Ivy alternative
An Ivy alternative that reads skincare too
Luminelle scores packaged food 0-100 from its nutrition, its additives and how processed it is, publishes the weights and the source behind each additive level, and scores skincare the same way.
Out now on iPhone and Android. Free to download, free to scan.
What Luminelle actually is
Four scans, one timeline
Food and skincare in one app, with your cycle phase noted on every scan.
Product scan
Score every label
Barcode or a photo of the ingredient list. Every product is scored against EU CosIng, California AB 2762/2771/496, Prop 65 and ECHA, and every flag links to the regulator entry behind it.
Food scan
A food score, calories and macros
A food barcode gets a 0-100 score from its Nutri-Score, its additives and how processed it is, with the source behind each additive level. A plate photo names the dish, estimates calories and macros, and adds them to your daily intake.
Cycle tracking
Phase noted on every scan
Log your period; Luminelle estimates your phase and next period from the dates you give it. Every scan and selfie carries the phase you were in, so patterns can surface over weeks.
AI skin observations
A daily selfie, week over week
Up to five plain-language observations per selfie across forehead, under-eye, nose, cheeks and jaw, saved next to your products, meals and cycle. Observed without judgement.
Not a diagnostic, not a diet app, not a brand attack.
Why people look
What Luminelle does differently
Ivy does one thing: it tells you how processed a food is, across a very large catalogue. People who look for an alternative usually want to see how the score is built, want more than food in one app, or want to scan without a subscription.
The weights are public. A Luminelle food score is 60 points of nutrition, 30 of additives and 10 of processing, and the page that says so lists every additive level with its source. Ivy names what goes into its score without the weights.
It only says what a label can show. Pesticide residues are measured per crop and per batch, not per barcode, and microplastics and heavy metals are not printed on a pack. Luminelle says nothing about them rather than estimate.
Preferences are not findings. Seed oils are something you can ask Luminelle to point out. They never move the score: no regulator restricts them, and the American Heart Association recommends them over saturated fat.
More than food. The same app scores skincare against EU and California rules, counts calories and macros from a photo of your plate, and notes your cycle phase on every scan.
The food method, with every weight and source, is at /methodology/food.
Who it's for
Who Luminelle is, and isn't, for
Switch to Luminelle if…
- You want to read how the food score is built, with its weights
- You want the regulator or study behind an additive, linked
- You want skincare scored in the same app
- You want calories and macros from a photo of your plate
- You want your cycle phase next to what you scan
Stay with Ivy if…
- Food is all you scan
- You want the largest food catalogue
- You want pesticide, microplastic and heavy-metal information per product
- You want its anxiety, sleep, energy and weight tracker
Both can live on the same phone. Ivy is the bigger food catalogue with one focus; Luminelle is the smaller one that shows its working and reads your skincare too.
How to switch
Getting started with Luminelle
There is nothing to migrate. No history moves between the two apps.
- Download Luminelle and create a free account.
- Scan a few things from your kitchen. Barcode scans are unlimited on the free tier.
- Open a result and read what is behind the score: nutrition, additives and processing, each additive with its source.
- In Settings, choose what you want pointed out - seed oils, added sugar, allergens, a diet. These are notes; they never change a score.
- Scan something from your bathroom shelf too.
- Keep Ivy if you like it. The two do not conflict.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
- How is Luminelle different from Ivy?
- Ivy is food only and built around processing. Luminelle scores food on nutrition, additives and processing with the weights published, links each additive level to its source, and also scans skincare, counts calories from a plate photo and tracks your cycle.
- Is there a free alternative to Ivy?
- Luminelle's barcode scans are free and unlimited with an account, for food and for skincare. Photo scans are limited to five a day on the free tier.
- Does Luminelle score ultra-processed food?
- Processing is 10 of the 100 points in a food score, alongside 60 for nutrition and 30 for additives. An ultra-processed product is named as one on its result.
- Does Luminelle scan food?
- Yes. A food barcode gets a 0-100 score built from its Nutri-Score, its additives and how processed it is, with the regulator or study behind each additive level. A plate photo gives you the dish, calories and macros, added to your daily intake; a plate is not scored.
- Is Luminelle free?
- Barcode scans are free and unlimited, with an account. Photo-based scans (a plate, a food label, an ingredient list) are limited to five a day on the free tier. Luminelle Pro removes that limit and adds Patterns, Shelf Check and Ask Luminelle.
One scan tells you what's in it. A month tells you what it does.
Free to start. Food and skincare scored, with a source behind every flag.
Out now on iPhone and Android.