L’Oréal continues its venture into the metaverse, this time announcing a collaboration with the metaverse avatar platform Ready Player Me.
The new partnership will see Maybelline New York and L’Oréal Professionnel release a range of gaming-inspired hair and makeup looks.
Users would be able to use these looks to customize their avatars, leveraging the technology provided by Ready Player Me, which enables them to transform their real-life looks into 3D avatars with only a 2D photo or by using default settings.
Real Player Me already integrates with Spatial and over 3,000 gaming and VR applications, which means that avatars built on the platform can be freely used in the supported applications.
This announcement follows L’Oréal’s collaboration with Meta (previously Facebook) and the French business school HEC Paris to build a metaverse startup accelerator to encourage innovation in the metaverse. The initiative will provide funding to startups that employ and specialize in emerging technologies such as Virtual Reality (VR), Augmented Reality (AR), avatar creation, and any other Web3-related technology.
Other initiatives include the filing of 17 trademark applications in February to enter the metaverse with virtual cosmetics, makeup preparations, and other products, as well as the launch of the first-of-its-kind virtual meta-pride parade in the metaverse in May by NYX Professional Makeup, a L’Oréal subsidiary.
