Monday, February 22: Today marks the launch of Chanel Beauty’s new iPhone app, Lipscanner. The technology’s purpose is to help makeup-lovers find a Chanel lipstick match for any visual that inspires them. That includes, well, anything: your favorite handbag, a shade in your go-to eyeshadow palette, a photo of a magazine cover star—and the list of options goes on and on. Amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, it’s also a great way to reignite your love of lipstick, so your relationship is as strong as it was before protective face masks took priority.
But perhaps the best part about the Lipscanner app is that using it is incredibly straightforward. First, download it via the Apple App Store, and then grant the app permission to access your camera and photos. From there, photograph visuals that are of interest or upload them from your media library. Then, indicate the exact part of the picture you’d like a lipstick match for, and the app will calculate the best hue—plus a few others, so you have different options.
The Lipscanner app is a helpful tool for lipstick enthusiasts, similar to how Shazam is a game-changer for music-lovers and color-name AR apps are for interiors aficionados. It also doubles as entertainment, and it’s the reason why I devoted an hour of my workday to photographing my pre-snowstorm produce delivery, which included carrots, apples, and Veuve Clicquot Rosé Champagne. Here are the lipsticks that the app matched me with, respectively.
Here’s another example of the Lipscanner tool, using a photograph of Hailey Bieber wearing red lipstick. According to Lipscanner, you can recreate her pout with Chanel Rouge Allure Luminous Intense Lip Color in the shade Coromandel.
What can make the app slightly challenging is that it also picks up on finishes, be it matte, satin, or glossy. Because of this, if you’re photographing an object, I recommend capturing your visual from various angles, especially if you’re intent on getting that *perfect* match. For best results, finish by virtually trying on your lipstick choice, another handy tool that’s also available to access within the Lipscanner app.
The verdict? You should definitely give this app a try, whether it’s just for fun and experimentation or to add a few new shades to your lipstick collection. If the future of makeup shopping is this easy, we’re all bound to look like Bieber in no time.
