6 Beauty Apps to Try

6 Beauty Apps for Better Brows, Hair and More

Adding to the long list of amazing things your smartphone does (delivers food, finds you a date, counts calories), these beauty apps will streamline your routine, save you time, and even act as your personal beauty advisor. Plus, seeing a picture of yourself with a smoky eye that you didn't have to apply is really fun.

Heather Muir Maffei

Updated on March 1, 2021

Benefit Brow Genie (free)

Benefit Brow Genie app snapshot — benefitbrowgenie.com

So your eyebrows aren’t “on fleek?” Benefit Brow Genie will help you find your ideal brow shape, even if you have no clue where to begin (or if you've been over-plucking for years). How it works: Upload a photo of yourself and the tool will provide markers (little black dashes on your photo) of where your brows should start, arch, and end—a technique they call brow-mapping. This is helpful when figuring out what hair you should and shouldn’t be removing and deciding where to fill in. The app also offers product recommendations from pencils to gels to powders. The final—and best—step is when the app delivers a photo where your real eyebrows are replaced with your ideal arches, so you can see what you’d look like with their suggestions. If you can’t see a professional, this is the next best thing.

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Vensette (free)

If a big day is approaching and you haven’t booked a hairstylist or makeup artist yet (we aren’t judging), you’ll want to check out this on-demand hair and makeup service. Available in New York City, the Hamptons, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Miami, the Vensette app lets you order a pro to arrive at your doorstep, hotel room, or office in under an hour! Upon downloading the app, you can browse hair and makeup looks (from understated palettes, like Natural or Sun-Kissed to more dramatic looks, like Cat and Grace Kelly) and choose your favorite (you can change/customize your look during the appointment, so there’s no pressure). Each look has a name, price ($150-$200), and shade options. So if you like Uma, but want to tweak the eyeshadow shade, you can. The same idea applies to hairstyles (starting at $150) and ranges from waves, sleek down ‘dos, low buns, and twists. Then you select the time, location, and payment method. Though experts arrive on scene in just 45 minutes, the company recommends booking your bridal hair and makeup a few months before your wedding so that you can get a trial. Bridal packages include two hair and makeup trials. Not a bride? This app is great for any special occasion. And you thought Seamless was good.

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RetailMeNot (free)

If you're always on the hunt to score the next big beauty bargain (um, who isn't?), this app will soon become your new best friend. Think of it as a countless supply of useful coupons that you don't have to cut out. Once you download the app and become a member (the service is complementary), the app uses geofencing technology to alert you on nearby offers that can used in-store (at beauty destinations, including Ulta, Sephora, CVS, etc., as well as all kinds of stores you already shop at) at the register. You simply show the cashier the offer on your smartphone at checkout. The app offers more than 500,000 coupons for 50,000 stores. Best of all? The app saves users an average of $20 per transaction.

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Mirror (free)

If you’re constantly toggling your camera to selfie view to check your makeup or to see if there’s something in your teeth, this is an easier option. This app uses the front-facing camera to create a decent quality mirror. You can zoom in, save the pic, and share it, but we like how it helped us lighten our load by leaving our handheld mirror at home.

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ShadeScout (free)

If you’ve ever come across a stunning flower or piece of clothing and thought, I wish there was an eyeshadow or lipstick in this color, ShadeScout will make your wish come true. With the app, you can point at any object (example: a pink peony you’re obsessed with) and find makeup that matches the hue (from 40 different mass and prestige brands). It gets better: You can try it on in real time as though you’re looking in a mirror. Save your favorite looks so you can shop or share them on social media.

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Modiface Hair Color (free)

Want to see what you’d look like as a blonde without committing or bleaching your hair? Unlike some hair color try-on apps that make you look like you’re wearing a wig, this one actually changes the hair color in the image that you import, thanks to its automatic hair detection ability. Take a photo, then trace your hairstyle with your finger so the app knows where to apply the shade. You can pick from 30 blonde, brunette, and red hair options. Then you can decide if blondes really do have more fun.

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