Over the weekend, my friend Carol posted “before” and “after” photos of herself using the smartphone photo app Cymera. Unlike most western photo editing apps, this Asian app (I’m pretty sure it originated in Korea, since its homepage is hosted by Cyworld) allows you to make numerous beauty edits, many of which are obviously catered for the Asian standards of beauty: large eyes, slim face, and clear, smooth skin, just to name a few.

Everyone — including myself — who commented on the photos said that she looks better in the “before” version. I added that apps like these must have contributed to the increase of ulzzang‘s (the second definition’s the most accurate) in the recent years.

Nonetheless, I was intrigued. I knew that apps like Cymera existed, and that they are quite popular in Asia. (Xiaxue openly admits to using apps like this to “photoshop” herself before posting them online.) However, I had never tried one out for myself. What’s more, Cymera has an English interface and is readily available in the Google Play Store and iTunes!

Here’s my first try at using Cymera. The effects I used were: Big Eyes, Slim (makes your face slimmer), Makeup (false lashes and blush), and Cover Spots (makes your face clearer and smoother).