There was a time when buying beauty products meant standing at a crowded department store counter, swiping shade after shade on your arm until it disappeared under layers of rouge and glitter. Today, that same moment of discovery is happening on screens across Southeast Asia.
On Shopee, shoppers are now trying, analysing and purchasing beauty products through AI-powered tools such as 3CE’s Personal Colour Analysis, SkinCam, HairScan and BeautyCam. From make-up to skincare to haircare, the experience is no longer guesswork. Rather, it is personalised, guided, and can be done entirely from home, giving shoppers more options to find the products they need.
But this shift goes beyond ease and efficiency. It reflects a deeper change in what shoppers expect from online retail. According to DHL eCommerce’s “eCommerce trends report 2025”, which surveyed 24,000 online shoppers across 24 markets, 81% of shoppers in Asia Pacific now expect AI-powered features such as visual try-ons and smart shopping assistants, as part of the online shopping journey.
Through a mix of technology and brand partnerships, Shopee is transforming online beauty retail from static product listings into immersive and personalised experiences.
From Seoul to Southeast Asia in 30 seconds
Shopee’s move into personalised beauty has been shaped by partnerships with some of the world’s biggest beauty players. Its most direct nod to professional beauty services comes through the 3CE Personal Colour Analysis tool. Powered by AI, the tool brings professional colour diagnostics to shoppers’ mobile devices, delivering results in just 30 seconds.
It works by using a neural network to analyse specific parts of the face and read colour values from a photo of the user. These measurements are then mapped to a personal colour diagnosis using an expert framework co-developed by 3CE and a Korean personal colour specialist.
Based on the results, users receive tailored product recommendations that match their personal colour profile, creating a seamless journey from discovery to purchase.
For many consumers, a personal colour analysis was once a premium experience, one that might involve travelling to South Korea or spending hours in studio consultations. The trend has become so popular that some shoppers spend hundreds of dollars just to find their ideal colour type.
With Shopee, what was once a time-consuming and costly process is now accessible to users across the region, empowering them to make confident and informed choices when shopping for beauty products with just a few taps on a phone.
3CE is the first Korean make-up brand to offer such a tool, exclusively on Shopee. The tool is available to users in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, and Vietnam.
Early results show a strong impact: data from August 2025 indicated a 2.7 times uplift in buyer conversion rates and a 40% increase in items purchased per cart among shoppers who used the tool. When shoppers feel understood, and understand how different products can be applied together to achieve their desired look, confidence in a purchase follows.
“Our partnership with Shopee to launch 3CE’s Personal Colour Analysis has been a great success, driving both an increase in conversion rates and the recruitment of new buyers,” said Karan Kansal, 3CE general manager for South Asia Pacific, Middle East and North Africa.
“This strategic collaboration has truly helped us reinforce our position as the definitive Korean make-up brand recognised for colour expertise. We look forward to a continued and fruitful future with Shopee.”
When AI gets personal
In addition to the 3CE Personal Colour Analysis tool, Shopee has continued to bring personalised tools directly into the hands of shoppers with a suite of AI-powered tools, including SkinCam, HairScan and BeautyCam.
SkinCam, launched in 2022 in partnership with ModiFace and L’Oréal, offers users a virtual skin diagnosis powered by AI and informed by dermatological research. At a moment when skincare choices can feel overwhelming, the tool helps shoppers identify products that address their individual skin concerns.
By analysing specific skin concerns, SkinCam then recommends suitable products from brands, including L’Oréal Paris, Garnier, La Roche-Posay, Vichy, and CeraVe. SkinCam is exclusive to Shopee and is available in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, Taiwan, and the Philippines.
According to Shopee, there was a four times uplift in buyer conversion rates among shop visitors who used SkinCam in November 2025. During the same period, La Roche-Posay saw a five times increase in buyer conversion rates among customers who used SkinCam.
HairScan followed in 2025 through a partnership with Unilever. The tool gives users a personalised and science-backed hair AI analysis in just minutes. After uploading a hair selfie, users receive tailored insights into their hair condition, along with product recommendations that can be added straight to cart.
Its reach has been amplified through Shopee Video and Shopee Live, which together contributed to 40% of total shop GMV as of October 2025. The tool is exclusive to Shopee and is available in Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, and the Philippines.
Completing the experience is BeautyCam, an augmented reality (AR) make-up try-on tool that lets users visualise how make-up products such as lipstick shades appear on their own face before buying. The photo-realistic AR experience addresses a key challenge in online beauty retail: the uncertainty of buying before trying.
Developed by ModiFace, and launched on Shopee, BeautyCam is used by brands such as L’Oréal Paris, Maybelline, Dazzle Me, Y.O.U Beauty, and Unilever. Available across Southeast Asia, Taiwan, and Brazil, BeautyCam has helped participating brands double their conversion rates.
Together, these tools allow brands to bring personalisation to every stage of the shopping journey – from discovery and diagnosis to trial and purchase.
As Chanelle Che, head of beauty and regional brand partnerships at Shopee, shared with MARKETING-INTERACTIVE, partnerships with such tools help brands deliver personalised recommendations that improve relevance and engagement across different markets. By doing so, customers across Southeast Asia enjoy individual analysis that makes shopping smoother, more convenient, and more enjoyable.
“At Shopee, we are committed to supporting sellers and providing the best experience for customers. Our tech-enabled partnerships bring customers fresh and engaging ways of shopping that were previously only available in a physical setting, while enabling our partners to connect more deeply with their customers,” Che said.
“Ultimately, being able to establish a meaningful connection between our partners and shoppers plays a large role in the success of our partnerships.”
What comes next for tech-enabled beauty
Looking ahead, Shopee continues to work with brand partners to explore how it can elevate the beauty shopping experience for customers seeking a fresh and more personalised shopping experience.
Tapping on Shopee’s wide suite of marketing solutions – from Shopee Live and Shopee Video to Affiliate Marketing Solutions – brand partners have more tools and features to engage customers and scale their presence.
But success, Che stresses, goes beyond just conversions or cart sizes. It is also about building stronger and more meaningful connections between brands and consumers, and recreating the sense of discovery and engagement that once defined physical beauty retail.
Through collaborations with tech-enabled features, scaling and testing new interactive formats, Shopee is shaping a future where AI-powered beauty tools will move beyond being a novelty to become an everyday part of how people shop.
This article was written in collaboration with Shopee.
