VivaTech week saw a raft of announcements for beauty retail innovation around artificial intelligence, social commerce, personalization and the industry’s intersection with wellness. These played out both at the physical technology fair in Paris and beyond.

At VivaTech, L’Oréal Group unveiled its latest innovations in hyper personalization leveraging generative AI—not least its L’Oréal Paris Beauty Genius, a Gen AI powered beauty assistant—alongside a new creator partnership with Meta.

Emperia announced a partnership with Walmart
Walmart
to build a new social virtual retail experience curated by digital creators. The space will invite customers to interact with both brands and creators in an immersive, social atmosphere. This follows Emperia virtual shopping experiences including L’Occitane, Hugo Boss and Lacoste.

L’Oréal too has partnered with Walmart, alongside Snapchat, on virtual try-on for hair color. Customers in the U.S. scanning a QR code on boxes of its Feria hair dye will be able to virtually try out different hair colors via an augmented reality toolkit allowing them to preview how they might look. They can also access suggestions on how best to apply the product to achieve their goals.

Following partnerships with Asics and adidas, Web3 based fitness and wellness app STEPN by FSL unveiled new app STEPN GO where users can share their sneakers with app newbies and split earnings to kickstart new fitness journeys. Users can now message the avatars of other players while out running. The game has also introduced a new token which can be earned by walking, jogging and running with digital NFT sneakers.

On Tuesday, prior to this suite of announcements, L’Oréal Group, Emperia and STEPN executives—Delphine Hellin, Global Beauty Tech Director YSL Beauty, Gil Regev, Chief Marketing Officer Emperia and Shiti Rastogi Manghani, CEO STEPN— participated in panel debate—Engagement 360: Online, Offline, Bottom Line—at the FUTURE FACE BeautyTech workshopping summit in Paris, a partnership with Hollywood Labs.

Alongside Jana Bobosikova, co founder of Estée Lauder backed community commerce platform KIKI World, Yasmin Zeinab, founder of buzzed about body care start-up Abi Amé and Neal Robert, co founder of game creator bem.buiders behind The Sandbox’s, The Art of The Runway, the executives discussed gamification, technologies to augment hyper personalization and social shopping, the value these bring to brand and consumer interactions and their ultimate impact on revenue.

Hellin shared insights on YSL’s Scent-Sation, its neuroscience based in-store consultation addressing consumer tensions related to identifying their fragrance match. The state-of-the-art, experience which offers personalized fragrance advice via a neuro-connected headset using EEG (electroencephalography) technology has impressive conversion stats. Its Dubai pilot saw over 80% of customers buying two out of three suggested fragrances.

Zeinab introduced Abi Amé’s new near field communication (NFC) chipped packaging—a way to keep her community close as her brand segues from DTC to retail via TikTok shop and, next year, Sephora—while Robert spoke on how beauty brands can best show up in the gaming universe. Watchwords were authenticity and meaningful experiences that resonate with Gen-Z and Gen-Alpha audiences.

Another panel, AI to ROI: How Artificial Intelligence Can Boost the Business of Beauty featured IFF Global Innovation director Céline Manetta, Nicolas Borgis Managing Director Digital Engagement EPAM France, Aurora Straton Creative Lead Google,
Google
and Camila Toro, fashion AI forecaster at GalaxAI Couture.

At IFF Manetta was instrumental in developing AI algorithm, ScentCube, used in the creation of Puig Group brand, Charlotte Tilbury’s new neuro fragrance line, Collection of Emotions, to help identify a range of emotions that can be engendered via fragrance accords. IFF works transversally across biosciences, health and food & beverage. Within the fragrance category, clients include Givenchy and new wellbeing scent brand Vyrao.

Most recently at Google, Straton worked on a geo spatial AR experience for Dior’s Miss Dior fragrance at Macy’s in New York. Toro spoke in her artist capacity to the need to ensure inclusivity and diversity when using AI tech. EPAM creates instore experiences with Sephora in the U.S. and Borgis also introduced a new voice to image AI application for Estée Lauder for the visually impaired.

Emperia and six further FUTURE FACE innovation partners hosted mini masterclasses for C-Suite guests from the luxury beauty industry with whom they workshopped to present practical applications of their respective techs with interactive hands-on demonstrations.

Workshops were conducted by creative studios Beyond Studio and FFFace Me who leverage mixed reality technology including geo spatial filters and AR mirrors both for social marketing and to drive customers in-store. Clients include Prada and Dolce & Gabbana respectively.

KIKI World presented both its own consumer beauty product taking in nail pens, face paint and reusable eye patches, alongside its new SaaS platform enterprise arm—via the launch of a KIKI World x FUTURE FACE Swipe Campaign.

POAP Studio which creates digital badges and social tokens as NFT collectibles for physical events including Sephora and Christian Louboutin also showcased while The Sandbox had guests explore its new gaming partnership with DRESSX and how digital collectibles can be used as social media assets to further boost the omni channel experience.

On the product innovation side, Lucibel.le hosted experiential sessions using its OVE masks. The French LED tech company which recently collaborated with Christian Dior Beauty on a co-branded device for use in the latter’s flagship spas, uses the principle of photobiomodulation by red light to rejuvenate the skin. Adding to the draw, it’s also said to prolong the effects of Botox injections.