Beauty Filters Upgrade Video-Conference Calls

The prayers of conference-call-weary consumers have been answered. L’Oréal has released a series of Snapchat-like beauty filters to jazz up video conferencing without the need for make-up or hair styling.

The French beauty giant has collaborated with Snap Camera, a desktop application that lets users play around with Snapchat filters during conference calls. The eight skincare, haircare and make-up filters have a branded lens, representing a portion of L’Oréal’s vast portfolio of beauty brands.

Users can choose from filters such as US drugstore favourite Maybelline New York’s The Falsies Lash Lift (to enhance fluttery lashes) or Super Stay Matte Ink (for a pop of its bestselling liquid lipstick). Other L’Oréal brands offering filters include Lancôme, Disney, Rouge Signature, Revitalift and Colorista.

This answers the call from many consumers on Twitter requesting Zoom filters in order to avoid wearing make-up on the popular video-conferencing platform. “I would pay extra for the hair and makeup zoom filter! Way more important than my background,” said @jennylefcourt on March 17 2020.

Back in 2016, we reported on Shiseido’s TeleBeauty – an app that allows users to instantly apply a virtual face of make-up when making video calls. At the time, the innovation catered to the small percentage of “teleworking” women who worked flexibly from home. Four years later, and that niche group has expanded to a large proportion of the world in lockdown.

Brands need to adapt to these changes and pivot their offering to cater to the new and nuanced demands of their consumers, who are facing different challenges during the pandemic.