THE COSMETIC INDUSTRY AND AUGMENTED REALITY: BIOMETRIC DATA COLLECTION AND THE PRIVACY PARADOX
Amalia Kurniaputri
Secretary General of ELSA Tilburg
When it comes to cosmetics, buyers must see and test the product to decide whether it matches their skin tone or is eye-catching to wear—it is unlikely to buy cosmetics blindly and impulsively. As a result of the COVID-19 predicament, the cosmetic industry has been driven to be technologically innovative to provide such experiences with consumer-facing technology.1 The technology now has acquired a critical role in customer and shopping experiences, allowing costumer to feel being as if they are at a physical store while staying at home.2 Ulta Beauty's GlamLab virtual try-on tool, for instance, has increased consumer engagement fivefold with over 19 million shade try-on.3 Ulta Beauty also recently unveiled Skin Analysis,4 which uses the biometric collection to analyse skin and provide recommendations and 1 Martha Anne Coussement and Thomas J. Teague, 'The New Customer-Facing Technology: Mobile And The Constantly-Connected Consumer' (2013) 4 Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Technology. 2 Rosy Broadman, Claudia E. Henninger, Ailing Zhu, ‘Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality – New Drivers for Fashion Retail?’ in Gianpaolo Vignali, Louise F. Reid, Daniella Ryding, and Claudia E. Henninger (eds), Technology-Driven Sustainability Innovation in the Fashion Supply Chain (Palgrave Macmillian, 2019) 3 Kristin Larson, ‘Beauty’s New Frontier” How Technology Is Transforming The Industry, From Virtual Reality To Livestreaming’ (Forbes, 9 January 2021) <https://www.forbes.com/sites/kristinlarson/2021/01/09/the-new-beauty-frontier-where-digital-amplifiesbeauty/?sh=4c22100124f3> accessed 16 September 2021 4 Ibid 30 | SYNERGY Magazine
product recommendations for concerns such as hyperpigmentation and fine wrinkles. The feature of choosing and testing cosmetic products online expanded to other brands; Maybelline New York with ‘Maybelline Virtual Try-On Makeup Tool’ and Chanel with ‘Chanel Lipscanner.’ On the other side, as these technologies were designed to meet the needs and interests of specific customers, they may also expose individuals to identity-based attacks. This essay looks at how a cosmetic company, in this example Ulta Beauty, uses biometric data collecting and processing through consumer-facing technologies while elegantly wrapping it in self-fulfilment activities. The privacy paradox in personalised shopping will also be addressed. Despite the fact that Ulta Beauty is a US-based corporation that adheres to the California Consumer Privacy Act and the Schrems II ruling, the case may underline the need for privacy awareness in the shopping experience. Biometric Data Collection in Virtual Try-On Makeup Biometric data is personal information derived through technological processing of a natural person's physical, physiological, or behavioural traits that allows or confirms that natural person's unique identity, such as
