Smart beauty

Reliance on smartphones and tablets means that we are connected in a way we have never been before – and that brings a wealth of apps dedicated to our looks quite literally to our manicured fingertips.

From booking beauty treatments with the touch of a button, to getting a personal skin diagnosis from a photo taken on your iPhone and working out whether a hairstyle will suit the shape of your face, it’s all available for smart beauties to download.

And users are on the rise – we’re fast becoming a world of nomophobics, where we become stressed the moment we don’t have access to our phone. Recent statistics from Portio Research suggest that by 2017, there will be 4.4 billion app users worldwide (a rise from 1.2 billion in 2012).

It’s little suprise, then, that as well as reaching for our cosmetic bags we’re downloading new beauty apps that are hitting the market on a near daily basis, with developers within the UAE and worldwide competing to make our beauty regimes easier, quicker and more efficient than ever.

So what is on offer for those beauty-holics who are never separated from their phones? We have rounded up the best apps in the world…

App: BEEM – The Emergency Beauty App

Available: iOS (Android by October)

Cost: Free

Connected with hair, nail and beauty hotspots across the city, BEEM provides a simple and fast solution to booking beauty and grooming appointments in Dubai. So if you are fed up with being kept on hold while trying to secure a slot for your regular manicure and pedicure, you can log on to make an appointment in a matter of seconds.

Start by choosing your service, before selecting up to three ideal time slots for an appointment later that or the following day. Choose where you want to have your treatment and BEEM will send your requests to the salons and display confirmations from venues that can accommodate you. Simply click to confirm.

Founder Samantha Hamilton-Rushforth says, “I set out to create a quick, easy and discrete platform for women. Think of BEEM as your digital beauty concierge.”

App: ShadeShout

Available: iOS and Android

Cost: Free

Looking for a lipstick, eye colour, or foundation in a specific shade? Take a picture of something in the colour you’re after and the app will find the perfect product from a selection of premium brands including Bobbi Brown, Clinique, Dior, Mac, Nars, Revlon and more. You can even ‘try’ the product virtually, using the phone camera like a mirror.

App: Be Skin Smart

Available: iOS

Cost: Free

Created by the Meda Pharmacy in South Africa, this clever app times how long you can stay in the sun wearing a certain level of SPF. Start by answering the questions to determine your skin type and then simply input the SPF you are wearing immediately after application. The app will start counting down, alerting you to when it’s time to head indoors or reapply. You can set up multiple profiles for members of the family, each with their own skin type.

App: Cruelty Free

Available: iOS

Cost: Free

App: Beautiful Me

Available: iOS and Android

Cost: Free

Download this app and you will feel like you have a glam squad in your pocket. Start by uploading a series of selfies from the past year – or connect the app to your Facebook account and let it do all the hard work for you. Technology analyses your pictures to determine your skin tone. You can then click on foundation recommendations, make-up preferences, hair colour, and even a section on skin ageing that reveals how your visual age has changed over the past 12 months. Clever stuff.

App: Mirror

Available: iOS

Cost: Free for basic, Dh17 for pro

If you’re always scrabbling around in your handbag for a mirror, this app is for you as it will turn your phone camera into a mirror. The app has a digital zoom mode that allows you to focus on parts of your face for crystal-clear definition as you apply or check your make-up – you can freeze-frame the shot to take a closer look. There is also a useful night mode function in the Pro version, allowing you to apply make-up in darkness.

App: Hair Colour Booth

Available: iOS

Cost: Free for basic, Dh13 for pro

Want to really know if blondes have more fun (digitally at least)? Then this is the app for you. It allows you to upload your image and change your hair colour. You can zoom in to ensure your hairline is perfect, before painting your preferred shade over the image for impressively realistic results. The colours can be adjusted so they are brighter or more translucent, and streaks in different hues can also be added.

App: Hairstyle

Available: iOS

Cost: Free for basic, from Dh8 for hairstyle packages

Thinking of a new style or colour but don’t want to risk making the cut before you’ve seen if it suits you? This allows you to try more than 496 hairstyles. Take a selfie within the app or upload an image – and then have fun adding styles to your image. It’s not a new idea, but this app does it really well, so you can see the style you have been coveting.