The 15-year-old star of the 1980s-inspired hit series Stranger Things, Millie Bobby Brown, may have (spoiler alert) lost all her powers as the character "Eleven," but in the real world, she still has augmented reality in her arsenal.
The young science fiction icon has released a makeup line and decided to spread the word using a virtual try-on filter within Snapchat.
"I wanted to create something for me and my generation, my friends and peers," said Brown in a statement, announcing her Florence By Mills cosmetics brand. "A brand that could reflect us and our self-expression and still be good for you, simple to use and suited for changing, transitional skin." According to the actor-turned-entrepreneur, the name of the company is comprised of her great-grandmother's name and the nickname she earned from friends and family, respectively.
This is a branding move that piggybacks on Snapchat's success in gaining a considerable teenage flock, comprising the overwhelming majority of 18 to 24-year-olds in the US. The products are free of parabens, which is bound to strike a chord with the wellness-minded crowd in Gen Z.
For the Snapcode that unlocks the filter, you can scan the image below, or head to the Florence By Mills website.
Once enabled, the Snapchat filter paints your face with concealer, blush, lip gloss, and brow gel and then lets you snap a branded selfie to send to your friends. However, it can be a bit of an ordeal to go back and re-apply all the other layers post-selfie if you want to change, say, the lip color.
Only one side of your face only gets the skin tint, but the other makeup is displayed on both sides of the face. Also, the filter doesn't let you fade the amount of skin tint you are wearing, so the color can look a bit stark.
Millie's virtual makeup toolset may be just the thing for teenagers and others who are inspired by the Stranger Things character's waifish 1980s makeup looks.
The AR marketing move harkens back to Stranger Things' second season premiere, which received some Snapchat love with a photo filter that showed the users' surroundings turn into the "upside down."
And beyond Netflix, brands from the world of sports have also been using Snapchat as a portal to reach Stranger Things' legion of fans. The Chicago Cubs recently used a Snapchat filter to bring a Demogorgon and the upside down to life to market a themed party at Chicago's Wrigley Field baseball park.
Additionally, L'Oreal is one major makeup brand already making major moves in the AR try-on scene. Last year, the company snapped up Modiface and later integrated its AR features into Facebook's AR camera and Amazon's website.
Meanwhile, YouCam has branched out from its popular app into web-based e-commerce. Its parent company, Perfect Corporation, is deploying makeup try-on for customers of Target as well as for customers of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba.
Although Brown's brand may be a bit late to the AR makeup try-on party, her sheer star power and the popularity of Snapchat will likely put Florence By Mills on a fairly competitive footing versus some of the bigger players already dominating the space.
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