Glam Up - Perfect Your Look Review Analysis
Analyzed Jun 1, 2026
The app is overwhelmingly perceived as a "bait-and-switch" scam. It uses a deceptive "free" download to lock all functionality behind an expensive, often non-functional subscription, leading to widespread user anger, accusations of fraud, and an extremely low 2.4-star rating. Core complaints focus on the aggressive paywall, a broken "invite friends" system that fails to unlock features, and very poor quality AI results for paying users, including racially biased and distorted images. Numerous reports of billing errors, unauthorized charges, and an inability to cancel subscriptions or contact support further cement its reputation as predatory.
Rating distribution
The rating distribution is extremely polarized, with 57% of reviews being 1-star and 28% being 5-star. This bimodal shape, coupled with user reports of being forced to rate the app before use and the high volume of generic 5-star reviews, strongly suggests review manipulation is being used to mask a deeply flawed user experience.
Rating trend by year
Review-level analysis below covers the latest 971 reviews.
Key themes
The most dominant complaint by an overwhelming margin. Users download the app expecting it to be free, only to discover that every single feature, including viewing the initial scan results, is locked behind a subscription paywall. Users frequently label this as a 'scam,' 'false advertising,' and 'clickbait,' expressing frustration that they wasted time on onboarding and shared their photos before the payment requirement was revealed.
Even users who pay for the service are frequently disappointed with the results. They report that the color analysis is completely wrong, makeup recommendations are generic or terrifying, and the 'glow up' AI generates bizarre, distorted, and unrealistic images. Several reviews mention the AI changing their face so drastically it looked like a different person or even gave them extra facial features like 'two sets of nostrils'.
The app offers an alternative to payment by inviting three friends. However, dozens of users report that this feature is broken. They state that their friends successfully used their referral code, but the app fails to register the invitations, leaving the user still locked out and feeling tricked into promoting the app for no reward.
Despite the overwhelming negativity, a small subset of users who paid and had a good experience praise the app's concept. They find the personalized guides for makeup, skincare, and color analysis helpful for building confidence and simplifying beauty routines. Reviews from users like @Sadie-ladybug mention it helped with specific concerns like acne.
A significant number of users report serious billing problems, including being overcharged (e.g., charged $43.93 instead of $8), features not working after payment, and extreme difficulty canceling subscriptions. Multiple users state that the support email provided in the app bounces back, leaving them with no way to resolve financial disputes or technical issues.
Many users explicitly state the app forces them to leave a review immediately after onboarding, before they can even use a feature or see the paywall. This explains the large number of 5-star reviews that are either completely generic ('Good', 'Ok') or are actually complaints disguised with a 5-star rating. Several long, glowing reviews from December 2024 and January 2025 use similar marketing language, suggesting they may be inauthentic.
Users of color have reported that the AI performs poorly for them. Complaints include the app lightening their skin tone, misidentifying their race, or applying features associated with a different ethnicity. For example, a Black user noted the app changed her race to Asian, and another said the AI gave her a medium skin tone when she is 'darker than Beyoncé'.
The app is only available in English, which alienates a global user base. Reviewers from France, Mexico, and other non-Anglophone countries complain that they cannot understand the interface or questions, forcing them to guess answers and rendering the app useless for them. These reviews often come from storefronts like FR, MX, and ES.
Tap a theme to expand. Counts represent reviews mentioning the theme.
Notable reviews
I think this app was made for white people or those with lighter features, as the recommended makeup styles lighten my skin and make my features smaller. Anyway, it was a waste of money.
Honestly, it’s kinda my fault for falling for it 😂😭 color analysis was COMPLETELY OFF. The AI glow-up version of me was crossed eyed and looked nothing like me 😂
i was intrigued by its ads on tiktok... found out i need to pay premium for the subscription, then tried the app out w the premium subscription— DOESNT EVEN WORK. IT MAKES ME LOOK WORSE... DELTED THE APP, only to find out it’s still charging my account. Doesn’t reply to my emails.
when you click reveal results btw which is AFTER putting your face on, they say it costs money... like tell me beforehand please? scam of privacy, privacy invasion how is this even legal
J’ai payé le forfait Glam Up pro ++ 6,99€... j’ai bien été débité mais en revenant sur l’application ils envoient un message pour dire qu’une «erreur est survenue ».
Avoid using this app. Even after sharing the referral code with three people who used it, the app still didn’t open
Pay structure is $12.99/Week (4 scans), $10.99/Week (2 Scans), $8.99 (1 scan) 💀... Make you review the app before you pay them to do the “scans”. Which bloats the App Store rating.
Got two different undertone results on both scans... Completely changed my face, skin color, even my race. More like plastic surgery advice... I contacted the email provided in the app... I got a automated response saying the email provided that I sent to is either not active/existent
I referred three friends to see my results and it says i haven’t referred anyone, therefore i can’t see my results
I was just charged $43.93, but I only authorized $8 for a week of your app... Can someone please get in touch with me as soon as possible so I don’t have to report it as a fraudulent charge.
It gives you a step by step guide on how to glow up
Amazing helped so much with working with my acne
This app is very helpful when you want a good luck on your face. It could make sure you have no acne and that worked for me so well you guys should download this if you were starting to get a glow up
focused on learning what my skin is like and what I need unlike the others that recommended just what’s popular
My friend studied color analysis during her time abroad in Korea and she did a whole analysis on me and took like hours. I got the same results from Glam Up in just 1 min.
Feature requests from users
A very large number of users are angry that there is no way to test the app's functionality before paying. They explicitly request at least one free scan or a free trial period to evaluate the quality of the results before committing to a subscription.
Users from non-English speaking countries, particularly in French and Spanish-speaking markets, are requesting that the app be translated. They report being unable to use it because they do not understand the questions and instructions.
Tap a request to see what users said. Counts are the number of reviews explicitly asking for it.
Recommendations
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