Comparison

Makeup Shelf vs Cosplay Forge

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
Read full description

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

Cosplay Forge

This app helps crafters and cosplayers organize their projects. Track inspiration, budgets, tasks, deadlines, and time spent on builds in one centralized location. Features cloud sync for access across devices.

Highlights
  • Quest-style build tracking
  • Budget and materials tracker
  • Task lists with categories
  • Event and craft day calendar
  • Time tracking
  • Inspiration and reference notes
  • Cloud sync
Features
Read full description

Cosplay Forge was born out of a frustration every crafter knows too well — the con crunch. Lost inspiration pictures, forgotten tutorial links, blown budgets, and build steps scattered across a dozen different notes apps. Sound familiar? Built by a fellow cosplayer, Cosplay Forge was designed from the inside out. Not by someone guessing what the community needs, but by someone who has lived it — and who wanted something better for all of us. Whether you're a competitor keeping a detailed logbook, a hobbyist working on your first build, or a full-time maker juggling multiple projects at once, Cosplay Forge gives you one place to track it all. Costs, hours, materials, deadlines, inspiration — organized the way a crafter actually thinks. FEATURES: Quest-style build tracking with progress bars Budget tracker with Materials & Supplies Task lists with categories and steps Con/Event and craft day calendar Time tracking with hours and minutes Reference links and inspiration notes Cloud sync across all your devices Secure sign in with email or Google Developed with input from cosplayers across different styles and skill levels, Cosplay Forge isn't built for one type of maker. It's built for the whole community. Because you have enough to worry about before con day. Your build tracker shouldn't be one of them.

Screenshots

Makeup Shelf4 screens
Cosplay Forge4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Cosplay Forge at none against Makeup Shelf's 2. Cosplay Forge also leads on device support (3 vs 1). On price, update cadence, ads and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.

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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Makeup Shelf sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $5.99 per month. Cosplay Forge asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Makeup Shelf ships an update every 11 days, Cosplay Forge weekly. Both last shipped on October 31, 2026.

Scorecard2 real differences · 7 level
Makeup Shelf versus Cosplay Forge: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMakeup ShelfCosplay Forge
PriceFreeFree
Rating—3.7 (3 ratings) — better
Number of ratings—3 — better
Update frequencyEvery 11 daysWeekly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
Monetization—Free
DevicesiPhoneiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS16.615.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size39 MB3 MB
Age rating4+17+
DeveloperHASAN BALKIMargo McReynolds

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Makeup Shelf

Subscriptions2
  • Glow Pro Monthly$5.991 Month
  • Yearly$49.991 Year
None

Cosplay Forge

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Makeup Shelf free?
Makeup Shelf is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Cosplay Forge free?
Cosplay Forge is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Makeup Shelf or Cosplay Forge have ads?
Neither Makeup Shelf nor Cosplay Forge shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Makeup Shelf or Cosplay Forge?
Makeup Shelf ships an update every 11 days, and Cosplay Forge weekly. Most recently, Makeup Shelf was updated on October 31, 2026 and Cosplay Forge on October 31, 2026.

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