L'Oréal Canada, ModiFace and Shoppers Drug Mart reinvent beauty shopping through AI-powered Virtual Make-up Try-on Service

Customers will be able to virtually 'try-on' products from Lancôme, Urban Decay, YSL Beauté, L'Oréal Paris, Maybelline NY and NYX Professional Makeup.

MONTREAL, Oct. 21, 2019 /CNW Telbec/ - L'Oréal's recently acquired Augmented Reality and Artificial Intelligence entity, ModiFace, together with Shoppers Drug Mart, are launching a new digital virtual try on beauty service for online consumers in Canada. This new Virtual Make-up Try-on service will allow consumers to virtually try-on different make-up products and shades in the comfort of their home.

Via a direct and seamless connection between platforms, L'Oréal Canada, ModiFace and Shoppers Drug Mart will deliver augmented reality powered experiences from the world's leading beauty brands such as Maybelline, L'Oréal Paris, NYX Professional Makeup, Lancôme, Yves Saint Laurent and Urban Decay. This new technology will be rolled-out on October 21^st 2019 and will be available in Canada at https://beauty.shoppersdrugmart.ca/.

The uniqueness of the ModiFace technology lies in its photo-realistic results and automatic, AI-enabled shade calibration. The AR simulation of each shade is done automatically, based on AI-powered analysis of information provided by makeup brands, but also images and descriptions of the product available on social media. Shoppers Drug Mart online beauty customers will have the ability to perform beauty try-on simulations on live video, and to track their face and facial features in precise detail. The Virtual Make-up Try-on technology significantly enriches the online purchasing experience and reinvents the beauty experience.

Robert Beredo, Chief Digital Officer of L'Oréal Canada, said: "This new service harnesses the power of AI and AR to provide personalized experiences and enhance consumer engagement in digital touchpoints. It is key for product and brand discovery and it removes friction from the shopping journey in a seamless, engaging, and playful way. Gaining consumer trust and attention is critical for us, and this new service helps us create even more intimate relationships with our consumers."

Parham Aarabi, CEO of ModiFace, said: "We are thrilled to partner with Shoppers Drug Mart to bring this Virtual makeup try-on service to users across Canada and to help reinvent the beauty shopping experience. Thanks to a precise colour rendering, enabled by our unique AI-powered technology, shoppers can easily try-on different makeup products on the Shoppers Drug Mart website and purchase the shades that fit them best."

Deon Alhadeff, Vice President, Marketing at Shoppers Drug Mart, said: "We are always looking to improve the shopping experience for Canadians, both in our stores and online. By teaming up with ModiFace and L'Oréal Canada to integrate this new AI technology, we are able to provide our customers with the ability to virtually try-on a variety of beauty products. We know how important it is to have the ability to try on products like lipsticks in-store, and now we can offer a similar experience through our website shoppersdrugmart.ca, Canada's biggest online beauty retailer."

About L'Oréal Canada
L'Oréal Canada is a wholly-owned subsidiary of L'Oréal Group, the largest cosmetics company in the world. Headquartered in Montreal, the company had sales of $1.280 billion in 2018 and employs more than 1,300 people. The company holds a portfolio of 36 brands, encompassing all aspects of beauty, and is present across all distribution networks: mass market, department stores, salons, pharmacies, drugstores, and branded retail. L'Oréal Canada, whose operations are carbon neutral, supports the L'Oréal Foundation's programs such as L'Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science, which has promoted the advancement of women in science in Canada since 2003, Beauty for a better life, a social reintegration program in hairdressing for immigrant women since 2017, and the just recently launched Women in Digital support program.

About Shoppers Drug Mart
Shoppers Drug Mart is one of the most recognized and trusted names in Canadian retailing. The company is the licensor of full-service retail drug stores operating under the name Shoppers Drug Mart (Pharmaprix in Québec). With almost 1,300 Shoppers Drug Mart and Pharmaprix stores operating in prime locations in each province and two territories, the company is one of the most convenient retailers in Canada. The company also licenses or owns 47 medical clinic pharmacies operating under the name Shoppers Simply Pharmacy (Pharmaprix Simplement Santé in Québec), and provides cosmetic dermatology services at two standalone locations, the Beauty Clinic. As well, the company owns and operates 43 corporate Wellwise by Shoppers Drug Mart stores and an ecommerce site Wellwise.ca, making it the largest Canadian retailer of home health care products and services. In addition to its retail store network, the company owns Shoppers Drug Mart Specialty Health Network Inc., a provider of specialty drug distribution, pharmacy and comprehensive patient support services, and MediSystem Inc., a provider of pharmaceutical products and services to long-term care facilities. Shoppers Drug Mart is an independent operating division of Loblaw Companies Limited.

SOURCE L'Oréal Canada Inc.

L'Oréal Canada, Virginie Hotte-Dupuis, [email protected]; Shoppers Drug Mart, [email protected]