Shopping online has always been every shopaholic’s guilty pleasure. But rather than browsing through endless pages of the latest styles websites offer, you could have a fashion expert go through the elimination process for you. Subscription-based beauty and fashion sites offer free style quizzes that determine your personal style, and select a number of options that experts believe you will love. Most of these sites require you to visit at least once a month, though, so you have the option to either make a purchase or skip that month. You know what this means—you may just be “visiting” the site to skip that month, when you happen to look at their new arrivals and decide you actually need those combat boots. Getting personalized fashion and beauty selections may sound like your dream online makeover, but be very careful jumping into the bandwagon. The shopping experience is easy and exciting, but it’s going to take a lot of self-control and trustworthy girlfriends to keep you from getting seriously addicted.
Here are your shopping options:
1. Shoedazzle
There’s something about shoes that makes every girl’s heart flutter. It’s that moment when you look down at your feet in the middle of a particularly unlucky day and you find yourself smiling and realizing it’s not all that bad. In fact, the right pair of shoes gives women that confidence of making that strong first step when walking into a room, or gracefully gliding through any given situation. If you’re reading this, shaking your head and smiling because you know exactly what I’m talking about, Shoedazzle, Kim Kardashian’s subscription-based shoe shopping site, may be a godsend you were waiting for. After taking a style quiz, you will be given around 20 pairs of shoes in your showroom to choose from every month, starting at $29.95 a pair. You can find everything from your fail-proof ballerina flats to studded stilettoes. With shoes personally selected by the glamorous Kardashian herself, people are going to start admiring the way you simply drift and float through the crowd, with killer confidence and poise that resembles that of Carrie Bradshaw, the ultimate shoe lover.
2. Jewelmint
Jewelmint is a subscription-based jewelry and accessory site where you begin your membership by taking a free style profile quiz, which asks you a series of questions that determine your sense of style. Once your style profile is set up, you receive your own showroom, where new jewelry picks are updated every month according to what best fits your personality. Jewelmint pieces are designed by actress Kate Bosworth and celebrity stylist Cher Coulter, and their selling point is to provide one-of-a-kind pieces inspired by vintage jewelry and the runway, starting at $29.99. All Jewelmint pieces are produced in limited qualities, however, so items that sell out are usually no longer available again. Once you make your first purchase, the same credit card will be charged with $29.99 every month, but there is an option of visiting the site by the 5th day of each month and “skipping” the month, in which case no charge will be placed. If you like the effortless look of Sienna Miller of Rachel Bilson and vintage-inspired jewelry, Jewelmint will be your new addiction.
3. Justfab
At Justfab, you receive a boutique with personalized shoe, handbag and jewelry picks every month after taking your style quiz, most of which retail for $39.95. The site is led by Creative Director Kimora Lee Simmons, but Justfab has also partnered with Avril Lavigne and fashion bloggers to create handbags inspired by high-end designers and sky-high stilettoes that are perfect for your glamorous night out. If you don’t want to make a purchase every month, you need to visit your boutique between the 1st and 5th of that month to “skip” that particular selection. Justfab also encourages customers to write their honest product reviews, which isn’t a system that all subscription sites implement. Although the site is mostly known for their shoe selection, Justfab has also recently started carrying denim for under $40. If you ever dreamt of style experts giving you a head to toe makeover, Justfab is a one-stop shop that will feed your jewelry, fashion, handbag and shoe cravings all at once, one month at a time.
4. Birchbox
If you’re a beauty junkie who loves testing out the latest hair products, nail polish and makeup, Birchbox will make you feel like a beauty editor for just $10 a month or $110 a year. Each month, your “Birchbox” will be filled with beauty and lifestyle samples from well-known brands like Stila and Benefit, and also from new and up-and-coming brands. These samples are generously sized, so you’re promised to be able to decide whether or not you like it by the time you’re done with that month’s selection. You also never know what items you’ll get, so if you like surprises, take a chance and subscribe to your first mystery box this month—you’ll feel like it’s already Christmas.