A Beautiful Mess Review

A Beautiful Mess is a whimsical photo app that features a similar style to the popular cult blog with the same name. The bloggers Elsie and Emma have added their own touch to the app with fun filters, zany fonts and hand-drawn doodles to let users create masterpieces.

To get started, just select a picture from the photo library or choose one of the background images. All the photo tools are located at the bottom of the screen on the toolbar. Users have the option to add filters, borders, text, doodles or phrases. I love the elegant interface and how easy the app is to navigate.

The filters include names like Dreamland, Poppy and Spotlight. Each filter provides opacity, brightness and contrast options. There are currently only six of them to select, which is a little disappointing. While the filters may be lacking, there are plenty of other ways to customize photos. The borders are different from most other photo apps and have a cutesy appeal to them. Additionally, there are a handful of fonts, doodles and phrases to add.

When the customized photo is complete, it is saved to the photo library. All photos can then be shared instantly to Instagram, Facebook, Twitter or Email. Once completed, users have the option to go back and start again.

While A Beautiful Mess is different, it may not be for everyone. After playing around with it, I became disappointed in the fact that there are so many in-app purchases and not enough options included in the actual purchase price. Users will find themselves wishing to shell out more cash for font packs, borders, phrases and doodles because there just aren’t enough included in the app to keep it from getting boring. Purchasing these packs makes for one expensive photo app. The app should really be free considering the amount of purchases.

Although A Beautiful Mess could be better if it included more for the price, it’s not a complete bust. The gorgeous and well-designed interface and the artsy and fun doodles and style make it a lot of fun to use.  Avid fans of the blog and anyone who loves a quick way to spruce up photos may want to consider adding this to their collection, but others may want to think about it first before tapping on that purchase button.