Beauty Tech champion

From the world’s number 1 in beauty to indisputable leader in Beauty Tech, L’Oréal is pioneering ultra-personalised beauty at scale, creating new business opportunities to augment and elevate beauty experiences.

Data-driven science and tech expertise

Building on 115 years of serving the beauty industry, L’Oréal has developed the world’s most comprehensive beauty database on skin biology, hair and skincare, active ingredients, formulas, as well as consumer beauty routines and desires across all beauty categories and geographies. Continuously enriched, this forms the backbone of an integrated data platform powered by the latest AI technologies, allowing L’Oréal to reshape beauty experiences through a range of advanced services, smart devices and online platforms.

Since its beginnings, creativity, science and technology have been at the heart of L’Oréal’s model and we continue to capitalise on new ways to enhance consumer satisfaction. Committed to open innovation, we work with cutting-edge startups and tech leaders to co-develop the most advanced Beauty Tech solutions. New collaborations in 2023 include an exclusive partnership with Verily, the Alphabet company dedicated to precision health tech, for the first-ever longitudinal cohort study in the beauty industry. Joining forces, we will decipher the biological, clinical and environmental factors influencing people’s skin and hair health over time.

Beauty Tech innovations are driven by our teams who combine scientific knowledge with technological expertise: 4,000 scientists at 20 research centres worldwide, and more than 8,000 digital, tech and data talents.

Personalised at every touchpoint

Beauty Tech is revolutionising the consumer beauty journey with ultra personalisation all the way from the hairdresser’s chair to beauty points of sales or directly at home through online platforms, augmented beauty devices and mobile applications.

Examples include cutting-edge diagnostic tools powered by artificial intelligence to enhance in-store services provided by beauty advisors. Informed by 20 years of Research and Innovation, SkinScreen by Lancôme measures 12 skin clinical parameters to provide a detailed diagnosis and a bespoke skin routine. Among other augmented beauty experiences introduced in 2023, the Armani Meta Profiler is a handheld device that decodes skin markers for an individualised diagnosis, Crema Nera routine and “Meta Sculpt™” boosting protocol.

Beauty Tech innovations are also enabling consumers to access specialist help and achieve professional results at home. La Roche-Posay launched Spotscan, a free digital diagnostic and coaching tool, developed with dermatologists, for acne sufferers to improve access to dermatological advice and customised skincare. An innovation award winner at the Consumer Electronics Show in 2022, Colorsonic by L’Oréal Paris is a smart handheld device delivering salon-quality hair colour at home. It uses an innovative, mess-free process to mix hair colour and apply precise doses evenly via an oscillating nozzle brush, delivering consistent hair colour results quickly and effectively.

L’Oréal has been at the forefront of digitalising the beauty consumer journey over the past decade. Advances in technology and changing digital habits are ushering in new opportunities to know consumers more intimately in full respect of their privacy, create stronger connections with our brands and sell our products through new business models.

Winning new consumers through social commerce

Beauty seekers want an authentic conversation with the brands they are interested in. Through collaboration with a wide range of influencers including dermatologists, hairstylists, beauty advisors and pro-creators, L’Oréal ranked No. 1 in advocated media with 29% share of beauty influence in 2023.

Today, 44% of consumers use social media to find out about beauty products. The rise of the creator economy in 2023 significantly boosted social commerce. L’Oréal has achieved notable success in markets where this is accelerating. One standout example is live-streaming in China. Douyin, which has expanded from a video-sharing platform to China’s second-largest beauty e-commerce platform, has become an important arena for international brands. Yves Saint Laurent Beauty and L’Oréal Paris are successfully attracting new and younger consumers through innovative formats such as live-stream rooms transformed into online boutiques. L’Oréal is also extending its consumer reach via Whatsapp in markets like Brazil and through TikTok Shops in multiple countries across SAPMENA.

Engaging and educating on all digital platforms

The consumer path to purchase has evolved to encompass multiple touchpoints across a range of online and offline channels. L’Oréal has continued to expand its beauty engagement touchpoints in paid, influence media, as well as via its own brand sites, social accounts and direct to consumer websites. The future of beauty will be physical, digital and virtual. L’Oréal teams continue to create compelling content bringing consumers more personalised and augmented beauty experiences across a variety of platforms, including connected TV and gaming.

Beauty and gaming are a great fit as the number of women, especially Gen Z consumers, interested in gaming continues to grow. In 2023, L’Oréal’s annual Paris Fashion Week showcase, a major trending event, was not only livestreamed on social media, but also streamed on Roblox, reaching new audiences among the platform’s users.

L’Oréal brands are embracing innovation to create immersive and interactive experiences that blend the physical and digital worlds. One such example is Shu Uemura’s 3D stickers, which combine calligraphy with NFC technology. These handcrafted stickers serve as “wearable accessories” and unlock exclusive augmented reality content on Snapchat when users bring their smartphones close to the sticker on their face.

L’Oréal continues to guide and educate individuals on lifestyle, beauty and the environment, collaborating with influencers, prescribers and expert advocates on tutorials as well as through our own brand platforms. We use QR codes on over 1 billion product units to connect consumers to information and services. For example, LiftActiv B3 serum, launched by Vichy in 2023, explains the different factors affecting skin pigmentation, the active ingredients in the serum and offers advice on skincare routines to help reduce dark spots.