Nowadays, technology has a significant impact on beauty. The main players in this industry try to suggest new options in the shopping experience for customers. It is very important for Chinese customers to have the possibility to try several products. Artificial intelligence can really contribute to the development of these kinds of beauty apps.
Moreover, social media and the extension of the use of smartphones reinforce this e-marketing trend. For example, according to a survey realized by McKinsey, 44% of luxury goods sales are influenced by internet research or online buzz.
In this blog post, we will introduce some of the main Chinese beauty for Chinese women available on the market such as;
- Meitu
- Make-up Plus
- Pitu
- BeautyPlus
- Camera 360
What are Chinese Beauty Camera Apps?
Chinese beauty camera apps are mobile applications that use advanced technologies such as augmented reality (AR) and artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance the user’s appearance in real-time. These apps offer various features such as skin smoothing, face slimming, eye enlargement, and makeup filters to create a perfect selfie. The user can also adjust the intensity of the effects to achieve their desired look.
Chinese beauty camera apps are incredibly popular, with millions of users downloading and using them daily. These apps have become an essential tool for Chinese consumers who are increasingly interested in beauty and self-expression.
The users of beauty apps in China are predominantly young women, aged between 18 to 35 years old, who are tech-savvy and interested in beauty and fashion. These users are highly engaged with the apps and spend a significant amount of time browsing and using the different features.
The Most Popular Chinese Beauty Apps
As taking selfies and improving each other looks on camera is becoming a norm in today’s society, there are a series of beauty camera apps that help to achieve the perfect look. Here are some of China’s most popular ones in recent years;
Meitu Pic: Number 1 Chinese Beauty App
This app is a Chinese smartphone-based photo-editing app. It allows you to customize your selfies and add Instagram filters and Snapchat-style stickers and, of course, use other facial tools.
It was developed by Xiamen-based Meitu Inc. This camera app became one of the trendiest beauty camera apps in Western countries.
The app knew a huge success soon after its launch in 2008 because the app looked very attractive. 456 million users were led to this beauty camera app. These users use this app to post approximately 6 billion photos every month.
Users of Meitu’s beauty app can customize their photos using branded makeup products, with the opportunity to buy any that appeal to them. It’s a popular feature that offers a convenient and fun beauty solution.
Top-end makeup brands can easily promote and sell new items like lip colors, mascara products, and sunglasses on Meitu’s platform. Beauty bloggers in China can also be enlisted to support new campaigns.
Case Study of Meitu
In 2018, Meitu Inc. partnered with Tencent, a Chinese multinational conglomerate to integrate its beauty camera technology into Tencent’s social media platform, WeChat. This partnership allowed Meitu Xiuxiu to reach a wider audience and increase its user base.
Meitu Xiuxiu also partnered with Alibaba’s Tmall in 2019 to launch a virtual makeup try-on feature. This feature uses augmented reality technology to allow users to try on makeup products virtually before purchasing them.
A successful partnership between Meitu & Fendi
Moreover, Meitu Pic worked on other projects such as Beauty Plus, Poster Labs ad Meipai. All of them specialized in facial feature enhancement, video editing, and several other features.
Famous luxury brands noticed the importance and the influence of beauty apps on the Chinese younger generation. This is the reason why in November 2016 Fendi did a partnership with Meitu.
Therefore users had the opportunity to add filters and stickers to their pictures, using the brand elements from the collection “Hypnoteyes Capsule”. Many bloggers enjoyed the idea and shared their personal pictures meanwhile promoting the brand and the app.
Make up plus: Chinese Beauty App for Make Up enthusiastic
The app embodies a makeup artist. It helps you to get gorgeous make-up thanks to a few easy touches. The creators of the app worked closely with makeup artists and photographers to obtain the most accurate result depending on each person.
Make-up Plus allows you to try, mix and match fun accessories. The app resorts to augmented reality to detect the face and apply virtual makeup on specific areas like mascara, and lipstick. The added value of this app is the possibility to purchase the products of the brand you experience.
You have the possibility to choose between different brands such as Yves Saint Laurent (YSL), Clinique, and DIOR. They offer several categories of products.
One of the biggest advantages of this app stems from the fact that some of the options integrated were designed by very famous bloggers including Pearypie and Nikkie. The app intends to create a real link between customers and luxury brands that work with KOL’s.
Pitu: Chinese Beauty Filters App
The app’s real name is Tian Tian Pi Tu which means Photoshop Photos Every Day or Pitu in English. This beauty app has been developed by the Chinese Internet giant Tencent.
Like many other apps, it permits using filters in order to look better, adjusting the skin, etc. This AR technology allows the use of funny stickers to put on the selfie.
Since the beginning, the app has gathered 106 million monthly active users. Even if the number does not seem amazing, the creators claim that other apps like QQ and Wechat provide good potential for Pitu.
Bulgari made a partnership with Pitu
Compared to Meitu pics, the audience is younger and more individualized than Meitu pic. The majority of users of the app are younger than 25. Once again, luxury brands seized what is at stake with this beauty app.
Therefore, Bulgari decided to make a partnership with Pitu in order to do the promotion of Serpenti. The users of the app could easily try different colors of luxurious sunglasses when they do their selfies because they can put selfie stickers.
BeautyPlus: Chinese photo editing app
BeautyPlus was first released in 2013 and has since gained more than 800 million downloads worldwide.
It is developed by Meitu Inc., the same company as Meitu and the two are their most well-known beauty app, but they have different features and functions.
This app allows users to enhance their selfies and photos with various filters and makeup tools. The app offers a range of makeup products like lipstick, eyeliner, and blush, which can be applied to the photo to give the user a virtual makeover.
There is a variety of effects: skin smoothing, blemish removal, straighter nose, teeth correction, wrinkle removal, eye retouching and etc.
The app has been updated over the years to include more inclusive features, such as a wider range of skin tone options and makeup tools for men.
Camera 360: a Chinese beauty app that made it worldwide
This is one of the most famous camera apps in the world, with more than 1 billion users worldwide. This beauty app was born in Chengdu thanks to the company Pinguo Technology.
It provides good effects and filters to enhance photos, with a wonderful user experience. With the ability to share photos directly via social platforms, Camera360 turns simple smartphone photography into a powerful and social experience.
Camera 360 represents a good framework
The main purpose of the app is to edit pictures and not especially share them with others. It also includes directly, different kinds of scenes (nightlife, scenery, portrait). It shapes your selfie by proposing some options like widening your eyes, and slimming your jawline.
As a whole, the app provides 200 filters. Camera 360 represents a good framework. As a consequence, many celebrities and Western companies use the platform to promote their shows and movies in the Chinese market.
Great traffic value in beauty apps in China
In 2023, the number of monthly active users of beauty shooting apps reached nearly 460 million, and the overall user scale continued to expand.
In addition, compared with the average monthly active users of other apps such as food delivery, online travel, and fitness, the average monthly active users of beauty shooting apps are significantly higher at around 300 million, which shows that overall traffic generated by beauty camera apps is huge.
Beauty camera and apps: a powerful tool for digital marketing in China
The beauty economy has become more and more popular in recent years, and the entire industry structure has become larger and larger. As an important part of the beauty economy, beauty camera apps can take advantage of users of the same taste or hobby on beauty-related products and provide them with related product marketing.
In addition, the overall usage scenarios of beauty camera apps are very diverse, and their user groups are relatively vertical, which can effectively reach target groups, greatly improving the overall effect of product marketing.
However, every app is different and has its own user group. Therefore, the related marketing strategies should be different.
We Can Help You Leverage Beauty and Video Editing Apps in Your China Marketing Strategy!
How does it work to do marketing on those apps? Which one suits better your brand? If you have any questions, feel free to contact us.
Over more than 10 years we worked with many different beauty companies on different marketing strategies. Our team of Chinese and foreign experts has the experience and know-how needed to succeed in the Chinese market. Now it’s time for you!
1 comment
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