On a drizzly Thursday in Hammersmith, L’Oréal Group’s UK and Ireland managing director Thierry Cheval is making lipstick from the comfort of his office.
“This is a custom made-to-measure lipstick by Yves Saint Laurent,” he explains, picking up a small device that sits on the table in front of him.
At first glance, the sleek black machine looks like a speaker or smart home device but it is in fact a personalised lipstick maker that can create up to 4,000 potential shades.
Cheval takes out his phone to demonstrate the dedicated app that links to the machine and allows makeup connoisseurs to virtually try on different shades. After deciding on the right one, the next step is to simply press ‘Create’.
He watches as the machine whirrs into life, quickly revealing the 3D version of a dark nude lipstick chosen virtually.
“It’s pretty fun,” he laughs.
According to Cheval, technology will give the beauty industry a makeover of its own.
Tech innovations
Cheval describes devices like the YSL lipstick maker L’Oréal is building as “quite cool” and an area of focus that will outlive the pandemic as more consumers embrace at-home beauty – even after restrictions have eased.
“We see beauty tech as one area that will really influence the future of beauty. Some are devices; some are more augmented products,” he says.
He points to innovations that will soon be available to the public, such as the Colorsonic, which aims to bring a salon experience to the home.
“It is an at-home hair-colour application device,” Cheval explains. “You just brush your hair and [the dye] applies from root to tips.”
“It’s about our products, the things we can do and the services we can bring on top through AI and some of the apps we have for virtual try-ons,” he says.
“Before changing the colour of your hair, you can see what it looks like on the app.”
In 2018, L’Oréal acquired AR company ModiFace, which it has now utilised for nail varnish brand Essie as well as for makeup and haircare products.
“We’ve been one of the early beauty brands to really accelerate with TikTok. We’ve had some posts that went absolutely viral”
A further pandemic investment was building a TikTok presence. In July, the beauty giant joined forces with the video-sharing platform, enabling UK consumers to purchase products from NYX Professional Makeup and Garnier directly from the app for the first time.
In September, the business took it even further, hosting a shoppable TikTok livestream show during Paris Fashion Week.
“We’ve been one of the early beauty brands to really accelerate with TikTok,” Cheval says. “We’ve had some TikTok posts over lockdown that went absolutely viral.”
The posts included videos from brand ambassadors such as US actress Eva Longoria showing how products could be used while spending more time at home during lockdown.
Pandemic transformation
Cheval transitioned into his current role during the pandemic, marking a new phase in his career as well as a new chapter for many of L’Oréal’s consumers.
“There have been changes – some of them had started before the pandemic and have been accelerated throughout,” he says.
“We are still in a situation where ecommerce plays a very important part – it’s anywhere between 35% to 40%. It could become 50%”
“We see these trends towards more authenticity, more harmony, more wellness, more about feeling good. We’ve seen care products grow rapidly.”
He also highlights the increase in online sales for L’Oréal’s brand portfolio.
“We are still in a situation where ecommerce plays a very important part – it’s anywhere between 35% to 40% of the beauty market. We see it could become 50%.”
L’Oréal’s 2021 results showed that European like-for-like sales grew 10.1% to €10.2bn (£8.45bn), attributed to “a new surge in its online sales”. The UK was highlighted for its growing market share.
However, as Cheval looks to the year ahead, one factor that cannot be ignored is the rising cost of living. He acknowledges that there will be some price rises in the year to come.
New challenges are also evident in the form of emerging beauty players. Both Next and Boohoo have focused attention and investment on beauty in recent weeks, with both companies unveiling makeup and skincare ranges.
Next is also opening beauty halls, while Marks & Spencer has revealed a partnership with Estée Lauder-owned Clinique, stocking products from the brand both in store and online.
For L’Oréal, European sales remain slightly below pre-pandemic levels, with many of its stores and stockists closed during lockdowns or even disappearing from the high street entirely.
“You’ve seen it a lot over the past two years – a number of retailers have closed doors or closed completely, Debenhams being the most prominent example,” Cheval says.
He is reluctant to comment on the future of the department store model, which has faced many challenges, but believes experiential retail will entice consumers back to physical locations.
“We are passionate about creating the beauty experiences of tomorrow because consumers will want good reasons to shop in store,” he maintains.
This upgraded shopping experience is already emerging in L’Oréal stores further afield post-pandemic.
Influencers can livestream from the organisation’s Shanghai flagship and shoppers are invited to watch and buy. They can also access face-scanning technology to fine-tune product recommendations.
Sustainability focus
Beyond technology, L’Oréal’s current focus is on sustainability. Its strategy involves industry-wide collaboration, both with retailers and competitors in the beauty space.
It was revealed in September that L’Oréal would team up with Henkel, LVMH, Natura & Co and Unilever to develop an environmental impact assessment system.
That has evolved into the EcoBeautyScore Consortium, a group of 36 members working to create a “scoring system for cosmetics products” with plans to launch a prototype by the end of this year.
“We think it’s very important to have a goal that there is the right information for consumers to understand what they buy and the impact of what they buy,” Cheval says.
“We’ve led this effort with the methodology used by Garnier, which we’ve introduced.”
Currently, Garnier products have a digital grading system based on their environmental impact, ranging from A to E.
L’Oréal has also teamed up with retailers such as Sainsbury’s, Boots and Superdrug for Maybelline’s beauty product recycling programme and it works with Tesco’s Loop initiative, which offers consumers the opportunity to buy products in refillable and durable packaging.
For now, as restrictions come to an end, Cheval is focused on maintaining L’Oréal’s footprint across the UK and Ireland, and maintaining the organisation’s focus on emerging technology.
Just last week, L’Oréal filed 17 individual patents for virtual cosmetics, hinting at increased interest in the metaverse.
“I think there’s a place for brands to engage and exist in the metaverse,’’ Cheval says. “It’s still new; we have to find the right way to do it that’s true to our brands and offer our consumers an experience they really enjoy.”
As Cheval looks to the future of beauty, it is clear that the development of YSL’s lipstick maker will be far from the only tech innovation capturing his attention in the year ahead.
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