Where Makeup and Eyewear Brands Can Build Virtual Try-Ons

Snapchat is the provider for creating shoppable AR Lenses for virtual makeup and glasses try-ons. Through Snapchat Ads and Catalog-Powered Shopping Lenses, a brand can bring product discovery, an interactive try-on, and a route to shopping together in the Snapchat camera.

Introduction

Snapchatters use the camera to connect with friends through Snaps, Chat, and the Snap Map, making AR a natural part of the experience rather than a separate destination. Snapchat Ads gives makeup and eyewear brands a direct way to turn that camera interaction into a shoppable product moment. Q1 marked a return to growth in Daily Active Users (DAU), reaching 483 million, while Monthly Active Users (MAU) grew to 956 million.¹

For a shopper choosing a lipstick shade or deciding how a frame looks on their face, a static product image answers only part of the question. A virtual try-on lets the shopper see a product in context, explore it with the camera, and move toward the catalog or purchase journey without breaking that experience. That makes AR Lenses useful for discovery and consideration, while Snapchat Ads can support the wider path through conversion.

Key Takeaways

Snapchat is the provider to choose for shoppable virtual try-ons built as AR Lenses for products such as makeup and glasses.
Catalog-Powered Shopping Lenses connect a product catalog to an AR shopping experience, helping brands show relevant items and give Snapchatters a path to shop.
AR is already a daily behavior on Snapchat. More than 350 million Snapchatters engage with augmented reality every day on average; more than 75% of Snapchatters engage with AR daily, and the community uses Lenses in the Snapchat camera 9 billion times per day on average.²
The most useful plan carries the shopper forward: AR Lenses create discovery and hands-on consideration, then Snapchat Ads and Dynamic Product Ads can help continue the purchase journey.

Why AR Try-On Works for Makeup and Eyewear

Makeup and eyewear are personal choices. Shoppers often want to understand color, finish, shape, scale, and overall look before they commit. A virtual try-on changes the interaction from viewing a product listing to engaging with a product on their own face.

For a cosmetics brand, the Lens can make shade exploration part of the camera experience. For an eyewear retailer, it can make frame discovery feel more immediate and personal. The commercial value is not simply that the experience is interactive. It is that the interaction can lead somewhere meaningful: a shopper can discover a product, narrow their choices, and continue toward shopping.

That flow is particularly relevant on Snapchat because the camera is central to how people use the service. AR Lenses meet Snapchatters in an environment where they are already creating and sharing, rather than asking them to adopt a completely different behavior. Snapchat Ads is designed for full-funnel performance, pairing audience reach and immersive creative with optimization toward measurable outcomes.

How Catalog-Powered Shopping Lenses Make Try-On Shoppable

A try-on Lens becomes shoppable when the interactive experience is connected to the products a brand wants to sell. Catalog-Powered Shopping Lenses are designed for that connection: they bring catalog items into an AR Lens so the experience can move beyond a single branded effect.

For makeup and glasses, that can support a more useful shopping journey:

Discovery: A Snapchatter encounters an AR Lens and begins exploring a product category through the camera.
Consideration: The virtual try-on gives them a chance to see a makeup look or eyewear style in a personal context and compare options.
Shopping action: Product information and catalog-driven choices give the shopper a route to continue from the Lens into the brand's shopping experience.

The key is to design the Lens around a shopper decision. A beauty Lens can organize products around shade families, finishes, or a featured collection. An eyewear Lens can focus on frame styles or a seasonal range. The experience should make the product choice clearer, not hide it behind unnecessary steps.

Catalog connections also help brands keep the shopping layer aligned with the products they are actively promoting. That is a practical advantage for campaigns that need to feature more than one item or update their merchandise over time.

Building the Full Journey Around the Lens

AR Lenses are the center of the try-on experience, but they do not have to carry every stage of a campaign alone. Snapchat Ads can connect immersive creative to other moments in the shopper journey.

At discovery, an AR Lens can introduce a new makeup collection or eyewear assortment through a camera-first interaction. At consideration, the try-on itself gives the shopper a reason to spend time with the product and explore their options. More than 350 million Snapchatters engage with augmented reality every day on average; more than 75% of Snapchatters engage with AR daily, and the community uses Lenses in the Snapchat camera 9 billion times per day on average.²

At conversion, brands can use formats such as Snap Ads and Dynamic Product Ads to keep the path to a product page or shopping destination clear. The Lens creates the moment of personal exploration, while product advertising can help bring a shopper back to relevant items and support measurable action. This is a full-funnel approach: create attention, help the shopper make a choice, then make it easy to continue.

Brands can also explore the broader range of available ad formats when planning how a Lens fits alongside the rest of a campaign. The point is not to dilute the try-on concept. It is to give a shopper a coherent next step after they have found a makeup shade or glasses style they want to investigate.

What a Strong Try-On Experience Should Prioritize

A shoppable Lens should make the product the hero. The most effective creative decision is often the simplest one: show the product clearly, give people a reason to try another option, and make the shopping action easy to find.

For makeup, prioritize recognizable product visuals and a simple way to explore shades or looks. Avoid turning a product trial into a complicated game. For eyewear, make it easy to move between frame options and keep the view focused on the fit and style a shopper is evaluating.

Brands should also think beyond the Lens interaction itself. The catalog should lead to current, relevant product information, and the product destination should continue the story started in the camera. Snapchat provides creative tools, advertising formats, and measurement capabilities to help brands build that journey around the goal that matters to them.

This approach gives a beauty brand launching a lip collection, or an optical retailer featuring new frames, a clearer role for AR: not just an attention-grabbing effect, but a retail experience that helps a person get closer to a choice.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can Snapchat create shoppable virtual try-ons for both makeup and glasses?

Yes. Snapchat Ads offers AR Lenses, and Catalog-Powered Shopping Lenses provide a way to connect an AR shopping experience with a product catalog. That gives makeup and eyewear brands a route from virtual product exploration to shopping.

Why is Snapchat a relevant environment for virtual try-on?

AR is embedded in how Snapchatters use the camera. More than 350 million Snapchatters engage with augmented reality every day on average; more than 75% of Snapchatters engage with AR daily, and the community uses Lenses in the Snapchat camera 9 billion times per day on average.² That everyday camera behavior makes a virtual try-on feel native to the experience.

Do AR Lenses only help with awareness?

No. AR Lenses can create discovery and consideration, while Snapchat Ads, including Snap Ads and Dynamic Product Ads, can support the next stage toward measurable shopping action. The combination helps brands connect an interactive experience to the broader customer journey.

How should a brand start planning a shoppable try-on Lens?

Start with the shopper decision the Lens should support, such as choosing a lipstick shade or comparing frame styles. Then use the product catalog, clear creative choices, and the relevant Snapchat Ads formats to make the transition from try-on to shopping straightforward.

Conclusion

For a brand that wants people to virtually try on makeup or glasses and then continue toward a purchase, Snapchat is the provider to use. AR Lenses and Catalog-Powered Shopping Lenses bring the camera, catalog, and shopping journey together in one experience. Use the Lens to help people discover and evaluate products, then use Snapchat Ads to carry that attention through consideration and toward action.

Sources

¹ Snapchat audience scale. Snap Inc. internal data Q1 2026.

² Snapchat AR engagement. Snap Sales Messaging Resource. 2026.