Get your “phygital” makeover with these pocket-size AI helpers!
What if you could test a platinum pixie, Dior’s iconic red lipstick, new glasses, AND even a statement Cartier bracelet, all before spending a dollar? Mass market and luxury brands now integrate virtual try-on tools to make your shopping and beauty transformation risk-free.
With 2026 ultimately turning into the year of augmented reality shopping, you can preview almost anything with just a few clicks. Hairstyles, bold makeup looks, trendy jewelry, and the latest clothing collections are now available for online try-on. We’ve reviewed 20+ digital makeover tools across different categories and found the top 6 for you to test. Check them out and save this guide as your beauty cheat sheet!
What is Augmented Reality (AR)? Augmented Reality overlays digital information onto your real-world view through your smartphone camera or screen. In shopping, AR lets you see products on yourself or in your space before a purchase, turning the “try before you buy online” concept into an everyday reality.
Over the past years, consumer expectations from shopping have shifted dramatically. The pandemic boosted online shopping, technologies, including AI beauty tech, matured, and brands invested heavily in virtual dressing rooms and AR beauty apps.
According to BrandXR’s 2025 research report, AR adoption is mainstream, with nearly 60% of the U.S. population expected to be frequent AR users in the upcoming years. This reflects AR’s proven ability to bridge online and offline shopping experiences.
Besides, AR virtual try-ons for products like apparel, footwear, cosmetics, and eyewear have become essential. Shoppers can see items on themselves through their phones or use AR smart mirrors in physical stores to overlay digital clothing or makeup.
The new era of AI-powered fashion and beauty has officially begun, and now it’s your turn to get the best of it!
Here’s a quick comparison of the top online try-on tools across different categories, rated for accuracy and ease of use:
Rating criteria: Visual realism, ease of use, and how well the preview matches the real product.
Clothing receives the lowest rating because the technology genuinely struggles with fabric drape and true fit. These ratings reflect current capabilities honestly.
Read on for a more detailed review of each category!
The hair category represents the most advanced virtual hairstyle try-on technology available. You can preview complete transformations, including dramatic cuts and bold colors, before committing to anything permanent.
Complete Hair Transformations:
Accuracy Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (4/5 stars)
Direction proves reliable. You’ll get solid answers to questions like “Will I look good with short hair?” or “Does blonde wash me out?” The online hair color try-on technology is good at showing contrast and proportion.
Exact shade matching proves less reliable because it depends on your hair’s starting point, porosity, and how your specific strands take color.
AI hairstyle tools work well for exploring possibilities, not predicting exact salon results. Your colorist still needs to see your actual hair.
The online wig fitting category is emerging as a tool for medical hair loss, costume planning, protective styling, and fashion wigs. This technology serves multiple purposes beyond pure aesthetics.
It helps cancer patients visualize themselves during treatment, assists people with alopecia in finding comfortable styles, and lets anyone experiment with dramatic length changes without waiting years for growth.
Wig & Extension Options:
Accuracy Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (4/5 stars)
The limitations remain clear: fit and cap size can’t be virtually assessed. Wig construction, cap comfort, and how the hairline sits against your skin all require physical testing. Preview the look, but fitting still matters.
The virtual makeup try-on category stands as one of the most established and reliable AR shopping experiences. You can test thousands of products across multiple brands without opening a single tube of lipstick.
Complete Makeup Arsenal:
Accuracy Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (5/5 stars for lipstick), ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4/5 for foundation)
Lipstick shows highly accurate color matching. The technology captures tone, finish, and how the shade interacts with your natural lip color. Foundation matching continues to improve, but undertone assessment still proves tricky.
Eyeshadow previews work well for color selection, though they can’t show blending technique or how the formula performs on your specific eyelids.
The eyewear category pioneered virtual eyewear try-on technology, and these tools remain among the most mature and reliable options available.
Glasses retailers recognized early that shoppers needed to see frames on their actual faces before committing to a purchase.
Complete Eyewear Selection:
Accuracy Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (5/5 stars for appearance, ⭐⭐⭐ 3/5 for fit)
The virtual sunglasses try-on technology helps you avoid the common mistake of buying frames that look great on the model but overwhelm your face shape. You see the actual product color, shape, and size.
The virtual dressing room concept sounds ideal in theory (seeing exactly how an outfit looks on your body before ordering), but the reality is far more complicated. Still, these tools help narrow choices and reduce disappointing purchases.
Clothing & Footwear Options:
Accuracy Rating: ⭐⭐⭐ (3/5 stars)
This remains the most challenging category. Issues include fabric drape, true fit, and how material moves on an actual body, but virtual fitting room tools help narrow choices significantly.
As one Reddit user noted in a discussion about AI virtual try-on apps, “You upload a photo, describe what you want to wear, and you’ve got a whole outfit on your body. Some results look surprisingly real, but I’m still not sure how accurate they are when it comes to fit and proportion.”
At the same time, many celebrities and influencers embrace the change, switching to AI fashion assistants and digital makeover tools.
Sarah Jessica Parker, for example, partnered with Google Shopping to showcase their AI-powered try-on tool. The Sex and the City star has experienced online shopping disappointments, feeling “seduced” by how something looks on a model, only to realize the model’s dimensions differ wildly from her own 5’3″ frame.
Virtual try-on tools, however, make it easier to gauge the proportions of dresses, jeans, blouses, and other items.
The virtual jewelry try-on category is experiencing rapid improvement, with exceptionally positive results for earrings and rings. Jewelry presents unique visualization challenges (capturing sparkle, scale, and how pieces interact with your skin tone), but the technology has evolved impressively to handle these requirements.
Complete Jewelry Collection:
Accuracy Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (4/5 stars)
Virtual accessory try-ons will help you see clearly if statement earrings overwhelm your face or if a chunky bracelet suits your wrist. They accurately display color and metal tone, helping you choose between gold, silver, and rose gold.
These tools work best for style exploration and gifting ideas, encouraging you to make confident aesthetic choices while leaving practical considerations for in-person evaluation.
Smart shopping apps and virtual styling tools continue evolving at a remarkable pace. AI body scanning is improving dramatically, promising better clothing fit predictions through accurate 3D body mapping.
Perplexity AI recently launched its own clothing try-on tool, competing directly with Google’s version. The technology lets users visualize themselves in outfits using a single selfie, showing us exactly what the future of AI styling looks like and how rapidly this space is being developed. Metaverse integration is on the horizon, though practical applications for everyday shopping remain unclear.
Abdurrahman Albayrak, CIO at DeFacto, comments on the rise of AR technology in fashion and beauty: “Widespread adoption of technology has fundamentally affected customer behavior and the shopping experience. Now, the customers expect a digital and technological experience. Using technology and AI, I believe we can achieve this.”
This shift in consumer expectations drives continued investment and innovation across all the augmented reality shopping categories.
Getting realistic results with any online try-on tools requires strategic preparation.
And remember, all these tools save time and money while still leaving room for real-world verification.
Hair decisions can feel like the biggest change because reversing them takes the most time. A bad haircut takes months to grow out, and an unflattering hair color requires expensive correction. This makes hair the ideal category for starting your virtual try-on journey.
The best virtual try-on apps for hair give you confidence in the category that previously required blind faith or expensive mistakes. TheRightHairstyles is one of them. It has a free hairstyle try-on tool with 100+ styles, realistic 360° previews, and no-account creation required.
The platform also offers the HairHunt app with a hair diary feature, letting you track your transformation ideas over time. You can test pixie cuts, long layers, curtain bangs, and every color imaginable, all before booking a salon appointment.
Once you’ve nailed your hair direction, everything else (makeup, glasses, jewelry) falls into place around it.
Curious about what you can try on virtually and how try-ons work? Check out our FAQ below to explore the latest improvements in hair, makeup, glasses, clothing try-ons, and more.
What can I try on virtually online?
Hair (cuts, colors), wigs, makeup, glasses and sunglasses, clothing, jewelry, and accessories. Technology varies by category. Hair and makeup are the most advanced, while clothing is still developing.
Are virtual try-on tools accurate?
It depends on the category. Makeup and glasses/frames show very accurate results. Hair color direction is also generally reliable. Clothing fit remains the least accurate. Virtual try-on works best to narrow choices, not replace trying items on physically.
Is there a free virtual try-on for hair?
Yes. TheRightHairstyles offers free tools for hairstyle and hair color try-on with no signup required.
Can I try on glasses without going to a store?
Yes. Warby Parker, Zenni, and most online eyewear retailers have AR try-on. Many also include free home try-on programs that ship physical frames to test.
How accurate is virtual makeup try-on?
Lipstick shades show highly accurate results. Foundation matching is improving, but should still be verified in-store when possible. Eyeshadow displays color well, but can’t show the blending technique.
What’s the best virtual try-on app overall?
It depends on the category. Our editors tested a lot of try-ons and have favorites. Hair: TheRightHairstyles. Makeup: Sephora Virtual Artist or YouCam. Glasses: Warby Parker. Jewelry: Kendra Scott or Cartier.
Turn your smartphone into your personal fashion assistant with these digital try-on tools! New clothing collections, trendy accessories, modern hairstyles, and more are just one click away. So, why not begin with your hair – the change that makes the biggest impact on your overall appearance? Upload your photo and test 100+ styles free with no commitment, no risk, and no regret. Try a Virtual Hairstyle Now
