Why We Don't Push Products: How a Beauty App Stays Independent
Most beauty apps make money when you buy. We don't. Here's how that changes the recommendations you see — and why we think it's the only sustainable way to give skincare advice.
Most apps in the beauty category are a storefront wearing a quiz. Take a 12-question survey, get matched with three products that the company gets a kickback on. The recommendations look personalized, but they're drawn from whichever brands are paying for placement that quarter. We don't do this.
How we actually make money
The free tier covers a small server bill and the cost of one AI scan per day. The paid tier covers the rest. Both are flat fees — not a percentage of what you spend. We have no revenue relationship with any brand whose products appear in the catalog.
What that changes
- When the ingredient checker rates a product 4/10, that's what the formula scores — not what the brand paid for it to score.
- When the dupe finder finds a $12 alternative to a $90 cream, we don't hide the $12 option. We just show it.
- When a product is unflattering for your skin profile, we say so, even if it's in the top 100 most-searched products.
What we ask in exchange
Pay for the app if you can. Tell us when something doesn't work — we read every email. Don't expect us to push you toward a purchase, because we're built around the idea that the most useful skincare advice is sometimes "the one you already have is fine."