After a year of masked social distancing, how do you best sell beauty? Global beauty brand Mary Kay Inc. has a new digital answer: Suite 13, its first virtual pop-up online showroom.

The immersive virtual experience platform offers Mary Kay’s independent beauty consultants and their customers a 360-degree, 3D beauty experience, the company announced today. Users enter a virtual studio by clicking their screen to enter virtual “rooms,” explore products, create wishlists, and learn more about the company and founder Mary Kay Ash.

“Today, technology is at the center of everything,” said Sheryl Adkins-Green, chief marketing officer for Mary Kay, in the news release. “And people — especially the younger generation — want to discover, learn and find out about new products online.”

Photo: Mary Kay Inc.

After entering Suite 13’s “lobby,” users can explore virtual rooms including the “Pink Plaza,” which explores the company’s values, and the “Innovation Center,” which highlights Mary Kay skin care products, benefits, and ingredients. The platform also allows users to add Mary Kay products to a wish list to be shared with their independent beauty consultant.

“The launch of Suite 13 is the result of months of creativity, passion and commitment to provide Mary Kay’s independent beauty consultants the best and most innovative tools in the market to help them manage their business,” Adkins-Green said. She added that Suite 13 will provide the company’s independent beauty consultants the flexibility of a “digital business” by allowing them to introduce the brand everywhere at any time, and “elevate the way they build relationships with their customers by sharing an immersive beauty experience.”

“To win in this new digital-driven environment,” Adkins-Green said, “we’ll continue to find new ways for people to connect virtually for personalized low-touch experiences based in high-tech innovation.”

Mary Kay partnered with experiential e-commerce platform Obsess on Suite 13’s design. Led by female founder and CEO Neha Singh, Obsess has created virtual experiences for other global beauty and fashion brands.

“Suite 13 is about bringing the Mary Kay beauty experience together in a much more accessible way to independent beauty consultants and their customers where they already are,” said Singh in the release. “Our platform has allowed brands to create visually appealing, immersive virtual experiences that are changing the way they engage with their customers and we’re excited for Mary Kay customers to continue to discover, learn and interact with the brand in a new digital environment.”

Suite 13 was initially launched earlier this year in Mexico, followed by Brazil, Argentina, Spain, Colombia and Peru, the company announced. Mary Kay expects to launch the platform in most of its markets by the end of 2021. The company claims it is the first to launch this type of virtual experience in its industry.

Suite 13 isn’t the first dip into digital by Mary Kay and its Mary Kay Global Design Studio, the company said. Its earlier technological innovations have included the Mary Kay Skin Analyzer app, which uses artificial intelligence facial skin recommendation technology to help independent beauty consultants do quick skin scans. The company also previously launched Mary Kay MirrorMe, which uses virtual reality to allow customers to “try-before-you-buy.” MirrorMe is available on the web and as an app on iOS and Android devices.

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