Beauty is in the eye of the iPhone beholder.

(4) comments Monday Feb 01, 2010 at 04:59 pm posted by Marina

From decision-making help to pure entertainment, iPhone beauty applications are popping up faster than you can download them.

Some of the earliest applications gave you the opportunity to perform simple tasks, such as replicating the looks of famous faces like Angelina Jolie. But now there are a variety of beauty-related applications that enable you to do anything from locating nearby beauty services to seeing what you might look like after plastic surgery. You can even access tips and tutorials so you know what to buy when you’re standing in a Sephora store.

Lancôme and L’Oréal Paris already have apps. Louise, my associate, was telling me how when she used to do makeup at the Lancôme counter she’d send the client home with a sketch colored to show where to apply product. Now, there is a section in Lancôme’s app where you can do that. Nars has an app where you can click on eyes or lips and see various eye shadows or lipstick shades applied directly to the photo. And another member of big beauty, Avon, entered the apps market last fall, with custom videos and content on the latest fall trends.

With this useful information at your fingertips, you could virtually explore the new Bloomingdale’s flagship store in New York, try on and compare products, get a makeover and advice, and make a purchase, all while sitting at your child’s soccer practice! Or you could use an app that analyzes the weather and how the humidity will affect your hair, so you know whether or not to bother straightening it that day.

We had some fun browsing through the different apps on the market, as you can see from the pictures of me with the hairstyles of Miley Cyrus, Megan Fox, and Kathryn Morris, created using the iStylist Makeover app. Check out some of the fascinating applications we found:

ColorTry – Take a picture with your iPhone and then use this app to try out light blond, fire red, or sleek black hair, or a color you’ve never even pictured. See what one of the ladies with blond hair at Allure would look like as a redhead: http://www.allure.com/beauty/blogs/reporter/2009/05/beauty-on-your-iphone.html

GoodGuide – This free app evaluates the health, environmental, and social performance of companies and their products on a scale of 1 to 10.

FiveIn5 – This app claims to give you the 5 most effective facial exercises to do in 5 minutes to take 5 years off your face. They claim that firming the facial muscles under your skin firms your face, too.

iSurgeon – Why not see how you would look with plumper lips, Botox® injections, or a face-lift?  This app, created by a plastic surgeon, shows you what would look like with plastic surgery—a new nose, bigger boobs, or even smaller ears.

Make Up – Test 20 different shades of lip gloss! Use its facial recognition technology to apply rounds of pixilated gloss onto pixilated lips on an uploaded photo of yourself.

Vanity – This app supposedly measures attractiveness. For $3, upload a photo and have it evaluate how cute you are, based on a 1 to 10 rating.

Haircaster – For 99 cents, this app uses your location to find out the local weather, then analyzes how the humidity and temperature will affect your ’do.

FaceDouble – Next time you’re staring at someone, trying to figure out who they remind you of, use this app to find their celebrity look-alike.

IStylist Makeover – See how you’d look with Reese Witherspoon’s bob or Posh’s pixie.  Try different hairstyles and colors on your way to the salon. I tried the hairstyles of Miley Cyrus, Megan Fox, and Kathryn Morris using this app.

Pretty Nails – This app locks in your GPS location and locates the nail salon closest to you.

Cosmetifique –This app allows you to search a database of over 5,000 ingredients, letting you know which cosmetic products are dangerous to your health or the environment..

Anti-Aging – This newly released suite of apps includes Wrinkle Eraser, one of ten Color-Light and Sound Therapy treatments the makers claim will improve wrinkles, acne, cellulite, joint pain, sleep disorders, and hair growth by using wavelengths of light and sound to stimulate production of collagen and elastin, resulting in firmer skin and improved circulation.

TALK TO US:

Have you tried any of these applications? What was your experience?