Life

All You Need To Know About Snapchat's New Feature

by Eliza Castile
Woman using a Snpachat lens that makes it look like one is puking rainbows

Has your Snapchat game felt a little stale lately? Is it full of nothing but selfies, ironic captions, and, thanks to the time filter, complaints about waking up on weekday mornings? Then rejoice, my fellow Millennials, for Snapchat's new "Lenses" feature is about to blow. Your. Mind.

As a member of the LGBT community, I've frequently expressed my desire to shoot rainbows from my eyes like some sort of out-and-proud bisexual Terminator. Lenses don't quite let you check that off your bucket list, but you can get pretty darn close. With just the touch of a button, you can literally puke rainbows. Isn't technology just amazing?

OK, fine. Maybe rainbows oozing from every orifice isn't everyone's cup of tea. Luckily, the feature comes with all sorts of other weird effects. Heart eyes, an Iron-Man-style computer interface, and a nightmarish demon face (perfect for sending to your little brother at 4 a.m.) are just a few of the options available.

According to Snapchat's recent blog post, the new update also includes the ability to purchase extra replays in addition to the single free use per day, starting at three for $0.99. The blog also points to a new "trophy case," which can be found at the top of your profile page. (Swipe down from the main screen to get to this part.) According to Cosmopolitan, this feature gives users badges based on the amount of Snapchat points they accumulate over time, as if we needed any more incentive to take ridiculous selfies.

This brings us back to the most important part of the update: Your new options for absurd selfie-taking. All you have to do to use them is to press and hold on your own face when you first open Snapchat. (On the app screen, I mean; just pressing and holding your actual face won't accomplish anything, other than giving you a tiny, finger-sized bruise on your cheek.) This causes the camera to map out your face, which turns on the Lenses feature.

Got it? Now let's get to the good stuff. Let's take a look at the new Lenses, as demonstrated by yours truly.

1. Heart Eyes

Are emojis not cutting it anymore? Now you can literally become an emoji.

2. Computer Interface

I have now achieved my goal of becoming Iron Man. Or a robot assassin. Either way, I can die in peace.

3. Puking Rainbows (!!!!)

Still my favorite.

4. Old Person

Complete with monocle, to really drive home the prospect of your mortality.

5. Demon Face ... Thing

OK, I'm pretty sure I gave myself nightmares with this one.

6. Angry Face ... Thing

It's not a demon face, but this one's still nightmare fuel.

7. Happy Anime Face

Is that what it's intended to be called? Probably not, but until someone says differently, I'm sticking with "happy anime face." The pink filter is an excellent touch.

Happy Snapping!

Images: Claire Warner/Bustle (7)