If you can’t get enough of beauty tutorials, then today’s list will help you turn your mobile into an unlikely part of your make-up routine…
I have no shame in admitting that I’m a little obsessed with make-up tutorials, whether it’s bullying beauty counter assistants into telling me exactly how to apply every product in their range, or watching hours and hours of beauty bloggers, or vloggers, share their advice on YouTube.
But I didn’t realise that there were also many mobile applications waiting to show me how to apply, smudge and stipple…
Beauty Genius by Marie Claire
This app by women’s lifestyle publication Marie Claire is basically a big bank of make-up tutorials, teaching you all the basics, like a perfect smoky eye and a subtle nude lip, as well as inspired looks that are a little more outlandish.
There’s no mention of specific products, which is good as you can kid yourself into thinking you’ll achieve the same look with No.17 and Rimmel alternatives. However, it would be handy to know what the make-up artists are actually using, I’m sure a “steel grey” could look completely different from one brand to the next and I’d rather someone spoon-feed me that kind of information sometimes.
Available for £1.59 for Apple devices. BitchBuzz app rating: 4/5 for the large amount of clear and easy-to-understand tutorials. It lost a mark because it’s over a pound and what can I say, I’m pretty cheap.
Lookz by Barry M
Don’t be alarmed by how girly, sparkly and pink this application is. After all, it’s made by Barry M, the brand behind the glittering and highly-pigmented dazzle dust. It makes me cringe to think how much of this stuff I threw on my face as a teenager.
There’s no commentary for the tutorials, but everything is crystal clear and close to the model’s face, which makes it very easy to use and follow. The video also ends with a really useful round-up of all the products used, as well as their reference numbers which is something I wish all tutorials compiled at the end.
There’s a range of videos, handily named catwalk, everyday, clubbing and celebrity and like the Marie Claire app, there are so many to look through. The advantage of Lookz is that you can save the best in a favourite looks section, which would save a lot of time.
Available for free for Blackberry devices and Apple devices. BitchBuzz app rating: Another 4/5 for being so clear and concise as well as revealing how to put on rather risqué colours without looking too much like a clown. I just would have liked an audio commentary as well.
Make-Up by Lancome
This app has a lot of different sections, allowing you to read about the latest products, get inspiration from catwalk trends and also put colours onto a fake face which, I’m sorry Lancome, is pretty useless.
The tutorials produce some great final results and they’re really detailed. However, most of the ones I experimented with are in French and even though they have English subtitles and the accent makes me feel instantly more sophisticated, it was really hard to follow what was going on, as the model was pretty far away from the camera as well.
Available for free for Apple devices. BitchBuzz app rating: 3/5 for having some good tutorials, but overall it just wasn’t user-friendly enough, especially in comparison to Lookz.
iBend
Downloading lots of make-up tutorial apps is all good and well, but if you actually consider the logistics of applying make-up, looking in the mirror, listening to a tutorial and watching it on your screen it seems like a pretty impossible feat.
This is why I suggest getting an iBend. Essentially a small strip of plastic, the iBend curves around your handset so you can watch the screen hands-free. It’s obviously made for Apple devices, but it’ll work with most other handsets as well because it’s such a simplistic design.
It’s available in a range of colours, but I’d probably go for basic black. Actually scrap that, get the crazy ones with night-time and day-time owls on them!
Available from the myibend.com store, $4.99 for a classic black and $5.99 for the owls – but that does include both the night-time and day-time variations.
Becca Caddy is a BitchBuzz Tech columnist and freelance writer. You can follow her @beccacaddy or read her blog beccacaddy.com.
Images via the Apple Store and myibend.com.