Comparison

Makeup Shelf vs Vani

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Makeup Shelf

Features
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Makeup Shelf is the makeup tracker that helps you know every product you own, find the colors that suit you and finally use up what you already have. Keep your whole makeup bag in one place. Add your lipsticks, palettes, blushes and skincare, log each use and watch every product get closer to empty. Spend less, stay organized and enjoy the makeup you already love. FIND YOUR COLOR SEASON • A live drape test with your camera places you in one of 12 color seasons. • See your palette and the shades that light up your face. • Find out which products you already own match your season. (Premium) CHECK A SHADE BEFORE YOU BUY IT (Premium) • Snap a lipstick or blush in the shop and see straight away whether it suits your season. • If it does not, Makeup Shelf shows a closer shade, often one you already own. • Skip the shades that won't work and save money on every haul. TRY IT ON IN THE MIRROR • Try the lipsticks and blushes from your collection live on your face. • Switch between daylight, warm indoor light and cool office light. KNOW WHAT EVERYTHING COSTS • Every product shows its price, its cost per use and how close you are to your goal. • Your stats show the brands you reach for and the ones you forget, so you buy smarter next time. SWATCH LIBRARY • Keep the true color of every shade you own. • Compare shades side by side and stop buying near-duplicates. PROJECT PAN, MADE FUN • Log every use and celebrate every hit pan. • Add each finished product to your Pan Diary with a photo and a verdict. • Badges, streaks and a friends leaderboard keep you motivated. SEE WHAT YOU SAVE • Every product you finish instead of replacing adds to your savings. • Watch the money you keep grow, month after month. YOUR LOOKS, DAY BY DAY • Save each day's look with the products you wore and how it went. • Share Today's Look as a card. • Every product shows the looks you wore it in. ROUTINES AND ROULETTE • Turn your morning and evening steps into routines and log them in one tap. • Can't decide? Roulette picks what to use today from what you own. HOLY GRAILS AND HONEST VERDICTS • When you finish a product, mark it Holy Grail or Won't Repurchase, so your next buy is an easy call. • Finished products keep their swatches under the Finished filter. YOUR YEAR IN BEAUTY • Collection value, usage streaks, eco impact and your yearly Wrapped show how far you've come. • Add the products you're dreaming of to your Wishlist and treat yourself when you hit a goal. MADE FOR • Project pan and low-buy challenges • Decluttering a big stash • Finding your color season • Anyone who wants to spend less and use more of what they already love Makeup Shelf is free to download, and the free plan holds up to 5 products. Premium unlocks an unlimited collection, your color season results and features such as Product Check, the Makeup Mirror, routines, Looks, Roulette, Wrapped and the friends leaderboard. Privacy Policy: https://hitthepanapp.github.io/hitthepanapp/privacy Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

About

Vani

Features
Read full description

Your beauty stash, organized. Vani is the simplest way to inventory every product you own (skincare, makeup, fragrance, haircare, and nail care) in one place. Know what's expiring, what you're actually using, what fits your skin, and what's just taking up shelf space. ——— KNOW WHAT'S IN YOUR PRODUCTS Ingredient analysis matched to your skin. Set your skin type and concerns once, and Vani gives every product a clear verdict: a match score, the ingredients that fit your skin, and the ones worth a second look. No barcodes, no toxicity scare scores: just a plain-language read on what each ingredient actually does, grouped by benefit. Finally understand the label, not just the marketing. ADD PRODUCTS IN SECONDS Snap a photo and let AI do the typing. Vani's AI scan reads your product and fills in the details for you, no more tapping out every name by hand. Building your collection finally feels effortless. BUILD YOUR ROUTINES Set up morning and evening routines from the products you own, or add simple steps like "SPF". Schedule each step daily, on chosen weekdays, or every few days, then check it off with a tap. Each check-off logs a use on that product, so your usage stats stay accurate. ON ALL YOUR DEVICES Your products, photos, lists and routines sync through iCloud, free for everyone. Everything is stored in your private iCloud, so Vani never sees it. EXPIRATION THAT ACTUALLY MAKES SENSE Not every product expires the same way. Vani tracks three modes: PAO (period-after-opening), a printed expiration date, or never-expires. Enter a batch code and Vani automatically decodes the manufacture date, so you know the shelf life before you even open it. Get reminders before anything goes bad. EVERY CATEGORY. ONE APP. Skincare. Makeup. Fragrance. Haircare. Nail care. All five, tracked in one place with the right structure for each. YOUR USAGE, TRACKED. Log each use with a tap. See which products you actually reach for and which have been sitting untouched for months. Know what's earning its shelf space, and what isn't. STAY ORGANIZED, YOUR WAY. Build custom lists like "In My Rotation," "Running Low," or a "Wishlist" for what's next. Mark products as active, finished, or thrown away: the full lifecycle of every item in your collection. ——— • Ingredient analysis with a skin-match verdict for every product • Skin profile (type + concerns) to personalize each result • Plain-language ingredient breakdown grouped by benefit • AI scan to add products in seconds • Expiration reminders before products go bad • Batch code decoding to determine manufacture date • PAO, expiry date, and never-expires tracking • Usage frequency tracking • Custom lists and collections • Product status: active, finished, or thrown away • Morning and evening routines with daily check-offs • Free iCloud sync across all your devices • Free for up to 20 products; upgrade for unlimited Terms of Use: https://stoicadianaa.github.io/vani/terms.html Privacy Policy: https://stoicadianaa.github.io/vani/privacy.html

Screenshots

Makeup Shelf4 screens
Vani4 screens

Verdict

The call

Makeup Shelf and Vani are too close to call on the numbers: across 6 compared parameters — price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases among them — neither pulls far enough ahead to decide it. What separates them is feature set and interface, not measurable difference.

Scored on Price Ā· Rating Ā· Positive reviews Ā· Number of ratings Ā· Update frequency Ā· Ads Ā· In-app purchases Ā· Monetization Ā· Best chart rank Ā· Devices Ā· Requires iOS

CostPrice Ā· In-app purchases Ā· Ads Ā· Monetization

Both are free to download. Makeup Shelf sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $5.99 per month and Vani sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Makeup Shelf ships an update every 11 days, Vani fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 31, 2026 and October 25, 2026 respectively.

ScorecardNo meaningful differences
Makeup Shelf versus Vani: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMakeup ShelfVani
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyEvery 11 days — betterFortnightly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
DevicesiPhoneiPhone, iPad — better
Requires iOS16.6 — better17.6
Further details — not scored
Size39 MB40 MB
Age rating4+12+
DeveloperHASAN BALKIDIANA CRISTINA STOICA

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Makeup Shelf

Subscriptions2
  • Glow Pro Monthly$5.991 Month
  • Yearly$49.991 Year
3 purchases

Vani

Subscriptions2
  • Monthly$2.991 Month
  • Annual7 Days trial$17.991 Year
One-time1
  • Lifetime$79.99

Questions

Is Makeup Shelf free?
Makeup Shelf is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Vani free?
Vani is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Makeup Shelf or Vani have ads?
Neither Makeup Shelf nor Vani shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Makeup Shelf or Vani?
Makeup Shelf ships an update every 11 days, and Vani fortnightly. Most recently, Makeup Shelf was updated on October 31, 2026 and Vani on October 25, 2026.

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