Ladies, it’s Friday night, and you’re all dolled up for a night on the town with your girlfriends. After a few songs on the dance floor, you take a breather and strike up a conversation with the tall, dark and handsome charmer sitting at the bar. He puts his hand on your back as he buys you a drink and then offers to walk you home. As flattered as you may be, you can’t help but wonder if you’re receiving special treatment or just another routine pick-up ploy from the all-too-common degenerate scumbag.
So, what do you do? By kindly declining his offer, this will bide you some time to ask around for other opinions and check his Facebook credentials — you know, to see if he’s fresh out of a relationship or if he’s really as good-looking as you remember.
Or you can step away for two or three minutes to check out his profile, ratings, recommendations and reviews on the newest girls-only app: Lulu.
Created by girls for girls, Lulu is the self-proclaimed “digital little black book” for your dating needs.
With more than 200,000 users, women on Lulu find guys they know using a link to their Facebook accounts, attach pictures and review them based on a variety of categories including appearance, commitment, sex, humor, ambition and manners. They can also hashtag his most notable features like #Experienced, #MothersLoveHim, #AlwaysPays or #FriendZone.
According to its website, “Lulu tells you the stuff you want to know: Is he a heartbreaker or your future husband? Lulu is the fastest way you can find out if he has a good track record with the ladies.”
The website states the majority of reviews are positive; used as a way for girls to promote a close friend or brother to other girls and say what’s great about him. It’s also a place for girls to warn others about a guy who did them wrong and caution them to stay away. To ensure validity, other users can click the “agree” or “disagree” button on other user reviews.
Guys, as agitating as this may be for you, you won’t be able to see your reviews unless one of your girl friends are willing to show you. In order to sign in, you must have a valid Facebook account, and if you’re not registered as a female, you’re out of luck. You can, however, access Lulu Dude to select your relationship status, profile photo and get self-improvement tips. Lulu describes it as “Cosmo for dudes.”
University of Oregon student Kyle Schneider was able to access a friend’s account to discover his ratings on Lulu. “I think Lulu is a bit ridiculous, but it really isn’t that new to us guys. We already have similar reviews of girls, but we just lack the social media voting that Lulu offers,” he said.
He said he personally doesn’t care what his reviews are, but if he could request one thing, it would be for users to have the ability to write more detailed comments as opposed to the limited list of short hashtags that are offered.
“We would like to think we are more than just short terms summed up from a small list,” he said.
UO senior Kelsey Rzepecki discovered Lulu through one of her sorority sisters. “I think it’s something to be taken lightly,” she said. “It’s a funny way for girls to have the power for once. It’s a private network for them to be honest about the guys in their life.”
Next time you’re on the fence about a new crush, consider downloading Lulu to see if he’s worth pursuing. As the founders of the app would say, “After all, one girl’s frog might be another girl’s prince.”