App Showcase: Beauty Editor : Face Retouch

What it does

Beauty Editor is a mobile photo editing application specializing in portrait and selfie enhancements. It provides a comprehensive suite of tools designed to retouch photos, allowing users to remove blemishes, smoothen skin, reshape facial features like the nose and jawline, and apply virtual makeup such as lipstick and blush. The app also includes options for changing hair color, applying various filters, and adding lighting effects.

Where it shines

The app truly excels in the depth and responsiveness of its editing tools. The face reshaping feature, shown at 02:08, is particularly powerful. It breaks down facial editing into granular controls for the face, eyes, nose, and lips, giving users precise control. The live preview mechanic, where a user can tap and hold an eye icon to see the original photo (01:22), is a standout interaction that makes the editing process feel intuitive and low-risk. The hair color tool (05:00) also works remarkably well, offering a realistic application with simple intensity controls.

UX highlights

• Nested toolbars: The editor uses a smart, two-tiered navigation. Primary tools like 'Reshape' open up a secondary, more specific toolbar, keeping the interface clean and focused (02:08).
• Instant before/after: A persistent eye icon allows users to tap-and-hold at any time to compare their edits with the original image, which encourages experimentation.
• Direct manipulation: Tools like 'Heal' (08:18) and 'Smooth' (01:30) let users directly paint on the image, providing an intuitive and tactile editing experience.
• Visual presets: Makeup and hair color options are presented as clear visual thumbnails, allowing users to quickly preview different looks before applying them.
• Project-based workflow: Edited photos are saved as 'My Projects' on the home screen (08:51), enabling users to easily revisit and continue editing their work later.
• Low-friction entry: The app gets users into the core editing experience quickly by placing the subscription flow in the onboarding and not requiring an account creation upfront.

Monetization & growth

The app's monetization strategy is front and center. After a brief, value-driven onboarding carousel, it presents a paywall at 00:20. The offer is a 3-day free trial that converts to a weekly subscription. The paywall itself is effective, using a video background to constantly showcase the premium features. After a successful subscription, the app immediately prompts the user for a rating (00:44), a clever tactic to capture positive sentiment at a moment of high engagement.

Who it’s for

This app is designed for social media users, content creators, and anyone who wants to enhance their selfies and portraits before sharing them. Its detailed controls for face tuning and makeup application suggest a target audience that values precise, high-quality retouching. The user-friendly interface also makes it accessible for casual users who simply want to remove a blemish or try a new hair color for fun.

Notes & opportunities

While the toolset is powerful, the sheer number of options within nested menus could become slightly cumbersome for users looking for a one-tap solution. The app could benefit from introducing an 'Auto-Enhance' feature that applies a suggested set of edits with a single click. Additionally, the tutorials are somewhat buried in a settings menu (09:04). Surfacing these tutorials contextually within the relevant editing tools could improve feature discovery and user proficiency.