My Style Genie — A Cool New Fashion Site

 

 

I was recently asked to be a beta tester for a new interactive fashion website called My Style Genie. What’s it all about? Well, it’s a virtual closet. And online shopping. And a fashion blog. And access to a personal shopper and stylist. All rolled into one.

I am really excited about the possibilities for this site. And if you have a love/hate relationship with organizing your closet, and/or OCD, and/or no idea what to wear, then you will be, too.

This image gives you a general idea of how My Style Genie works.

My Style Genie

When you first sign up, you start off by filling out a profile. And it’s pretty in-depth, as it should be. You tell the Genie all about your body type, your likes and dislikes, your coloring, and more. It’s really important to give it as much information as possible, so that your wardrobe experience is as tailored as possible.

From there, you can start putting together outfits of your choice and do some shopping. Polyvore addicts will find this feature familiar, but even easier to use. And the category filters are great. You can search by season, occasion, color, retailer, budget — all the things that matter.

But it’s when you explore the site a little more that you start to notice some seriously cool stuff. My absolute favorite thing to do is have the “Genie Stylist” suggest outfits for me. We all have that one shirt we wear with the same pants every single time. Fashion ruts are perfectly normal, but with My Style Genie, they are no longer unavoidable. You simple pick an item, and MSG will suggest either items from your own closet, or from retailers, to combine with it.

Here’s an example:

outfit suggestions

I picked a cute black Eileen Fisher top that, while versatile, always ends up with skinny jeans and boots. MSG gave me suggestions for 10 different outfits using this top. I really love it with those grey trousers!

MSG also allows you to save outfits and name them. So far, I’m saving outfits I think would be cute for a couple of trips I have this summer, and for the days I work up at the kids’ school. And what’s really cool is that you can track when you wore each saved outfit, so that you don’t commit a faux pas and wear it again too soon or with the same crowd!

saved outfits

 

You can also upload images and information about all the clothes, shoes and handbags you already own. I have this pink shirt from Old Navy, so I grabbed a screenshot from the Old Navy website, uploaded the pic, and then filled out the detailed profile for that particular top.

add item

 

If you want the Genie to be able to “interact” with your existing wardrobe, uploading and providing info is a must, of course. It is time consuming, though. Depending on the size of your closet, it’s at least a weekend project, I’d think. But it’s a must-do for true fashionistas, or anyone who wants to get the most use from what she already owns.

And one other feature I really dig is the Shelves. This is where you organize your virtual closet by categories. You can save items you want to buy on your Wish List (fashion lust and envy at it’s finest!). Put things on the Suitcase shelf to get organized when you’re packing for a trip. Do you use the dry cleaners a lot? It can be tough to remember what you have out, but the Cleaners shelf can help you track that. And you can even make tax time easier by using the Donate shelf throughout the year.

shelves

So what do I not like about My Style Genie?

  • It’s still a little buggy. I can tell there are still some cosmetic issues (overlapping text, weird formatting) that need to be fixed here and there, but for the most part, functionality is just fine.
  • The designers list isn’t huge, and it tends to be heavy on the high-end brands. As much as I love Jimmy Choo, Michael Kors, etc., they’re always going to be on my wish list, not in my wardrobe. Also, there need to be more retailers. The list right now is really small.
  • The site can be a little confusing to use. Some pages are pretty cluttered, and it took me a while to figure out what I was doing.
  • The ads on the site are intrusive.

No, it’s not perfect yet, but like I said, I think it has tons of potential. Every woman I know would benefit from using this site in one way or another. For shopping, organization, styling, whatever — My Style Genie can work magic for you.

Want to sign up for My Style Genie? It’s not open to everyone just yet, so use this special invite link to sign up. Your invite code is MSGVIPamybhole. I’d love to know what you think of the site!

Disclosure: I was compensated by My Style Genie to check out the beta site. However, they aren’t responsible for the content of this post. My opinions and review are all my own. As are any questionable fashion choices (shoulder pads, anyone?)

Makeup Monday — Moving Day

 

 

 

Lately, it seems like this site is nothing more than a long string of Makeup Mondays. Through a combination of busyness and writer’s block, I haven’t been posting much. But I have been keeping up with my Makeup Monday posts, because I never seem to struggle for topic ideas when it comes to beauty and cosmetics. Honestly, I could post more than once a week on these topics.

But I don’t want to clog up Freaky Perfect any more than it already is. Also, I want to mentally clear this space, burn a little metaphorical sage, to hopefully make room for the types of writing you used to see here. I got to thinking that maybe if I moved my makeup posts to another site, I could get back in the groove here.

So that’s what I’m doing. My new site is called Peace, Love and Pretty. It’s up and running already, but I’ll be fiddling around with the design for a little bit. I hope you’ll head over there for all things beauty-related. And I hope you’ll stick around here for musings on life, parenting, current events, and more.


Makeup Monday — Dirty Little Secrets

 

 

 

I think we all do at least one gross or embarrassing thing for the sake of beauty. Whether it’s popping pimples or bleaching a mustache or covering up gray hairs with mascara, there’s something we do late at night, behind a locked bathroom door, that we’d prefer no one ever know about. Today, I’m going to tell you about my shameful beauty secret.

A few weeks ago, I bought a nice cosmetic mirror. I mainly got it because my bathroom countertops are quite deep, and I couldn’t get close to the mirror when doing my makeup. It’s been a great purchase — it matches my bathroom decor nicely, and it has a three-way touch light. It’s even two-sided, and you can flip it over for magnification.

Quelle horreur.

At first I enjoyed the magnification. I was tweezing my brows properly for the first time in ages, and I knew where those pesky blackheads were hiding out. But the closer I looked, the more I felt like Chewbacca. Y’all, I have a mustache. And a beard. And sideburns, for that matter. How have I gone 38 years without realizing this? It’s because my facial hair is very fine and very light. It’s almost invisible when I just glance at my face in a normal mirror, but when everything is TEN TIMES BIGGER, that fine blonde strand becomes as noticeable as a tween’s first armpit hair.

Once I noticed this, I had to do something about it. So I promptly went out and bought this:

It’s called the Kiss Super Groom, and I’m in love.

I didn’t want to wax, because I’ve done that a few of times, and I always get hives. I didn’t want to use a chemical depilatory, because my skin is sensitive. So I opted for the shave. I love this device. It’s gentle, and it does the job very well. And despite what some might say, there is no crazy regrowth — my hair doesn’t come back thicker or darker.

So there you have it — my dirty little beauty secret. I shave my face. Now c’mon, ‘fess up. What about you? What ugly beauty secrets have you been keeping?

 


Makeup Monday — Beautiful Before

 

 

 

So I asked my mom if I could give her a makeover a couple of weeks ago. Not that she needed one — she’s beautiful, and her makeup is always lovely (I learned everything I know from her, after all).But I wanted to get some practice choosing colors for other people, and try a couple of new application techniques. She willingly obliged, and she looked great for her night out at a fancy event.

But I had an ulterior motive. Mary Kay is having a makeover contest, and I wanted to enter her. To do so, she had to be willing to let me take and post before and after photos. The scary word here is “before.” It takes a lot of nerve to let someone capture you before you’ve done anything to enhance your looks, especially if you’re used to wearing lots of makeup and fixing your hair every day. But it takes even more guts to let someone post that picture online.

So here it is:

See how pretty she looks?

In the interest of fairness, I thought I should post my “before” picture too. Deep breath. Here goes.

No makeup, no hairbrush, no edits, no filters. Just me, bare, before the beauty.

I don’t wear makeup because I’m scared to face the world, or ashamed of how I look, or because I have a complex. I wear it because I love it, because it makes me feel good, and because I believe in putting my best foot forward. But I haven’t always been that way. I’m just now at a point in my life where I feel comfortable sharing a picture like this. It would certainly have never happened when I was young or single. I wouldn’t have even done it a few months ago, when my skin was constantly breaking out. But not only am I posting this picture, I’ve even (GASP!) gone out in public without my “face” on a couple of times recently. (Just to the gas station, and to the Walmart late at night. I’ve not completely lost my mind.)

And my world didn’t come crashing down.

In fact, I can’t help but be thankful for my before. Because I like what I see. I see a woman (heck yeah, a woman, not a girl) who is happy, a little cheeky, who has been through good times and bad, and is thankful for everything that has made her who she is in that picture. A woman who I might not have noticed if I hadn’t stopped to take that picture, because she doesn’t often let anyone see that side of her.

There is no doubt that most of us look better as “afters.” But there is certainly something to be said for accepting our “befores.”

P.S. If you’d like to vote for my mom’s makeover, I’d love it. Just go to the Mary Kay Makeover Gallery and search for the first name Marian. There are only two Marians (with an “a”), and she’s the blonde.