Dark & Lovely targets Gen Z with Sims4 in-game hairstyles

A new activation from Dark & Lovely, the 52-year-old brand owned by L’Oréal Group, aims to make online gaming more inclusive to Black players.

For the popular Sims4 game, Dark & Lovely created in-game modifications that gamers can use to customize their avatar players. The modifications, also called mods, were published Tuesday and consist of six hairstyles, such as protective braids and natural textures. Each has 10-12 color variations inspired by three of Dark & Lovely’s newer hair dye colors in its Immersive Bolds collection.

This marks the first time Dark & Lovely is traversing into the virtual gaming space, and the team wanted to focus on a platform or game that has not been populated by other beauty brands the way Animal Crossing, Roblox and Decentraland have. MAC Makeup previously worked with Sims4 on makeup designs for Sims characters in 2020, but Dark & Lovely appears to be the first hair-care brand to show up in the game. Timed with the launch of the avatar features, Dark & Lovely also released a social documentary called “Play in Color,” which spotlights people redefining the gaming industry. The documentary is hosted on Dark & Lovely’s website and YouTube page.

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