AUSTIN, Texas — While consumer goods of all kinds race to catch the NFT Express to the metaverse, beauty is still figuring out how to board. Enter Perfect Corp., maker of the YouCam mobile beauty apps.
To put the sector on the fast track, the YouCam app developer did what it does best: It added augmented reality to the equation, and came up with a way to give the beauty market its first wearable makeup NFTs. The company has been touring SXSW this week to promote the solution and show how it works.
The Perfect Collection of Looks consists of four beauty NFTs with makeup looks that owners can digitally try on with AR. Available in the OpenSea marketplace, the collection consists of four animated, 3D artworks featuring models glammed up in themed looks, with full-face makeup and head-worn accessories. Ownership of one of these NFTs unlocks a private try-on of that makeup look, with a link and special code that works on the YouCam app or website.
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The project was developed as a test, to make sure the experience was smooth, and to offer beauty brands concrete examples. Another similar collection, Perfect Collection of Accessories, uses the same model, but for jewelry, eyeglasses, watches and other items. Between them, the company is exploring factors like scarcity and pricing, the latter of which ranged from the floor price of 0.1 ETH, or Ethereum ($254.54, at press time) to 0.5 ETH ($1,272.69).
“This is more like a proof of concept to make sure that the flow works,” Wayne Liu, Perfect Corp.’s chief growth officer and president of the Americas, told WWD. “So imagine that [if] we can make it available in our website, we can make it available in other platforms, in the retailer’s or brand’s website. It’s the same logic.”
Whether the project technically qualifies as a wearable NFT may be up for debate, and that’s fair. These NFTs and the AR tech aren’t fused together or don’t deeply integrate. It’s more like they hand off to each other.
The inability to wear the look outside of YouCam’s platform may also rankle some owners — unless they’re really good at rigging multiple phones, tablets or laptop cameras in the most complicated Zoom call ever. But on the bright side, beauty AR is the main thrust of YouCam’s business, so, of course, the visuals look good.
For now, that may be enough. The team plans to continue developing and experimenting, but even in its current form, it’s already addressing some of the holes in beauty’s NFT strategy.
Most beauty NFTs land under branding, marketing, public relations or some combination. That may be all right at the moment, as some crypto enthusiasts, fans and investors buy up whatever they can. But that doesn’t look sustainable in the long run.
The ability to wear or try on digital goods helps numerous industries draw attention and boost sales. But for cosmetics companies, the need might be even greater than that. Consider this: When someone buys a lipstick or eyebrow pencil, those items aren’t really the product. The transformative effect on the person is the product.
In the real world, makeup could be considered the ultimate wearable, because it has no actual value until it’s applied or worn. The inability to translate that real-world experience to NFTs can feel like a disconnection.
Liu described a simple way to design the look, and once it’s done, the company can step in and help with the minting process for the brand-new NFT.
“In our original YouCam app, you can actually create your own look,” he said, speaking about the brands. “If you want to create a look there, for example, of your makeup, and then you want to mint it into an NFT, we can definitely do that. We can work with you…and streamline the process.”
Of course, that’s just one type of “wearable” NFT. Another context in the metaverse refers to avatar fashion and other gear. That’s not Perfect Corp.’s focus, but others are looking at that. After all, skins, hairstyles, cosmetics and other features have been available in virtual worlds for years, so those consumers are used to shopping for digital beauty. It’s only a matter of time before major brands dive into in-game looks, digital styling and connecting it to NFTs and shopping.
One beauty giant is already making moves in this direction — L’Oréal, which dipped a toe in NFTs last year with digital artworks and apparently caught the bug. Recently, the company filed 17 trademark applications across metaverse and NFT initiatives, including “virtual cosmetics,” hair care and styling for avatars and gaming environments, and whatever “virtual perfumery” is. As the owner of ModiFace, Perfect Corp.’s chief rival in beauty AR, it has deep virtual beauty expertise in the house. If those concepts are actually in development, it’s very likely the two parts of the business are working together on this.
L’Oréal typically comes to Austin for SXSW, but it sat out the in-person festival this year. It’s not alone — fewer beauty brands overall showed up physically.
That would mean several potential partners didn’t see the Perfect Collection’s introduction this past weekend. In two sponsored sessions, Perfect Corp. welcomed brand partners Shiseido and and E.l.f. Cosmetics, who talked about artificial intelligence in facial analysis and the role of virtual try-ons across social commerce and retail stores, respectively. Although these are among the AR provider’s favorite topics, there’s little doubt that the new beauty NFTs debuts were the main event. Registered virtual attendees will be able to catch the recorded video on Tuesday.
Liu explained that while the goal is to reach brands, the company may still mint more collectibles for consumer purchase, such as a Halloween look or some other theme. It’s all part of the exploration and the team plans to continue experimenting. When asked if the company would make NFTs part of its business someday, he also left the door open.
Or perhaps ajar.
“Potentially, yes,” he said. “But the thing [with] cryptocurrency, it’s getting complicated…” The executive wouldn’t elaborate. But recent news sheds light on why Perfect Corp. wouldn’t want to jump into a risky revenue bet or complex finances right now: It will soon go public.
The company revealed that it agreed to merge with Provident Acquisition Corp., a special purpose acquisition company or SPAC, in a deal valuing the tech company at $1.02 billion. The $335 million proceeds flowing to the company include $50 million from a PIPE, or private investment in public equity, round from Chanel, Shiseido and Snap Inc., among others.
Unable to comment on the initial public offering, Liu did what plenty of people — including a hefty proportion of the SXSW attendees — do with virtual tech. He escaped into it: “Right now, we’ll just focus on the technology, make sure the flow works and customers like it.”