Is your mirror as smart as you are?

Mirror, mirror, on the wall – you’re freaking us out because you seem to know all. It’s not a dream (or a nightmare) dear reader. Smart mirrors are now a Thing. In addition to reflecting back what they see, these new magic multi-tasking mirrors can double as lighting devices, entertainment systems, and even health trackers. Here are the retail stores and brands that allow you to experience this latest advance in luxury technology.

We recently wrote about the newly opened beauty floor at Saks Fifth Avenue in Manhattan.  We love the luxuriously spacious layout and the playful atmosphere that encourages customers to explore new products and  try new experiences like Face Gym, or even schedule onsite beauty treatments from favorites like Sisley Paris or La Mer.

But one of the coolest experiences on the new floor at Saks is the store’s “magic mirrors.”Customers can apply makeup virtually, and see what various products and shades will look like before making a purchase. Customers can try on various shades of lipstick, blush and other cosmetics without ever having to touch a tube or a brush. Every product sampled is recorded by the mirror, and can be emailed so there’s no need to make notes or take selfies while you’re in the hunt for your new favorite lipstick. Just review what you tried, and purchase what you liked with a few keystrokes, either in-store or at home.

If that’s not enough, the real-time in-store makeovers performed by various beauty brand artists are also automatically recorded by the mirrors, so that customers can easily replicate the process step by step to achieve the same look at home. We have to say – that’s pretty cool.

Saks’ Manhattan flagship isn’t the only store where shopping feels more magical these days. We found several other retailers also utilizing smart mirrors and interactive fitting rooms:

The always tech-forward Rebecca Minkoff (who was one of the fashion industry’s first designers to live-stream a show with both drones and VR headsets) introduced smart mirrors in her flagship store dressing rooms in New York, San Francisco and LA in 2015.  Here, the mirrors allow customers to order a free beverage and request new clothing items to try on. Need a different color or size?  Not sure how that dress will look in the evening light? Just tap the magic mirror. And afterward, if you aren’t quite ready to buy, you can have a record of everything you tried on saved and sent to your email, so you can return to it later in-store or online.

At Neiman Marcus, you no longer have to find a sales associate to help you locate designer shades to try on from behind a locked glass vitrine. Just tap on their sunglass mirror, align your face and select any Ray Ban, Chanel or other style you might be interested in trying on (even the very trendy tiny “kitten-eye” sunglasses you’ve been eyeing but too embarrassed to ask about). The retailer has a partnership with Luxottica, the manufacturer of many luxury sunglass brands, and has been rolling the technology out in selected stores.

Want to experience this technology at home? It’s your chance to get the perfect lighting for makeup application, track your health (skin condition and weight), set reminders (and be reminded to wear sunscreen based on the weather forecast), manage your daily schedule, check stock prices and listen to music.

Intrigued? Here are a few brands to check out:

At the Consumer Electronics Show this year, CareOS unveiled a smart mirror that features facial recognition, 4-D imaging and touch-less interaction to scan consumers’ makeup bags and then direct them to tutorials on how best to apply various products.

While CareOS’s mirrors won’t hit the market for another few months, there are a couple of others that are already available.

The HiMirror Plus assesses skin condition, including wrinkles, fine lines, clarity, dark circles, dark spots, red spots and pores. Utilizing a built-in camera, this smart mirror doesn’t just analyze issues, it also tracks progress. No need to rely on “hope in a jar” when you have data at your fingertips to prove whether or not your products are performing as promised.

The HiMirror Plus also incorporates Alexa, Amazon’s voice-activated digital assistant, so it works like any other voice-enabled smart speaker. There’s no-touch access to information like news and weather on the mirror’s screen, so there’s no need to put down your makeup brush.  And you can scan the bar codes of your skincare products to keep track of your supply and set up reminders for when it’s time to throw something out because it’s past its expiration date.

HiMirror also has some other nice features that you would expect from a luxury tech item, including LCD lights along each side so that you can mimic whatever lighting condition you like as you apply your makeup (office fluorescent, natural light, or warmer indoor hues).

The trend’s not just limited to start-ups. Traditional brands like Kohler have also gotten into the smart mirror mix. The Verdera Voice Lighted Mirror is part of the brand’s new line of connected bathroom fixtures that are controlled with Alexa voice commands, or via the Kohler Konnect app.

The Verdera mirror features a motion-detecting night light to guide you through the bathroom in the dark, and sensors that raise light levels when someone stands in front of the mirror. It’s the first wall-mounted bathroom mirror with Alexa voice-command capability (the HiMirror is a smaller, freestanding vanity style).

In terms of functionality, the Verdera focuses much less on beauty and far more on practical logistics, like adaptable room lighting, news and weather on demand, and a voice-activated shopping list (add  lipstick or shaving cream with a simple voice command).

It’s a brave new world, and we’re all going to have to toughen up. When we ask our mirrors how we look in the morning, they’re now going to tell us the cold, hard truth. Kind of makes us want to go back to the good old days, when all they were capable of was obediently reassuring us that we were the fairest of them all . . .

Smart mirrors may be all well and good — but can we get a nice one?

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