The Mattel Girl Tech Stylin' Studio is made for girls ages 8 and up. And "and up" really means "and up": No matter how old you are, you really can't grow out of the joy of giving people makeovers. People are obsessed with makeovers--witness "Extreme Home Makeover" and "What Not to Wear," to name just a couple of TV makeover shows. And Stylin' Studio offers you the chance to do a DIY makeover for yourself or some lucky friend.
Stylin' Studio ($59.99) comes with a touchpad console, stylus pen, and a digital camera that connects to the monitor. Everything plugs in through a USB cable. Once you pop in the provided CD, you simply run through the install steps and voila, your studio awaits you.
The first step is to either upload a premakeover photo or take one with the provided camera (attached to the touchpad)....
I found the touchpad somewhat difficult to use; it was much easier for me just to use my computer's mouse, which pretty much makes the touchpad unnecessary. If the toy just came with the CD and a digital camera, it would work just as well.
With the photo you've selected to beautify, you first select and map out the lips, eyes, eyebrows, cheekbones, and face shape areas. Then you can change the hairstyle, makeup, clothes, accessories, and background to fit your style. Choices for each abound; your child (or you) will need a long time to get tired of them.
Once you're done with the makeover, you have several options. You can print your photo in different styles, including Photo Booth, Magazine Cover, and so on. Or you can e-mail it, supposedly: I tried sending my photo to several e-mail accounts but never received it. I'm not sure why it didn't work--and one of the major things Stylin' Studio is lacking in is directions. There are no instructions in the box, and there's no Help option inside the studio; and Girl Tech's Web site offers no help whatsoever. Fortunately, it's an easy toy to figure out; but if you run into a problem, you're out of luck.
Besides those qualms, I really did enjoy the Stylin' Studio. It would make a great gift for any age! Finally, Stylin' Studio is not limited to girls: You can give your brother, dad, or boyfriend a makeover too! Here are a few photos of the fun we had with PC Mag boy makeovers.
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November 11, 2008 1:46 PM
You can do the same thing for free at the Mary Kay Cosmetics web site among others.
December 25, 2008 9:28 AM
you were right about 2 things. 1) the touch screen is the worst thing ever made! 2) If you get into a problem, youre out of luck! They give you NO directions so we can't use the camera which means we can't upload pictures!I spent an hour trying to fix it but im just gonna return it. This toy sucks!
December 25, 2008 3:59 PM
This toy sucks. Seemed like a fun toy, but is a nightmare. The touch screen sucks and the digital camera attached to it does not work. I will be returning this toy too. This toy really sucks.
December 25, 2008 4:04 PM
I have had the same two issues. The touch pad makes things harder to work and the digital camera does not work. IT would be helpful if it came with directions, but it did not. The CD states that there is an instruction manual located on the game, but however there is NOT. I will be returning this toy because it sucks. This toy sucks!
December 26, 2008 3:09 PM
There is an instruction manual on the cd...but you have to right click on the icon and then explore to find it. However...there is not trouble shooting information...so my problem is i can't get it to save any picture we take or upload any picture...so we can play with the faces already on there but nothing else. Lame
December 26, 2008 5:51 PM
We had the same problem, we found the manual but it was no help. We can't get the camera to work either. Looking online we found out it needed batteries - where they go I have no idea! It also said that a 2.5 volt battery is included. We are trying to charge it with the usb cord and we'll see if that works!
December 27, 2008 8:19 PM
Absolute crap. Couldn't get the camera to work...in the supplied software. I opened up the Windows Control Panel and went to Scanners and Cameras. Selected the camera for this.....item and wouldn't you know it the camera had a picture. Bottom line THE SOFTWARE DOES NOT WORK...Not to mention the X to close out the program is off the screen and repositioning on my monitor did not help. What a P.O.S.!!! :(
December 29, 2008 11:23 AM
Did anyone plug the USB cable into their computer and suddenly loose everything? I'm experiencin ghtat at the moment, and I'm going nuts!!
January 1, 2009 9:44 PM
I also have the camera issue. The software is really lame. The camera says not plugged into HiSpeed USB port and I know it is. The computer has two USB 2.0 ports and I used one for this game and it never installs the driver for the camera. No luck on stylinstudio.com either.
January 4, 2009 2:32 PM
Stylin Studio is awful, won't take a picture. Says instructions are on the CD but can't find them. I call this a big scam !!!
January 26, 2009 9:04 PM
i got stylin studio for christmas i loved but when i plugged it in it didnt even have a manual.
February 1, 2009 12:37 PM
OMFG this thing is SO sucky i plug in the USB into EVRY SINGLE USB PORT I HAVE...BUT IT STILL DOES NOT WORK...WTF????.....it also says it works better if u use the USB PORT at the back of your PC....i try that NOTHING!!!...i even try it in the front NOTHING....WTH..WTF...this thing is the most idiotic thing EVER...it is such a RIP-OFF!!!!
February 2, 2009 8:24 PM
Mattel: Welcome to 2009! We do things differently here than you do in the '50s.
I haven't had any operational issues with the Stylin' Studio product, but I do have an irresponsible corporate citizen issue with it: Apparently you can only be stylin' if you are white. Oh, wait, there is a hint of inclusion for Orientals. They must be white enough for Mattel, 'cause they weren't included because of demographic data...
Now, I'm a manufacturing engineer, and I can understand how adding racial diversity to a product line like a doll can seriously increase costs, but this product is mostly software. How much would it have cost to take a few photos of, say, AFRICAN or HISPANIC skin tones, hairstyles, etc instead of the wide variety of pale blue eyed young ladies?
No, you can't please everybody. Someone will get left out, but in this case Mattel could have sent a better message to young women at zero additional cost.
My disappointment (and my daughters) is only slightly reduced by having paid only 16$ for it on clearance.
Oh, and in the interest of full disclosure, I'm a middle class white guy. (who won't be buying another Mattel product. Ever.)
February 4, 2009 11:26 AM
We have worked with this dam thing for sense christmas. I tell you what everyone that buyed one of this we need to sue mattel for false advertisement. Everyone that has bought one has nothing good to say about it. They just don't work period!!!
May 16, 2009 1:11 PM
Anyone know where I can get the cd from for this, my daughter has lst it, I can not get the pc to read what it is when I plug the usb in.