AR In Beauty Marketing—Transforming Engagement, Personalization, and the Shopping Experience

What’s the potential of Augmented Reality in Beauty Marketing? Learn how AR improves convenience, personalization, and engagement, revolutionizing the shopping experience for your customers.

While we all enjoy aesthetically pleasing packaging that looks great on our shelves, the first rule of beauty shopping is: “Don’t judge a book by its cover.” The true value of beauty products lies in their performance, not just their appearance. Traditional advertising can take a beauty brand so far—promising customers results and capturing attention with celebrities on posters—but what consumers need most is to experience the product firsthand.

The Potential of AR in Beauty Marketing

There are 2.77 billion online shoppers globally as of 2025, meaning 33% of the world’s population shops online. This marks a 2.2% increase from the previous year, and global online retail sales are projected to rise even more, up to 2.86 billion by 2026. Despite its growing popularity, online shopping still faces some hardships for both customers and brands—especially in the beauty industry.

Beauty products must match the specific needs of each customer. With hundreds of hair masks, foundations, and skincare products available, finding the right foundation shade, the perfect coverage level, or the ideal finish (matte or glossy) is a challenge. In-store testers have their limitations, especially under artificial lighting or when already wearing other products. This is where AR comes in, solving these dilemmas, and significantly improving the shopping experience for customers.

But what exactly AR has to offer when it comes to beauty marketing? 💄

Convenience

By incorporating Augmented Reality into beauty marketing strategies—especially Virtual Try-On (VTO) experiences—brands make the customer journey easier. Without leaving their homes, users can try different products in real-time simply by opening their front camera. They can test shades and finishes without the mess of in-store testers.

With AR, shopping becomes effortless and accessible: all customers need is a smartphone and a social media account—which they likely already have. They can browse through different shades of lipstick, eyeshadow, or foundation to find the perfect match.

Read more about L’Oréal’s AR Beauty Campaign

We implemented this with brands like Essence, AA Cosmetics, and L’Oréal, turning makeup selection into a fun, engaging experience. AR showcases products’ capabilities through interactive tutorials and animations, leaving users with a virtual makeover and a clear idea of the results they can expect.

The whole process takes around 75 seconds on average, which is quick and efficient for a customer, but a lot for a brand, considering the average dwell time for an AR-powered campaign is 4X higher than a standard mobile ad.

Realism

AR Try-Ons are more than just a fun addition to a campaign—they provide a realistic representation of the end result. This practical tool offers a hyper-realistic digital preview of what a product will look like in real life, enhancing users’ confidence in their purchases.

For example, in our collaborations with Annabelle Minerals and Essence, we created hyper-realistic VTO experiences to solve one of the biggest struggles for makeup lovers: choosing the right foundation shade. Our AR experience mimicked real-life color and coverage, making the selection process easier for customers.

No need for specific equipment: thanks to today’s technology abilities and high-quality smartphone cameras, allowing the seamless recreation of the look, this personal try-on is available to most users across the globe.

Personalization

Beauty shoppers seek results, but navigating through thousands of available products can be overwhelming. AR technology resolves this issue by guiding customers directly to the right choice, making shopping an intuitive and tailored experience rather than a complicated decision-making process.

One of the best ways to implement personalization is through an interactive AR quiz. By asking a few questions, brands can lead customers to the best product for their needs, much like a shop assistant would in a physical store—but quicker and more efficiently.

We applied this strategy with Garnier Fructis, where an AR quiz asked users about their hair condition and recommended the ideal hair mask. Similarly, with L’Oréal, we created an AR experience that suggested the perfect eye look based on users’ makeup preferences.

Confidence

One of the biggest challenges in e-commerce is high return rates. Whether due to unmet expectations or differences between online images and real-life products, returns lead to additional costs for brands related to shipping, handling, and restocking. In fact, 54% of shoppers attribute their returns to incorrect or misleading pre-purchase product information, which directly affects brand trust and creates negative associations.

Incorporating AR into beauty marketing significantly boosts shopping confidence by allowing users to test products virtually before making a purchase. Whether trying different shades, taking an AR quiz, or visualizing the final look, customers gain a clearer understanding of how a product will work for them, building trust in both the product and the brand.

And the data backs it up—studies show that AR campaigns can reduce return rates by up to 66%, as shoppers can ensure the product suits them before buying. This directly addresses a key consumer need in online shopping. Additionally, 43% of smartphone users expect beauty brands to integrate AR for a more engaging and personalized shopping experience, reinforcing trust in the brand.

The Future of Beauty marketing

As online shopping continues to attract new customers, brands that integrate AR experiences will not only enhance engagement but also forge stronger connections with their audiences. This approach meets the demands of modern consumers who seek interaction and active participation in branded communication, rather than passive advertisements.

From virtual try-ons to interactive quizzes, AR empowers customers to make confident, informed purchases, reducing return rates and elevating the overall shopping experience. The future of beauty marketing is digital, immersive, and interactive—and AR is driving this transformation.