Maybelline Teams Up With Snapchat to Launch MNY Look Studio in India
Maybelline New York has launched a bold, tech-forward beauty experience in India with the introduction of MNY Look Studio, a dedicated AR-powered platform in partnership with Snapchat. Targeted at the country’s vibrant festive season, the experience blends augmented reality with AI-driven recommendations to help Indian consumers try makeup virtually, discover complementary shades, and share their looks with friends.
Developed by Snapchat’s in-house innovation studio, the platform is an India-first initiative designed to resonate with local beauty rituals and festival aesthetics. The collaboration underscores how leading brands are leveraging immersive tech to deepen consumer engagement during peak shopping periods when cosmetic sales typically surge.
What MNY Look Studio Offers
The core of MNY Look Studio lies in its AR makeup try-ons. Users can experiment with four distinct makeup looks inspired by India’s festival calendar, including Diwali, Navratri, and Durga Puja. Each look is crafted to reflect traditional color palettes and contemporary trends, giving a familiar yet modern interpretation of festive beauty. Beyond mere visualization, the platform provides personalized color recommendations tailored to individual skin undertones, helping users find shades that enhance their natural complexion.
New looks are planned for October, expanding the library beyond the initial September launch. This staged rollout ensures a steady stream of fresh experimentation, encouraging repeat visits as shoppers prepare for back-to-back celebrations across cities and communities.
Personalized Suggestions and Social Sharing
In addition to virtual try-ons, MNY Look Studio features product recommendations that align with the virtual looks users create. The seamless pairing of AR visualization with product suggestions means shoppers can map a complete makeup kit from their screens to real-world purchases, bridging online exploration with in-store or e-commerce options.
Sharing capabilities are a key feature of the experience. Users can post their transformed looks to their social feeds or instantly message friends for feedback, mirroring the social nature of beauty decisions during festival seasons where opinions and trends move quickly through networks.
Why This Matters for Maybelline and the Indian Market
For Maybelline New York, MNY Look Studio positions the brand as an innovation-driven destination for festival makeup experimentation. Jessica Rode, General Manager of Maybelline New York India, emphasizes that the collaboration enables culturally relevant, interactive beauty experiences that meet Gen Z and millennial expectations for seamless digital engagement with tangible product outcomes.
Snapchat’s role is pivotal. By leveraging its Indian user base and the company’s AR and AI capabilities, the initiative aims to build lasting brand affinity through an immersive format that fits naturally into daily life and social routines. Resh Sidhu of Snap Inc. highlights the combination of AR and AI as a way to make beauty more accessible, personalized, and shareable—a trio that resonates with today’s connected consumers.
Festive Season Strategy: A Deepening Brand Experience
India’s festive season represents a critical window for beauty brands to capture demand. MNY Look Studio aligns with this pattern by providing a legible, enjoyable path from discovery to purchase. The platform’s emphasis on festival-inspired aesthetics helps Maybelline speak directly to the cultural codes of Diwali, Durga Puja, Navratri, and other celebrations, reinforcing relevance where consumer attention is concentrated.
As the experience expands, Maybelline is likely to explore deeper personalization, extended shade ranges, and possibly collaboration-driven content that keeps the platform feeling fresh during the peak seasonal push. The combination of AR try-ons, AI recommendations, and social sharing creates a compelling loop: try, tailor, tell friends, and buy—often within the same user journey.
Looking Ahead
While the initial rollout is positioned for the Indian market during its festive season, the underlying approach signals a broader potential for AR-enabled beauty platforms in emerging markets. If MNY Look Studio proves successful, it could serve as a blueprint for similar country-specific, culturally tuned AR beauty experiences from major brands seeking to connect with younger consumers during high-intensity shopping periods.
Published on October 7, 2025.
