Battle of the beauty apps

Clarissa Williams has taken over my kitchen table with eye shadow palettes, pots of foundation and rolls full of brushes.

Glueing on false eyelashes under the watchful eye of two toddlers is probably not the sort of working environment Williams initially envisaged when she trained as a makeup artist but that's life as a freelancer working via a beauty app.

Just as you can now order a car through Uber and a place to stay through Airbnb, a growing number of beauty apps offer the ability to click to order hair and makeup services.

Glamazon, Luxit and Flossie are all looking to disrupt Australia's $5 billion beauty services market.

Glamazon

Lauren Silvers and Lisa Maree are the founders of Glamazon which connects clients with qualified beauty professionals and hair stylists through a real-time booking app.

The Sydneysiders both launched their own apps in the beauty space in 2013 when an investor suggested they meet and consider working together.

Maree says the timing was right.

"There's a cultural shift that's happened over the last few years. People are getting used to strangers' cars and through Airbnb, strangers' houses. People are more comfortable with someone coming into their home," she says. "Life is becoming more busy and people are looking for convenience. There is definitely a need for time saving. There's a natural need for convenience and we solve that for people who don't have the time to get out." Read more