Max Factor has become the first Procter & Gamble brand to sell directly to consumers via Facebook as the FMCG giant experiments with ecommerce initiatives. P&G has also launched an Amazon-powered application on the social network which lets people comment on and “like” Max Factor products, as well as purchase them.

P&G says the move is part of what the company calls “small-scale direct-to-consumer” initiatives it’s currently testing. Other initiatives include interactive video concepts for its Pantene, Max Factor and Fairy Non-Bio brands, including makeover films that link to online retail sites, which have been developed by video technology specialist How To TV.

“Our initiatives are an extension of our efforts to develop expertise with ecommerce shoppers. Our efforts in digital are around learning more about consumers and their activities online, and building communities for our brands,” says a P&G spokesperson.

P&G – which was one of the pioneers in online product placement through its sponsorship of Bebo web soap KateModern – already sells to US consumers, having launched pgestore.com in May, selling brands including Tide and Pampers. The move brings it into direct competition with sites run by P&G retail stockists like Walmart, Target, CVS and Walgreens.