Her GadgetMatch
5 best dual-camera selfie smartphones below $500

These days, smartphones can do almost anything. From booking rides, to finding drinks and finding love — these high-tech gadgets are super capable. Having a phone camera has also become a standard, but not all cameras are created equal.
For the photo lovers, I’ve compiled a list of smartphones that have been tailored specifically to us selfie enthusiasts. The best part? A great selfie doesn’t have to cost you substantial money! All phones are below US$ 500.
The 6-inch selfie expert
OPPO is called the “selfie expert” for good reason. Their slew of smartphone releases have very capable cameras. The F3 Plus has two front-facing cameras: 16- and 8-megapixel shooters, the latter being a wide-angled camera. This means wider selfies with more scenery! The phone also has a software-generated bokeh mode and its 6-inch screen allows for a bigger screen to check your photos on.
The F3 Plus has a built-in beauty mode which allows you to toggle between fair and rosy complexions and a beauty filter with seven possible levels of intensity.
READ MORE: OPPO F3 Plus review and selfie comparisons
The perfect selfie smartphone
To this day, Vivo’s beauty mode remain to be my favorite. This stands true to their promise of creating “perfect selfie” smartphones. The Vivo V5 Plus, although an older release, is still my photo go-to from the Vivo line. The front-facing dual-camera setup features 20- and 8-megapixel shooters and it’s equipped with a bokeh mode feature.
Vivo’s beauty mode features a bar you can toggle from end to end for three different things: buffing, skin tone, and whitening.
READ MORE: Vivo V5 Plus camera hands-on: Another perfect selfie?
A smaller version of the F3 Plus
The OPPO F3 is everything the F3 Plus is, at a fraction of the size. With a screen at 5.5 inches, my teeny hands are capable of taking one-handed selfies, well, almost. This smaller OPPO phone literally carries the same specs, the same beauty modes as the F3 Plus but at a more affordable price tag.
READ MORE: OPPO F3 review and selfie comparisons
The literal pro at selfies
The ASUS ZenFone 4 Selfie Pro blows me away with the amount of attention put on its beauty mode. Everything from skin tone to skin softening, brightening, eye widening, and cheek thinning may be achieved from levels one to ten — talk about choices!
As if that wasn’t enough, ZenFone 4 selfie phones come with ASUS Selfie Master which is a camera app with a different beauty mode interface. The same app allows you to shoot video and go live on social media with a full-time beauty filter.
A dual-camera setup up front is capable of 24-megapixel DuoPixel photos, wide-angle shots, and bokeh mode.
READ MORE: ASUS ZenFone 4 Selfie Pro review: The ultimate selfie phone
The Selfie Pro’s budget counterpart
The ASUS ZenFone 4 Selfie is the budget counterpart of the ZenFone 4 Selfie Pro. Fitted with 20- and 8-megapixel cameras for ultimate selfies, this smartphone camera has all the beauty mode features the Selfie Pro has at a cheaper price.
READ MORE: ASUS ZenFone 4 Selfie hands-on and camera review
Bonus:
The cutie screen phone
The Meizu Pro 7 is not specifically marketed as a selfie smartphone, but I feel compelled to include this on the list because of the many wonders its secondary AMOLED screen — or as I call it, the cutie screen — holds.
The teeny panel on the back of the phone serves a great selfie purpose, as it allows you to shoot with the phone’s rear dual-cams on three modes: beauty, camera blur, and original. The Pro 7’s single front shooter is also equipped with a basic beauty mode function.
READ MORE: Meizu Pro 7 Review: Twice the fun
SEE ALSO: Cute and fun tech for girls!
[irp posts=”12138″ name=”How to take the perfect selfie”]

Entertainment
Netflix’s ‘To All The Boys: Always and Forever’ is your Valentine’s Day treat
Lara Jean’s last hurrah?

The sequel for Netflix’s To All The Boys I Loved Before and To All The Boys: P.S. I Still Love You is almost here. Premiering this Valentine’s Day, Netflix’s To All The Boys: Always and Forever follows Lara Jean Covey’s senior year in high school.
In the upcoming film, a pair of life-changing trips lead Lara Jean to reimagine what life with her family, friends, and Peter will look like after graduation.
Of course, Lana Condor and Noah Centineo will take center stage. Netflix will also be starring Janel Parrish, Anna Cathcart, Ross Butler, Madeleine Arthur, Sarayu Blue, and John Corbett. The film is directed by Michael Fimognari and produced by Matt Kaplan, with Katie Lovejoy working on the screenplay.
Netflix’s To All The Boys: Always and Forever is based on the novel by Jenny Han. It will be available on Netflix on February 12, 2021. Stay tuned via Netflix.com/ToAllTheBoysAlwaysAndForever.
SEE ALSO: 5 apps to help you plan a cheap Valentine’s Day date | 10 films to Netflix and chill to
Accessories
Combine and change scents using Ninu’s sustainable, smart perfume
Wear the right scent that matches your every mood

Of all things that could get smarter, it’s a perfume. Yes, you read that right. At CES 2021, Ninu launched the “first smart perfume in the world,” with a connected device that’s capable of changing scents with every spray.
It’s a unique approach to an everyday item, interesting enough to pique our curiosity. After all, it has an unassuming yet elegant look.
The fusion of beauty and technology
How does it work? This AI-powered perfume uses an app to personalize a scent, fusing ingredients with only a few clicks. It lets you wear the right scent appropriate for every mood and look.
It seamlessly delivers an astonishing perfume through its electronic micro-precision extracting system, guided by its Ninu’s very own assistant — Pierre, the perfume master.
Pierre, just like Siri and Alexa, is an AI assistant that executes whatever wishes you have regarding your scent and helps you have full control over anything you do on the app. The assistant also notifies you when you’re running low on stock.
Feel sexy and earth-friendly
Despite being able to design a premium perfume bottle, assembled with the best of tech, Ninu believes the most important thing is the fragrances themselves. After all, Ninu used 100 percent vegan, sustainably-sourced ingredients — with a wholesome procedure designed in France.
This smart perfume is more than just a smart accessory. It presents itself as a sustainable, essential item that makes you feel fresh and sexy, and also earth-friendly.
Ninu uses natural ink in packaging cartons and uses less packaging to scale down plastic consumption. Instruction leaflets are replaced with a QR code, therefore, fewer papers. Moreover, perfume bottles are made from recycled glass since every 10 percent increase in recycled glass housing cuts down CO2 emissions by five percent.
Gaming
Animal Crossing is launching a ColourPop makeup collection
Featuring your favorite characters

Despite a full slate of exciting games last year, Animal Crossing: New Horizons was one of the most influential games of 2020. The island life simulator allowed everyone stuck at home to connect with another despite the pandemic. However, even with the gameplay, the game is just so darn cute. If you wholeheartedly agree (and why wouldn’t you?), Nintendo is collaborating with ColourPop for an Animal Crossing-themed makeup collection.
Featuring fun shades inspired by the island paradise life, the @ColourPopCo x Animal Crossing: New Horizons makeup collection adds some new hues to your look on 1/28! #ColourPopxAnimalCrossing
🏝️: https://t.co/KT70wQfwLu pic.twitter.com/JvKvDAidkK— Nintendo of America (@NintendoAmerica) January 15, 2021
In its announcement post on Twitter, Nintendo unveiled four color palettes in the collection. The forefront of the collection features Isabelle’s yellow complexion and her cute-as-a-button pink top. If you’re looking for something more inspired, Blathers and Celeste have their own color palette featuring combination of their colors. For the stylish, the Able Sisters shine in purple and lilac. If, however, you’re looking for capitalist chic, Tom Nook has his own palette featuring his cash-money green.
The Animal Crossing x ColourPop collection will launch on January 28. Though only four palettes were showcased, the collection might include further characters. Besides the main characters around your island, the game also has a wide variety of cute potential villagers.
SEE ALSO: Nintendo made five-fold profit thanks to Animal Crossing: New Horizons
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