Parents' Guide to

Style Lab: Makeover

By Erin Bell, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 9+

DS stylus proves the weak link in this fashion sim.

Game Nintendo DS 2009
Style Lab: Makeover Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this game.

  • Style Lab: Makeover Game: Screenshot #1
  • Style Lab: Makeover Game: Screenshot #2
  • Style Lab: Makeover Game: Screenshot #3

Community Reviews

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age 8+

Based on 1 parent review

velveta
velveta Parent of 8-year-old
December 23, 2010
age 8+
See all 1 parent review

What’s It About?

STYLE LAB: MAKEOVER is less of a \"game\" in the traditional sense and more of a simulation where players get a glimpse of what it's like to be a beauty stylist by applying various kinds of make-up, cutting and styling hair, and accessorizing a model. With the DS stylus doubling as a variety of different applicators and tools, the player can take part in make-up challenges where they're either shown a finished style and have to mimic it using the correct colors and types of make-up, or given a certain color palette and told to let their imaginations go wild to make a custom look.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (1):
Kids say (4):

Makeover is one of two games released to kick off Ubisoft's new Style Lab series (the other being Style Lab: Jewelry Design), and it's by far the weaker of the two. In spite of the wide ranges of tasks -- which include applying eye shadow, eyeliner, mascara, and blush to the face; clipping, buffing, and polishing finger nails; cutting, curling, braiding, and coloring hair; and accessorizing with bobby pins, earrings, sunglasses, and jewelry -- the stylus is simply not precise enough to recreate the styles perfectly, resulting in make-up that looks clumsily applied no matter how carefully it's put on. Also, the colors on the bottom half of the screen don't match those on the top, so it can be hard to select the right shades of make-up. On the plus side, the game offers 200 beauty tips that can be used in the real world.

Online interaction: Online interaction is done locally between friends who each own a copy of the game.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • What color combinations do you think look great together? What colors might not look so good when combined?

  • Do you prefer the made-up look or the "natural" look?

  • If you could dye your hair a different color, what would it be?

Game Details

  • Platform: Nintendo DS
  • Available online?: Not available online
  • Publisher: UbiSoft
  • Release date: November 10, 2009
  • Genre: Girl
  • ESRB rating: E
  • Last updated: August 31, 2016

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