The New Perfect365 Explorer Community Connects Industry Professionals With Beauty-Lovers

It's no secret that the cosmetics industry is highly competitive — brands try to keep up with trends and meet the global needs of beauty fanatics who are hungry for the 'next big thing'. As technology inches its way to making the Chanel makeup machine in The Fifth Element a reality, there are several great mobile apps, including Perfect365, that help consumers, makeup artists, and industry professionals virtually try-on makeup without touching a single brush! In a $13-billion-dollar industry, millennials are purchasing cosmetics in brick-and-mortar stores over 70% of the time, while online sales are reportedly slipping compared to last year, according to Perfect365’s most recent survey. The millennial group of women, with ages ranging from 19 to 35, are dominating the charts as the heaviest beauty buyers, and social media is their main source of guidance as to what to buy and where. Recent studies show that millennials are researching online before purchasing in-store — and most likely trying the products on while perusing the shops, too. This 'try before you buy' trend is difficult for those who live in rural areas, or don't have access to cosmetic stores like Sephora or Ulta, so how can we make the process easier for everyone? Well, the answer is in the palm of your hand!

If you already use instant makeover technology to virtualize your look of the day, then you already know what a powerful tool it is to inspire and guide you through the 'making up' process. Virtual makeup is not just a tool for consumers to play with different lipstick shades — it's a game changer for the entire cosmetics industry!

Makeup Artists If you've ever worked as a retail makeup artist, you know the struggle of the trial and error process with clients. By the time you get to the third lipstick shade, the client's mouth is already stained and chapped. Most makeup artists (MUAs) spend a good 45 minutes trying color on clients, and sometimes they still haven't found anything that pleases the customer. With a few taps on a mobile app like Perfect365, which uses facial recognition to recognize points of the face, makeup artists in the retail space can show their customers lipstick and eyeshadow shades before trying it on in real life. This technology will especially help women with big events, such as a bridal event or a prom, and can cut the hour-long process to less than 10 minutes!

The newly launched Explorer community within the Perfect365 app is a platform where professional makeup artists and beauty brands share their best looks with Perfect365’s community of 80-million users. MUAs and brands can become a part of the Explorer community and create a dedicated profile with links to their social media pages, which presents a new opportunity for these brands and professionals to connect with millions of beauty enthusiasts.

With just a tap, users can virtually 'try on' looks from their favorite MUA or beauty brand with the use of a mobile phone's live camera. View the look on yourself, capture a photo of the look, and browse detailed tutorials to help in recreating the looks at home.  This new feature empowers makeup artists with an array of inspirational looks, as well as a tool to use with their clients, to help nail down a look that a client desires, but without the trial and error hassle of actual cosmetic application.

Digital Beauty Meets Social influencers

Anyone that follows makeup gurus on YouTube or Instagram knows that it can be challenging to copy their looks at home. With integration into digital makeup, popular artists could share their looks virtually within apps to help fans get a realistic try-on at home. Earlier, we mentioned that millennials rely heavily on social media influencers for advice on what to buy, and digitizing the beauty artist's makeup look could help speed up the decision-making process when it comes to purchasing makeup. According to Perfect365's recent survey, 61% of millennials trust YouTube vloggers and bloggers over retail beauty counter salespeople, making the digital beauty world a huge influence on how women purchase cosmetics!

Try Before You Buy

So much of our time is spent on social media, especially for millennials, and the likelihood that they'll purchase something they saw on Instagram is staggering. Millennials demand more information when it comes to purchasing cosmetics than ever before: What is the pigmentation like? What is the packaging like? How does this product compare to others that are similar? They demand reviews, details, and seek out stamps of approval from their favorite social media beauty guru. With all of these demands, how does the digital beauty evolution supply millennials with the tools they need before a purchase is made?

1. The first component is trust. With trust shifting to beauty vloggers rather than the local beauty counter representative, all curiosity and purchasing influence is happening online.
2. The second component is a visual. What does the stuff look like? Whether the products are showcased in a video review or a still shot slideshow, the crowd demands high-quality images. With the help of a digital beauty app, the customer can virtually try on specific products or create a similar color in the app that allows them to see what the color may look like in real life.
3. The third, and probably most important, component is how to apply the product. Here's where things get tricky: What we're seeing a lot of these days are customers who buy the hottest beauty items on the market, but have no idea how to apply it. The users can turn to in-depth online tutorials — most include step-by-step instructions — to help them create the look easily.

Try before you buy options are now easily accessible through smartphones and apps like Perfect365, which makes the decision-making process easier than ever before. This final step in the beauty purchases will help consumers make a swifter decision on whether or not to buy that lipstick. The app virtually applies the lipstick to the consumer, then the customer can make a decision of whether to buy online or purchase in-store. This example goes to show you that an entire makeup wardrobe could be planned and purchased digitally, without the hassle of leaving your home!

So, until we have robots that will do our makeup for us (what's the fun in that?), we can use our very own mobile device to show us how we'll look in that velvety red lipstick that is trending for fall!

How do you feel about the digital beauty evolution? How does this affect your beauty purchasing decisions? Share your thoughts with us on Instagram!