L'Oréal Paris Makeup Genius app allows you to test make up at home

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L'Oréal Paris Makeup Genius launched in Australia on Tuesday
Facial recognition allows users to try on 4,500 products
Augmented reality technology captures facial points in real time
App has been downloaded in US, France and China 10 million times

By Andrea Magrath For Daily Mail Australia

Published: 20:57 EST, 24 March 2015 | Updated: 04:15 EST, 25 March 2015

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Scribbling an eyeliner and smudging a lipstick on the back of your hand to test the colour will be a thing of the past, thanks to a 'genius' new app.

L'Oréal Paris Makeup Genius allows customers to virtually try on 4,500 of the cosmetic brand's catalogue of products using their smartphone or tablet.

The augmented reality app was launched in Australia on Tuesday with a glittering event attended by the brand's local ambassador, Megan Gale.

While make up apps have been around for a while, they have only ever worked on a static portrait.

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'Genius': L'Oréal Paris' new make up app launched in Australia this week, allowing customers to try on over 4,500 of their products in real time using augmented reality technology

L'Oreal's revolutionary new app MakeUp Genius

The Makeup Genius applies bronzer, eyeshadow, lip gloss, and eyeliner in real time using facial recognition technology, enabling the virtual make up to stay in place as you move your face.

The technology captures 64 facial data points and 100 different facial expressions to accurately place the make up.

The app scans your face, and then allows you to try out different products or entire make up looks.

You can then save your selfie, share it on social media, and purchase the products directly through the app.

Facial recognition: The virtual make up stays in place as you move your head and change your expression in real time and works in different lighting conditions - pictured are individual lip gloss and bronzer products

Makeover: While Femail editor Andrea liked testing the individual products, she found the pre-set 'looks' (above) a bit over the top... and one setting added unsightly red blotches to her chest (left)

According to L'Oréal, the app works on all ethnicities and in over 400 different lighting conditions to ensure how the make up appears in the app is accurate to the product.

Daily Mail Australia road-tested the app on a handful of staff, with mixed results.

I tested out two looks - 'Caresse' and 'So Timeless', as well as the more natural-looking individual products like bronzer and eyeliner.

The app was impressively accurate at placing the make up on my face, though it took a bit of adjusting to get some of the eyeliner looks perfect.

While some of the 'looks' bordered on scary drag, testing out individual products was proved more successful. The bronzer and lip gloss looks appeared perfectly and gave me a solid idea of how they would look on my skin.

Subtle: News reporter Sarah tried subtle eye shadow and lip gloss looks, and thinks the app managed to apply make up better than she could do herself

News reporter Sarah Dean tested 'Smokey Minute' look, as well as the 'Tropical' look. She also tested some subtle bronzer and winged eyeliner.

'I thought it was a really smart way of trying out new looks without having to stand in a make-up aisle and test things in front of tiny smudged mirrors,' she said. 'It’s also much more hygienic than using testers in the shops.

'The make-up looked like it had been applied professionally – probably better than I could actually do myself!'

Editorial assistant Helen liked the naturally sunkissed look the Glam Bronze Duo gave her.

Impressed: Editorial assistant Helen liked the subtlety of the lip gloss (left), and bronzer (right) and says it gave her a good idea of the looks she could achieve with the products

'I thought it was a really great way of trying out the range of products available,' she said. 'Although you don’t get the chance to feel how the products work on your skin and how they apply as you would in a shop, you certainly get a good idea of the looks you can achieve with them.'

Showbiz reporter Karishma Sarkari was less impressed, struggling to get the eyeliner and eyeshadow looks to place accurately.

‘While it was definitely a bit of fun trying out the different looks, the app seemed to put the make-up over my left eye a lot for some reason, despite trying to “calibrate” a number of times,' Karishma said.

The major drawback of the app is that it sucked the life out of my phone - my battery, which had been at 100 per cent, was almost gone after 20 minutes playing with my make up.

Dramatic eyes: Showbiz reporter Karishma enjoyed the effect of the bold winged eye liner, but found it took several attempts to get the placement of the make up right

The app has been downloaded 10 million times in the US, France and China, and L'Oréal is predicting 500,000 downloads in Australia this year.

L'Oréal Paris Makeup Genius is a true game-changer in today's beauty industry and we are thrilled to be pioneering a new future of beauty,' said Cameron Woods, L'Oréal Paris Marketing Director.

'We are so proud to bring a true innovation to the market, providing what we hope is a genuinely useful, inspiring and educational tool for our consumers.

'In the virtual reality experience we allow a new and powerful way for our consumers to experience the world of beauty - testing and trying on products, viewing beauty tutorials, accessing personalised advice and purchasing their favourite products at the convenient click of a button.'

L'Oréal Paris Makeup Genius is free and available to download for iOS and Android.

Barbara Palvin and Megan Gale reveal MakeUp Genius App