Amorepacific uses the tool to recommend the best match from 205 foundation and 366 lip product shades.
Customers are booking up at South Korean cosmetics giant Amorepacific's new artificial intelligence (AI) beauty lab, where robots custom mix facial products and cutting-edge technology recommends the best lipstick shades.
“Everyone's skin tone is different, but most people buy the most common colors available in the market,” said Kwon Yu-jin, 32, a customer of the company's custom skin cosmetics service.
“It's a really cool experience to learn more about my skin and see the before and after first-hand,” she said after receiving the AI-generated report on her skin's condition.
The robot then mixed a foundation that perfectly matched her skin tone.
More cosmetics companies are adopting AI to boost sales, with global brands such as L'Oreal SA and LVMH-owned Sephora using it to customize products to suit customers' needs.
According to Statista Market Insights, global beauty industry sales, including cosmetics, are expected to reach $625.6 billion in 2023, growing steadily every year since dropping in 2020 due to COVID-19.
Amorepacific said it uses AI to recommend the best options for customers from 205 skin foundation colors and 366 lip product colors.
“We have used deep learning and machine learning technology to (automate) the process of experts evaluating the skin data of many people,” said Lee Young-jin, an engineer who advises Amorepacific's custom beauty business.
Analysts said using AI instead of human consultants could speed up product development and reduce variables.
“No matter how professional an expert is, there are big individual differences. It's difficult to constantly consult with 30 to 40 experts and evaluate cosmetics,” said Yang Yong-seok, a senior researcher at the Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI), who co-developed a deep learning model for cosmetics texture.
“Product development times have shortened recently, with more new products being launched sooner than ever before,” Yang added. “Combining AI technology could lower the hurdles even further.”
Analytics provider Business Research Company said in January that it expects the market for AI use in the beauty and cosmetics industry to more than double from $3.27 billion in 2023 to $8.1 billion in 2028 as services such as personalized beauty advice, skin analysis and diagnosis, and virtual makeup artists expand.
