A tube of lipstick or lipgloss, a palette of eyeshadows, concealer, foundation, eyeliner, mascara – these are just some of the makeup items found in a woman’s purse on any given day.

The idea that women take their makeup with them everywhere is what L’Oreal is banking on, with a new goal to connect the cosmetic items typically carried around by their customers. At this week’s Dreamforce 2015, L’Oreal Paris’ head of digital and media for Australia and New Zealand, Christophe Emery, stated that they are looking to expand their marketing strategy by utilizing the Internet of Things (IoT).

Emery did not have many details to share, but did state that “There is a lot of development happening internally.”

L’Oreal has a plethora of products from cosmetics to skin care, and even hair products, so you can imagine the marketing opportunity in connecting their full lineup. We might soon find L’Oreal products embedded with chips that are able to communicate with a smartphone app to relay information such as location data, how many times the item was handled in a day, or even discern if a product is running low based on its weight.

These connected products could lead to more ads being presented to consumers by way of mobile apps, in relation to the product we have in our bags.

Sound creepy? It’s a tactic many brands like Nest Smart Thermostat are taking to not only target marketing to consumers but also to conduct market research. The hope is that manufacturers will provide benefits to consumers as well as their bottom lines. Kevin Ashton, the entrepreneur who came up with the term ‘internet of things’, stated that the connected world should be able to provide information about what consumers want and need as well as being able to analyze what they want and need based on their purchases. It should not just be about pushing products to consumers.

Photo by kaboompics (Pixabay)