Give Yourself a Virtual Makeover with These 3 Beauty Apps
Technology is continually enhancing the beauty realm in amazing ways, including ushering in the era of the digital beauty experience (which we’re pretty sure started in the 90s with Cher Horowitz’s insane virtual closet). Now it’s possible to enlist the help of a digital canvas to see if a certain makeup style or nail lacquer will work for you in reality, which is not only way fun to do, but is also crucial in saving you from the painstaking routine of applying and reapplying until you (hopefully) nail it. Ready to give yourself a fail-proof virtual makeover? Try these three awesome beauty apps that let you be the makeup artist in just a few easy swipes.
1. Beauty Mark (iPhone): Beauty Mark takes the guessing out of choosing the perfect makeup combinations for your complexion. Is a cat eye and a matte red lip too much? Or could it be your new signature look? With this app, you can find out in seconds.
Start by choosing one of four style categories and your skin tone. And from there on out, you can pretty much get lost scrolling through the combinations of different eye, cheek, and lip looks. You’ll have access to more than 200 looks if you shovel out $2.99 for Beauty Mark Pro—it definitely seems like a worthy upgrade to us—which also includes the luxurious feature of being ad free.
But here’s our favorite part: once you decide on a look, you can watch a tutorial or read step-by-step instructions on how to duplicate it exactly, which includes access to a full product list. There are 180 how-to videos on the Pro app (we know how we’re spending our next long weekend!), which cover the basics and more, but if you’re still feeling iffy about anything makeup-related, you can easily ask the Beauty Mark team for advice. It’s like having an on-call makeup artist in the palm of your hand!
2. Glamzy (iPhone and Android): Glamzy is like the ultimate coloring book for aspiring makeup artists and digital doodlers alike that allows you to creatively apply makeup to one of four fierce face shapes.
First, decide how much makeup you want to play with: you can choose from three face charts that will limit how much you can apply, either subtle, casual, or expressive. Then by using your finger as a brush, you can paint your face chart using makeup colors from three major beauty players: MAC, Make Up For Ever, and Inglot Cosmetics. The free version lets you color only part of the face, but you still get control over the eyes, cheeks, and lips (the Pro version—sold for $2.99—gives you access to the entire mug). Unless you’re obsessed, you should be fine fiddling with the freebie.
The coolest thing about the Glamzy app is its social component. If you paint a really bonkers face chart, you have the option to submit your canvas to the Glamzy Spotlight, which features recent masterpieces by Glamzy users that you can “like” and even comment on.
3. OPI (iPhone): This app is what would happen if you died and went to Caboodle heaven! Get access to tons of OPI’s hottest nail shades and test them out on a hand that you can customize to look like your own, which you do by adjusting the skin tone and nail shape (trust us, it’s less creepy than it sounds).
After that, you can scroll through a digital rolodex of nail lacquers, or search by name or collection for colors that are on trend. You can even mark your favorites and save them for later, so don’t forget to have this app on hand the next time you head out for a mani!
Do you use any virtual beauty apps that let you “try on ” products? Do you completely trust your digital makeovers, or do you still go test out your look the old fashioned way? Tell us in the comments below!