(Yicai Global) July 9 -- After debuting its augmented reality makeup experience on Facebook last August and Amazon last month, French cosmetics giant L'Oreal has at last made this service available to its Chinese customers through the social media app WeChat.

By accessing the Official Shopping Mall of Giorgio Armani mini program on WeChat, the Tencent Holdings-owned super app, customers can select a L'Oreal cosmetic product and try it out in real time using their smartphone's camera.

Try-before-you-buy is a common practice among consumers. Those who have tried out the AR makeup experience are more willing to buy, a representative for WeChat Open Platform said. Studies show that websites with this technology keep shoppers on their sites for longer and have better sales conversion and customer retention rates. As a result, many brands want to perfect virtual product trials, the person added.

AR makeup consists of two steps, recognition and rendering, a senior engineer at WeChat Open Platform told Yicai Global. WeChat provides the fundamental capabilities, while L'Oreal's Modiface virtual makeover technology and Google's TensorFlow machine learning platform do the rest. The WeChat mini program already allows for the purchase, testing and delivery of all sorts of makeup products, hence this latest co-operation, the person said.

WeChat mini programs are extending AR to other sectors, such as trying on shoes and jewelry as well as visiting exhibition halls and museums, the official added.