Women hoping to copy Kate Middleton’s wedding day DIY makeup will save plenty of Internet-trawling time by buying one thing for just $4.99: The Carmindy App for iPhone and iPad (an android version is in the works).
By way of serendipity, the app’s wedding-makeup tutorial mirrors the look the Duchess wore. Bonus: The Carmindy App recommends the right shade for your complexion.
“One of the things I get asked all the time is ‘What colours do I wear for my skin tone and my hair colour?” says the makeup artist best known for her weekly appearances on TLC’s What Not to Wear.
No surprise: that’s the heart of the app.
Users can customize an avatar with hair, eye and skin colour, then peruse a number of how-tos, including video clips and face charts. Looks range from the five-minute face to girls-night-out drama, and show details from winged liner to a quick smokey eye.
Product recommendations include drugstore and department-store options, and can be added to a built-in shopping list. And in keeping with a key aspect of Carmindy’s three books, Sally Hansen Natural Beauty Inspired by Carmindy isn’t the only featured cosmetic brand.
“I talk about NARS, M.A.C, Rimmel, NYC, Milani — there isn’t just one brand that everyone uses,” notes Carmindy in an interview with Metro. “We do that ‘splurge/save’ thing — save on certain things, then splurge on the lipstick of the moment.”
She also says the app will be updated with new recommendations as occasional products are discontinued.
In addition, there’s a dash of self-help via a short video explaining how to do the mirror-mantras the artist developed during her own self-esteem challenged youth.
The Carmindy app took two years to develop because the technology has developed along with it, as well as the artistry involved. “For example, just getting the shading right on the avatars took a while; the techs had to figure it out because there wasn’t an easy way to do it,” explains Carmindy.
Updates become available as soon as a new feature is added, and new looks are planned for each season. Coming soon: techniques based on eye and face shape. As well, Carmindy fans can learn more by watching the artist apply app-related looks on her own face on YouTube.
“It’s all a way for me to help women walk into drugstores and department stores and choose products,” says Carmindy.
