feature every three months. Forthcoming innovations include the ultra-trendy sticker category where consumers can customize their newly made-up faces with an array of original stickers to add to their photos or videos.

“Augmented reality technology is new and sexy. We’ve found the virtual try-on tool has a higher percentage of people buying something,” Ginny said. “You’re leveraging the latest technology to tell your brand’s story. It used to be print, TV and radio.Then it was social media. Now software is allowing brands to do it in a different way.”