Sugar: Virtual Makeover

Sugar was a UK magazine for teenage girls, it was founded in 1994 and closed down in 2011 though its online presence lasted a while longer.

The product comes with three model portrait images but has the capability to take pictures from a webcam, a scanner or a file. The first step is to centre the image which basically means telling the program where the centres of the eyes are. Once this has been done the image is customised by adding layers. A layer may be as major as a whole new hairstyle or as subtle and thin as lip liner. These overlaid images may not fit the model perfectly but they can be moved about and stretched/compressed by clicking and dragging on their borders.

This game is a promotional title produced in association with Claire's Accessories and Miners, a cosmetic brand; many of their products appear here.

Claire's Accessories appears as additional layers for glasses, necklaces, earrings, headwear etc. The Miners cosmetics are a bit more complicated to apply. The base game has, for example, templates for blusher. These are two patches of colour that can be positioned independently and then stretched to fit. However with Miners cosmetics the player can define an area of the image and then apply blusher, lipstick, concealer, lipstick etc as they wish.

Images can be saved as a picture or as a work-in-progress complete with all the layers that it is made from. They can be combined with different backgrounds, music and sounds, text can be added and, of course, they can be printed.

In addition to the typical portrait image Virtual Makeover can also customise a full length portrait or just a hand.