EM Cosmetics Instagram AR Filters

EM Cosmetics by Michelle Phan leverages two Instagram AR filters to drive product and brand awareness in a fun and engaging new way.
Beauty mogul and influencer Michelle Phan achieved fame as a pioneering Beauty Youtuber; now, with close to a decade of brand building under her belt, it's safe to say she understands a thing or two about creating engaging social media content. Three Teen Choice Awards, including two for Web Star: Fashion & Beauty, attest to the enduring popularity of her make-up tutorials and lifestyle-oriented content.

In the spring of 2020, the marketing team at her cult beauty brand, EM Cosmetics, decided to leverage Instagram AR to empower their audience to engage with their products in an exciting new way.

The first AR filter, Which Lip Cloud?, is a fun randomizer experience. The filter launches with a graphic 2D image floating above the user's head, introducing the brand's Infinite Liquid Lip Cloud line. Users a prompted to tap the screen, and the filter starts cycling through images featuring different shades from the range. When the randomizer stops, EM Cosmetics fans are able to see which Liquid Lip Cloud they should try!

The brand launched the filter with a single Instagram Story featuring Michelle, achieving mid-six figure impressions and over 50K captures with just one post.

Which Lip Cloud? filter

Faded Clementine filter

EM Cosmetics second Instagram AR filter, Faded Clementine, was conceptualized for the launch of the brand's newest shade of Heaven's Glow blush. In order to empower users to try on Faded Clementine directly within the Instagram app, layers of peach and gold textures are overlaid onto the user's cheeks. This approach gives a sense of depth to the AR masks, and reflects the rich pigments that makes the blush line a fan favorite,

Neon tangerines were created to match the blush's product icon, and placed so that they appear to float around the user's head – allowing users to create  Story content that shows off their Faded Clementine glow complete with fun, branded elements.

The filter was launched in a Story post alongside the product's Instagram promotional campaign, achieving six-figure impressions and captures while the blush sold out in a week.

Services

Filter development
3D modeling & animation

Client

EM Cosmetics

Platform

Instagram