Software Solutions for Face Makeup Brands
Foundations, concealers and powders must match skin, and a wrong shade is the commonest reason for a return. Brands with wide ranges describe each shade by depth and undertone, offer small samples and guide the buyer to a match. The software has to hold that shade data and use it.
Help buyers find a base shade that suits them before they pay for it.
A foundation range may offer forty shades that differ by a few points of depth. A buyer reads the names and guesses. Good data narrows that guess.
Brands with wide shade ranges
A brand sells base products across many depths and undertones and wants fewer returns for shade.
Multi-brand retailers
A retailer carries several brands whose shade names do not line up, and buyers ask for an equivalent.
Makeup artists selling base products
An artist recommends shades to clients after a consultation and sells them through a private link.
The workflow for face makeup.
- 1
Describing the skin
The buyer answers a few questions on depth, undertone and skin type, or picks a shade from a product they already use.
- 2
Shades suggested
A short list of likely shades is shown, with swatches and a note where the match is close to a neighbour.
- 3
Sample or minis offered
A sample pack of two or three shades can be added before committing to a full size.
- 4
Full-size order
Once a shade is chosen, the order picks the batch with the freshest date and leaves out packs near expiry.
- 5
Shade exchange
A buyer whose shade is wrong can exchange within a set period, subject to the opened-item policy.
The challenges, and what they cost.
What is specific to this trade.
These are requirements we would confirm in discovery. They describe what the solution may need to handle. They are not features that already exist.
- Depth and undertone captured for every shade in a consistent scale
- Sample packs counted as stock and attached to the right order
- Exchange rules that stop an unlimited run of swaps
- Cross-brand shade equivalents, where a retailer carries many brands
What we would build for face makeup.
Chosen from the commerce capabilities this business needs, not a list of everything.
Who works in the system, and what each can do.
What it would connect to.
An integration is confirmed only after its API, access and scope are checked. A connection that updates on a schedule is described as scheduled, not real-time.
- A product feed to marketplaces, with shade names and images matched to each variant
- Email and WhatsApp follow-ups after a sample, asking which shade was chosen
- A payment provider and a courier, each added after its terms and interface are reviewed
How the work runs, and what we need from you.
What you provide
- Your shade list with depth, undertone and a swatch for each
- Your sample policy, including whether samples are free or paid
- Your exchange limits for opened products
Agree one shade scale
Depth and undertone are recorded on a single scale so the finder can compare shades fairly.
Test the finder on real customers’ choices
Past orders and exchanges are used to see whether the finder would have suggested the shade that finally worked.
What you receive.
- A shade data structure and scale
- A shade finder using your data
- Sample and exchange flows
How progress is judged.
Measures are agreed against your own baseline. We do not promise a result in advance.
- Orders exchanged because of shade
- Sample orders that led to a full-size purchase
Selling at home and abroad.
Shade ranges, skin-tone vocabulary and expectations differ between markets, so the finder’s questions and shade names are set for each. Label and claim wording follow your adviser’s specification.
The wider requirements for beauty & makeup are on the Beauty & Makeup page.
Related subcategories.
Face Makeup E-commerce & Shade Matching Software
Custom software solution
No existing GullySystem product matches buyers to makeup shades, so the shade finder and sample tracking would be custom. The wider store can run as the configured category solution beside it.
Read about the softwareExisting GullySystem products that apply
Related services
Selling in a shop as well?
Questions about face makeup e-commerce.
Can the finder match a shade from a competing brand?
Only if you hold equivalence data for it. The software applies your table and does not infer matches by itself.
Does it analyse a buyer’s photograph?
No. Not on its own. A photo-based match would be its own project, and a poorly lit photo is unreliable at best.
Can samples be charged or free?
Either. A sample can be priced, free with an order or credited against a later purchase, according to your rule.
Talk through your commerce requirement.
Describe what you sell, where you sell it and what is slowing you down. An engineer will reply within one business day.
- No obligation
- A reply within one business day
- Your details stay private