MakeApp has been in the news recently for its claim to remove makeup from pictures of women. Some articles have questioned the makeup removal ability of the app. However, none of these articles, to the knowledge of this writer, have compared actual pictures of women without makeup to the results of this app, applied to pictures of the same women with makeup.
A previously viral photo set, known as "porn stars without makeup," provides these pictures. Here are the results:
Yasmine Deleon
Upper left: Actual picture without makeup. Lower right: MakeApp result.
The app works here.Charmane Star
Upper left: Actual picture without makeup. Lower right: MakeApp result.
The app goes easy here, except on the redness of her lips.Riley Reid
Upper left: Actual picture without makeup. Lower right: MakeApp result.
The app goes easy here too, unable to deduce her blemishes.Tatiyana Foxx
Upper left: Actual picture without makeup. Lower right: MakeApp result.
The app does a decent job, but it actually goes in the inverse direction on her skin tone.Veruca James
Upper right: Actual picture without makeup. Lower right: MakeApp result.
The app works here.Eidyia
Upper left: Actual picture without makeup. Lower right: MakeApp result.
The app works here.
Conclusions:
- MakeApp seems to work best on removing makeup applied to the eyes, eyebrows, and cheeks.
- It also works well on removing lipstick. However, it can be too aggressive, as shown in example two.
- It doesn't work well on uncovering blemishes, as shown in example three.
- It can actually do the inverse on significant skin tone changes, as shown in example four.
Overall, in the opinion of the author, MakeApp works well, considering it only has the pictures of the women with makeup to work with. Contrary to other articles claiming the app is always too aggressive, the examples above show that in certain cases, it may not be aggressive enough.