Augmented reality mirror lets you apply virtual makeup

Augmented reality is the ability to add digital images to a live video screen, so that you can see what the world would look like if it were, well, augmented slightly. Ikea, the home furnishings giant, has a cool app that let you point your iPad camera at an empty corner of your living room and see on the screen what it would look like with a couch. Similarly, a new product called 3D Augmented Reality Makeup and Anti-Aging Beauty Mirror now invites women shopping for cosmetics to look in the mirror and virtually try on blushes, lipsticks, eye shadows and more. Stand in front of the mirror, use the touchscreen to choose products and colors, and they will magically appear as if they were on your face. In a time when brick-and-mortar retail shops are looking for ways to offer a more meaningful experience than online shops, fun technologies like this are proving ever more popular.