Can consumers rely on face-scanning technology for accurate product discovery?

The challenge cosmetic companies are faced with:

Google says that more than 60% of online beauty shoppers have decided not to purchase a beauty or cosmetic item online because they didn’t know which color or shade to choose. Additionally, 41% have returned an item because it was the wrong shade. Along with difficulty to match shades, Skin Match Technology also investigated the client’s product discovery process and the novelty of consumers having to find the correct foundation which will not only match their skin tone but their skin type and needs.

Investigation

We went on the field to test the customer discovery experience of the NYX cosmetics online shade finder VS getting matched in the store. Here is what we investigated

1. Do Facial recognition shade finders provide in-depth guidance to customers?
2. What factors are taken into account when the online shade guide matches a customer to the product?
3. Is the shade as well as the foundation recommendation accurate?
4. The difference between Facial recognition shade guides and the data-driven Foundation finder by Skin Match Technology.

Do Facial recognition shade finders provide in-depth guidance to customers?

In order to test this, we tried out the NYX cosmetics shade finder of which there are 2 different shade finders, the first one is a 4 step quiz and then a virtual try on as seen below:

The 4-step Quiz

In order to determine my shade, the quiz took into account, my undertone, coverage preference and which shade I look like the most.

At the end of the quiz, to receive my results, I had to enter my email address where I’d receive my full result. I have not received the email…

However, the shade that I found most like my skin tone was “beige caramel” which is then what I assumed would be my shade.

In an attempt to find the shade “beige caramel,” I gave the virtual try-on tool a go. As you can see, I couldn’t find the shade but it seemed different shades could have been a better fit such as Soft Beige.

So, do Facial recognition shade finders provide in-depth guidance to customers and what factors are taken into account?

There could be slightly more guidance provided to consumers. Being someone who is not that well versed on foundation, make-up and shade matching I did require a little more guidance in terms of what foundation matched my skin type as well as receiving the email to recommend my shade.

Facial recognition and online shade guides such as the NYX guide are the future and certainly a super convenient way to find my shade, the virtual try-on really takes it a step further and makes it as accurate as possible to find your shade. However, more consideration needs to be lent to factors such as skin type, potential allergies of consumers and so on as 69% of consumers feel they have to get their info somewhere else because brands don’t supply enough. As all customers’ skin tends to be dryer in winter and more oily in summer this plays a huge role in the type of foundation one would use and then a huge role in customer satisfaction with the product and the overall shade finder tool as complexions of consumers also tend to differ during winter vs summer.

To expand on this, the result I received from the 4-step quiz was that Bare With Me Tint foundation or the Total Drop Control would be a good fit, but this conclusion was drawn only based on the fact that I would like something with light coverage. It had not taken into account the fact that I currently have dry skin. To further test our theory that an online shade finder must help customers discover their correct foundation in terms of skin type, I headed to the NYX store in Paris to see what foundation they would recommend for dry skin.

I asked the NYX makeup artist for a foundation that was light coverage for dry skin. She immediately recommended the Born To Glow in the shade soft beige. I then asked for interest sake what would be a good foundation for oily skin and she then recommended the Bare With Me Tint foundation.