Cosmetics brand Laura Mercier debuts virtual store in metaverse

Laura Mercier is now offering a highly interactive metaverse shopping experience.

The cosmetics brand is opening World of Beauty, its first virtually experiential e-commerce presence. Working with metaverse platform Obsess, Laura Mercier is utilizing web-based virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) to offer an HD-quality, 3D and 360-degree metaverse experience.

The World of Beauty features three interactive virtual rooms, all designed with the brand's Parisian aesthetic in mind. The virtual store is unveiled to shoppers with a narrative from founder Laura Mercier, sharing background on her career and the brand.

The first room offers an introduction to the Laura Mercier "Flawless Face" technique of applying cosmetics, taking shoppers through the steps and products with a virtual shade finder.

The second room provides curated selections of products with a direct path to check-out. The final portion of the experience showcases the Laura Mercier holiday collection "Wrapped with Love" with an interactive 3D unboxing. The platform also offers an interactive hide-and-seek game providing shoppers with gamified elements to encourage trial and purchase via mini-product giveaways.

In addition, Laura Mercier and its brand partner Karen Gonzalez, will host a livestream shopping event on Dec. 6, 2022, at 3:30pm PST / 6:30pm EST.

"This is an exciting time for our consumers to explore Laura Mercier through a new, digitalized lens, that offers an immersion into the brand and its history,” said said Diane Kim, global brand president of Laura Mercier. “The dynamic shopping experience provides consumers with the opportunity to play, discover, test and trial products, while telling the rich story of this iconic brand."

"Orveon does not "sell products," but rather "offers experiences" to serve our consumers,” said CEO of Laura Mercier parent company Orveon, Pascal Houdayer. “They crave digital experiences that also provides them with resources to learn more about our heritage. This is an important and innovative milestone for not only Laura Mercier, but the full Orveon brand portfolio as we continue to digitalize, grow revenue, and drive foot traffic to e-commerce, all while reaching existing and new consumers."

"We are thrilled to partner with Laura Mercier to launch an immersive virtual beauty experience that gives consumers a delightful new way to discover, learn about and be inspired by the brand's iconic products and aesthetic," said Neha Singh, founder and CEO of Obsess. "Visitors can do everything from virtually trying on products to find the shades that are their own personal 'perfect match' to discovering great gift ideas for everyone on their list in the interactive holiday gifting room."

[Read more: Charlotte Tilbury unveils custom metaverse shopping avatars]

Laura Mercier Cosmetics was founded in 1996 by French makeup Artist Laura Mercier, and acquired by Orveon in 2022.