Beauty Tracking apps – What is out there besides Myrror?

When googling ‘beauty tracker apps’ there are a multitude of options that appear, however the majority of these are to do with finding professionals, recommending products or booking appointments. All wonderful features but we are looking for those that seek to allow users to track their own personal beauty journey.

We have had a good old dig around the internet to look at the alternatives to Myrror. We are secretly pleased that there aren’t that many! However, we have identified some established and popular beauty tracking apps that we’re keen to showcase and we have pledged to give our honest view on how they can benefit you.

We have identified 4 apps that are currently on the market and used the following questions to assess them:

• Privacy – How secure are any images and details?
• Price – Is there a monthly/annual cost?
• Scope – How many things can you track using the app?
• Features – What are the range of things you can do?
• Overall experience – Generally did we enjoy using the app?

We have selected the following apps:

1. Troveskin
2. Miiskin
3. Charm
4. YouCam Make up

Troveskin 

Troveskin is an app that uses Artificial Intelligence (AI) to track your skin’s profile, pigmentation, pores and general appearance, allocating a score and then recommending products that can help you to increase your score

• Privacy – No ability for pass code or secure log in
• Price – Troveskin is free and available to download on both the Apple and Google Play Store
• Scope – Troveskin is limited to tracking your face complexion only
• Features – You can take daily photos which are then analysed and you can create your own skin diary. Your skin report will analyse based on Wrinkles, Texture, Pores & Spots.  You can add in the skin care products you are currently using so you could link any changes directly to the products you are using which is cool.  Based on your skin report it will then recommend products to you based on the skin issues it has identified.  There is access to an online community so you can share tips and experiences which I also think is a good addition. You have the ability to add comments to your skin log, as well as log the amount of sleep and how you are feeling generally so you can get a real time view for each timepoint
• Overall experience – The app is really comprehensive and it is easy to use. It is limited to tracking the appearance and wellbeing of your facial skin only though so that is the downpoint for me as I feel I would need other things to track my other beauty journeys. Love that there is a wider community though and there is a clear and simple way to track skin changes along side a product that you have entered.  I like it 😊

Miiskin

Miiskin is a dermatology app, rather than a beauty tracking app, where you can track and monitor moles and skin lesions via real time photo tracking. The app does not diagnose, and specifically highlights the requirement for seeking medical advice, but allows you to track and monitor skin changes over time.

• Privacy – The premium version allows you PIN code entry and keeps the photos separate from your main camera reel.
• Price – The premium version app is priced at £3.99 per month. It comes with a 30 day free trial. There is a free version however where you can track a limited number of skin lesions with limited app functionality
• Scope – This app is limited to dermatology skin conditions
• Features – You can take real time photos and have the ability to do side by side photo comparison which will be excellent for assessing if there has been changes from one time point to the next. You can also set up regular reminders so that you don’t forget a time point and there is also the opportunity to collaborate with the medical professionals.  Providers can provide patients with a free Premium app in exchange for a monthly license fee, meaning that patients can collaborate remotely, we really like this feature and one that we are pleased that Myrror provides too.
• Overall experience – An app that gives me confidence when using it as seems really secure, I can collaborate with professionals if I needed to, and this is supported by being an NHS approved app. It is limited to dermatology so again has limited scope and not a ‘one stop shop’ for beauty tracking but it does not advertise to be that either.  A really good dermatology app

Charm

• Privacy – No ability for pass code or secure log in
• Price – has 3 premium options – Charm Yearly Premium £19.99, Charm Monthly Premium £4.99 & Charm Six-Months Premium £17.99. There is a 7 day free trial. There is a free app available but this does not give you the ability to take photos and record progress.
• Scope – This is limited to your face only and tracks your skin.
• Features – Realtime skin care tracking with AI functionality to help track progress and identify skin needs. There is also a very large community of over 2 million users of the app so plenty of opportunity for swapping ideas and get product recommendations. There is a guidance material too with treatment recommendations and guided skin care routines. You can add your products to track success and set your own reminders, as well as accessing regular industry blogs
• Overall experience – A really thorough and informative app with a shed load of resources to access. The photo tracking is limited to face so not a one stop shop for all your beauty journeys, but definite benefit to those with a focus on their skin products. It is the most expensive of the apps though and with no privacy features, anyone with your phone could scroll through those personal images.

 YouCam Make-up

Try out virtual make up styles and hair colours with this beauty tracking app. The app uses facial detection to accurately allow you to visualise a specific hair colour or make up product on your own face. You can also adjust facial structures or skin appearance to mimic the potential impact of surgical and non surgical techniques. A new feature is also the skin analysis tool where you can keep a skin diary, and using AI get personalised recommendations of products to help with your skin type.

• Privacy – No ability for pass code or secure log in
• Price – free to download but with paid features as you progress – still trying to find a price!
• Scope – Specific to face and hair
• Features – Really good photo taking to track your skin, with really good detailed instructions to ensure you get a quality picture. You can do side by side comparisons for before and after. Really good quality tracking, with recommendations for steps you can take. The emphasis of the app on how you can artificially change the pictures to try out new looks – also really cool and very easy to use and fun to play with too. The sensible side of me though warrants caution in that I know things may not work out like the software says it should!
• Overall experience – A fun app, easy to use, huge online community with so much information out there to guide you in all sorts of directions. Again this one is limited to face and hair so not the ‘one stop shop’ for all your beauty journeys. Plus – please be careful of relying on filters!! The main ‘fun’ thing about this app is that you are artificially changing your appearance. Therefore use this for inspiration and ideas, not for tracking reality!!

Myrror

• Privacy – Passcode and face recognition. Sharing images with providers is also through a secure portal.
• Price – A 2 week free trial and then £1.49 per month or £14.99 annual subscription
• Scope – Can be personalised to whatever you want to track. Choose from the standard categories of Face, Hair, Dentistry or Body or create your own customer categories
• Features – Full timeline with a dynamic screen for accurate side by side comparison, you can set up your own notifications to ensure you regularly add to your timeline. The app can be customised to absolutely any beauty journey you want to track so is very versatile. Myrror is strictly no filter so that you are always in control of what is your own normal.  As stated above the app is private and secure.  The app really comes into its own when looking to collaborate with your professionals by offering secure image share with your pro, as well as the ability to then link up direct with your professional’s booking system to seamlessly book an appointment after sharing your images.  The app features a ‘Look Locker’ for storing all of your inspiration images. In addition, Myrror hosts regular blogs within the app for sharing views and other useful content.
• Overall experience – We are clearly biased here – but we love it. We love it because it can be tailored to what you want to track. Our focus is to give you the control and evidence to ensure the results you want and the results you’re getting. Privacy and collaborative sharing with your professional helps keep you on the right path. What’s there not to love!! 😊 The aspects that are lacking in comparison to some of the other apps is product recommendations and access to a large community – guess what is next on our list! Join our clan here on Instagram and Facebook

The table below seeks to summarise where in the market Myrror fits

• Privacy – Rating of 1 – 5 (insecure to very secure)
• Price – Rating of 1 – 5 (most expensive to least expensive)
• Scope – Rating 1 – 5 (Minimal scope to most scope)
• Features – Rating 1 – 5 (Minimal features to most features)
• Overall experience – Rating 1 – 5 (Poor experience to great experience)

Based on the privacy and scope of Myrror that allows you to track multiple beauty journeys we’re thinking Myrror edges it (not that we’re biased!!).  However what we have learned is that we have more features that we can add to make it a clear market leader – these would include skin analysis for product recommendations and links to more guidance and information.  All of this we are really keen to do 😊