Bella Girl: Fun girlie app or propagator of female stereotypes? (iPad/iPhone)

Okay, get ready — I’m going to get all girlie on you for a second:

I’m often agog at what women deal with just to get through the day. Like anyone else, we have our jobs, bills, social lives and family to balance. But for some of us, we’re trying to do all that after waking up extra early to fix our hair and makeup, running around in heels and schlepping a hefty bag’s worth of stuff crammed into an increasingly ginormous purse. Trying to look and feel fabulous through all this? That’s no easy feat for most of us.

Enter Bella Girl for iPad and iPhone. This is basically a life organizer that is decidedly geared for women. (It’s even got a personal calendar with special features for tracking very… um… well, female times of the month, as well as spa appointments or other dates.)

Other features include:

Beauty Timer designed to track times for soaking in a bath, drying nail polish, facial treatments, and any other beauty tasks. (It even has timed presets for particular beauty product brands!)
Calorie Counter for tracking calories eaten or burned.
BMI counter (aka, the Ideal Weight) which can compare your fitness level to those of friends.
Size Converter, so you know if that size 6 butt will fit in those impossibly gorgeous Italian designer jeans.
There’s even a Smart Compare function, which compares the size and volume in various cosmetics that use different scales, to assess which are the better value for your hard-earned dollars.
Privacy Lock feature: This one’s a must-have. If you use these features, you don’t want that info on display, do you? Now there’s no way the hubby or boyfriend will know that the dentist appointment you canceled lunch for is actually a pedicure.

If I took it all really seriously, I might be offended by the superficial presumptions this app makes. But I’m not. That’s not to say I’ll be using all these features — who would, outside of a cartoon cut-out of a 1940s “broad”? — but I’d be lying if I didn’t say there were at least a few things in here that appeal to me. Plus as a tech blogger eyeball deep in gadgets most of the time, I don’t get to exercise my feminine side all that often. If this can keep me from screwing up my nail polish or help me find jeans that fit, then the price tag is totally worth it. So I say, “Huzzah!” Welcome to my homescreen, Bella Girl! And hey — if you ever come out with a stiletto comparison tool (you know, to find the best heels for different type of feet/arches), I’ll even upgrade you to my “VIP Apps” folder. Just a thought.

Bella Girl – Beauty Assistant (for the iPhone) is $3.99, and Bella Girl HD – Beauty Assistant(for the iPad) is $6.99.