I Tried Every Google Meet AI Makeup Filter

Now Google Meet has a collection of 12 AI makeup looks that it just introduced, and I spent the day trying each one out in my Android app and the web client. The premise is easy enough: look polished on the camera without ever having to open a makeup bag. But after taking them for a spin during countless call setups and side-by-side captures, I’ve got definitive picks for what works, what doesn’t, and how these filters fare in the wilds of web meetings.

What Google’s AI Makeup Can (and Can’t) Do

These effects are not just generic smoothing. Each look builds with precisely placed enhancements on brows, eyes and liner, cheeks, and lips that are designed in real time as you move. It tracks well and feels anchored even as you turn your head or blink quickly. Given Google’s earlier work with face landmarking and segmentation in MediaPipe and similar pipelines, the system seems to be clearly tracking features frame by frame rather than blurring skin randomly.

Crucially, the looks appear designed for meeting etiquette — subtle complexion correction, orderly brows, gently defined eyes, and tasteful lip color. In-your-face glam is the anomaly, not the norm. In flattering light, I noticed an even tone, softened redness, and shine control with no plastic-looking skin. In low, fluorescent lighting, you can see edges on the lips or liner, but never enough to distract at grid-view sizes.

The 12 Google Meet Makeup Looks, Tested and Ranked

Best for everyday meetings

• Dewy Fresh: imparts the gentlest highlights across your forehead and cheekbones so they read as healthy rather than oily.
• Warm Glow: lifts cheeks and warms the lips a nuance or two (perfect for late-day meetings, when you’re looking washed out).
• Barely There: hushed complexion balancing and grooming with practically no fear of uncanny edges.

Dependable all-rounders

• Rosy Pink: rescues cheeks from underslept pallor.
• Cat Eye: tasteful, not theatrical; liner subtle enough to make eyes pop on 720p webcams.
• Lip Gloss: brings subtle highlights in a no-shimmer finish without turning greasy.

Statement options for on-camera presence

(Worn as pictured.)

• Red Lipstick: a vibrant and clean red. It looks good with neutral walls but clashes under warm light bulbs.
• Signature Statement: not everyone can pull off the lip color, but the complexion work is pretty solid.
• Simply Radiant: more about pushing highlights — it looks good under flat office light but can appear almost greasy under ring lights.

Too subtle or situational

• Berry Blush: less than nothing on some complexions; it’s the most mood-ring-like of the bunch.
• Coral Hint: natural to the point of becoming invisible in darker spaces.
• Dramatic Eye: lives up to its name but can appear heavy on low-res laptop cameras that soften detail; it does better on higher-quality webcams.

Cross-Platform Performance and Meeting Controls

Android and the web show the same 12 presets, with similar results. Changing looks is instantaneous, and effects stick if you hang up on a call and call back. I didn’t notice a drop in frames in one-on-ones on a modern laptop and midrange phone, though heavy multitasking may nudge the fans or increase battery usage. Google has said in the past that many Meet effects are engineered to optimize processing on the device using hardware, falling back to server-side rendering when you’re on older devices — which matched what I saw with my smooth feed.

Admins may control visuals in enterprise environments, and therefore limit them or turn them off. In personal accounts, you can find the styles under the visual effects panel next to backgrounds and lighting. Unlike blunt “skin smoothing,” these presets include sensible color choices, so you won’t be endlessly adjusting sliders five minutes before a meeting.

Skin tones, lighting, and on-camera reality

Automatic tone adaptation is a make-or-break feature for virtual makeup tools. Across multiple lighting conditions and a limited number of test subjects, tones were generally well matched with no gray or oversaturated patches. Cooler settings work well with Warm Glow and Rosy Pink; warmer rooms rotate toward Barely There or Lip Gloss. If your webcam is the type that mashes down reds, Red Lipstick and Berry Blush might shift more than you would like.

Some pro tips: set white balance first using a desk lamp at 5000K–6500K, avoid backlit windows, and place the light above eye level. Even the most sophisticated AI can’t correct for a camera pointed toward a bright background. As hybrid work continues — recent surveys from the Pew Research Center show a hefty proportion of workers spending at least part of each week remote — these small adjustments help the AI do its best work.

Privacy and realism considerations for meetings

Because these looks are confined and anatomically grounded, they avoid the uncanny valley of “face filter” territory that can cheapen professional credibility. Lip edges and lash lines are still believable at typical meeting sizes. If you hide your face with a hand or drink from a mug, they reattach so fast and are not jarringly obvious.

For privacy-minded attendees, remember that the visual effects can be seen by everyone in the meeting and could potentially be recorded. Google’s documentation for Meet effects specifies that performance and quality checks are in place, but any organization with a heavy compliance burden should verify settings with IT before broad use.

Bottom Line: The Looks You’re Definitely Going to Want to Try

If all you want for your everyday calls is a set-it-and-forget-it polish, begin with Dewy Fresh, Warm Glow, or Barely There. For some personality pop without a loss of professionalism, go Cat Eye or Rosy Pink for presence. Leave Red Lipstick and Simply Radiant for presentations where a strong on-camera presence works to your advantage. The new AI makeup suite isn’t a substitute for good lighting or skin care, but it is the most cohesive, office-ready set of virtual touch-ups that I’ve tried in a mainstream video app.