Virtual try-on for eyewear, contact lenses and fashion

What is virtual try-on?

Virtual try-on is a form of augmented reality (AR) that lets shoppers see how a product looks on them before they buy it, using a phone, tablet or computer camera instead of a mirror in a store. For eyewear, the virtual try-on tool places frames on your face and keeps them in place as you move. For clothes, a virtual fitting room shows a garment on a person, either live or as a generated photo.

For online stores, virtual try-on answers the one question product photos cannot: how will this look on me? When customers can try on glasses or clothes from the comfort of home, they choose with more confidence, compare more styles, and are less likely to buy the wrong size or style. It turns browsing into a shopping experience rather than a guessing game.

How virtual try-on works

Our demo runs entirely in web browsers on desktop and mobile. There is no server doing the work, thanks to on-device processing, which keeps the experience fast and private. These are the technologies behind it and the steps it follows:

1. Face detection and tracking

The first step is face detection. The demo uses AI: our face-tracking technology maps 478 points on your face, including both irises, many times a second. It runs on your device, inside the browser tab. Tracking these points is what lets the frames stay on your face when you tilt, nod or turn your head.

2. 3D frame rendering

This is the AR part of the experience. The frames are real-time 3D models, not flat pictures. Rendering adds glossy acetate, polished metal and curved lenses with realistic reflections, and the frames are matched to the sharpness, grain and colour of your camera. The temple arms run back past your ears and disappear behind your head when you turn, the same as real eyeglasses.

3. Face shape analysis

The demo measures the proportions of your face, such as length against width and jaw width against cheek width, and suggests a face shape. It then marks the frame styles that usually suit that shape with a "Suits you" tag.

4. Pupillary distance estimate

Your pupillary distance (PD) is the distance between the centres of your pupils, and it matters when glasses are made. The demo estimates it from the size of your iris, which is about 11.7 mm across for almost everyone.

5. Iris recolouring for contact lenses

For coloured contact lenses, the iris points give the size and centre of each iris. The colour is clipped to the visible part of the eye and blended over your real iris, so the pupil stays dark and the natural details of your eye show through.

Features in the demo

Sunglasses and eyeglasses try-on

Seven frame styles cover the classic shapes: a black rectangle frame captured in 3D from a real product photo, plus classic square, aviator, round, cat-eye, browline and oversized square. Change the frame colour and lens tint and the look updates instantly on your face. Save a snapshot of your look to compare glasses side by side, or to share with a friend before you decide.

Coloured contact lens try-on

How do you see what colour contacts look like on you? Here, you pick a shade and see it on your own eyes, live. Your whole face stays in view, so you can judge each shade against your skin tone and hair. This makes it easy to see which contact lens colour suits you before you buy.

Virtual fitting room for clothes

Clothing works differently. Each outfit is shown on a range of AI-generated models, and every model and garment combination is created once in advance with an AI virtual try-on service. The page simply switches between these images, so it stays fast and needs no camera at all.

Which glasses suit your face shape?

Face shape analysis is a useful starting point when you want to find the perfect frames. These are the general rules our demo follows:

Treat this as style guidance, not a rule. The best way to find glasses that fit your face online is to try on several styles and find the pair you like best. Use the tool to narrow the choice, then pick glasses to match your own taste.

Privacy by design

Shoppers are rightly careful about pointing a camera at a website. The virtual try-on demo is built so that trying something on costs them nothing in privacy, which is also what retailers need under Singapore's PDPA.

• Processed on your device: face tracking and rendering run inside the browser tab. Camera frames and uploaded photos are never sent to a server and never stored, and the tool collects no personal information.
• The camera switches off: the camera stops when you switch to clothing, press Stop or leave the page.
• Served from our own site: the code, the 3D engine and the face tracking model are hosted on our website, not loaded from a third-party service.

Virtual try-on for your store

We build virtual try-on into the web stores, mobile apps and in-store tablets that retailers already run, connected to their own product catalogue and checkout. The result is an AR try-on tool that feels like part of your brand's shopping experience, not a bolt-on.

Eyewear stores and optical retailers

Customers try on sunglasses and prescription glasses from every angle at home, see which frames suit their face shape, and get a pupillary distance estimate before they visit a store. A store version uses 3D models of your actual frames, sits on your product pages, and adds the chosen style to the cart in one tap.

Contact lens retailers

Customers preview coloured lens shades on their own eyes before they buy, with each shade matched to a product in your range. A good try-on experience helps customers pick a shade they will reorder.

Fashion and apparel brands

Show each garment on AI models of different sizes and skin tones without a photo shoot for every combination. The looks are generated ahead of time, so the page stays fast. Try-on with a shopper's own photo is a later step that needs a secure server to run the AI.

Web, app or in-store kiosk

The same virtual try-on technology works on a website, inside the app on iPhone and Android, or on a tablet in a store. We connect it to your product data, so new frames or shades appear in the try-on tool as soon as you add them, together with the size information and price customers need to decide. Each feature can be switched on in the app, on the web store or in the store, depending on where your customers shop.

How much does virtual try-on cost?

There are two ways to add virtual try-on to your store, and the cost depends on which one fits:

1. A ready-made plug-in service. Several virtual try-on tools plug into platforms such as Shopify for a monthly subscription, typically from tens to a few hundred US dollars a month, depending on traffic and features. You may also pay for 3D models of each frame.
2. A custom build. A one-time project, built into your own website or app, with no monthly licence fees beyond hosting. The cost depends on how many products need 3D models, which platforms you need, and how deeply it connects to your catalogue, stock and checkout.

For many stores, the right answer is a mix: a plug-in service where it fits, and custom work where it gives your brand an edge. We will give you an honest view on build versus buy.

Is virtual try-on worth it?

For eyewear, contact lenses and fashion, fit and look are the main reasons people hesitate to buy online. Virtual try-on helps customers buy with confidence, explore more styles from the comfort of their own home, and choose the right size the first time, which can mean fewer returns for the store. It also gives shoppers a reason to stay on your site longer and share their look with friends. In reality, the best try-on experience is the one customers actually use, so it has to load fast, work on a phone and respect their privacy.