Cierra Geary

I co-founded GiftedPicks with my husband Kevin because we couldn't find a product-recommendation site that actually understood the shopper. Most affiliate sites either read like brand catalogues or like research papers — and neither one helps when you're standing in the bathroom at 11pm trying to decide between two serums, or scrolling Pinterest for plastic-free baby gear during a feed. I lead editorial on beauty, plastic-detox, wedding, fashion, and motherhood — the categories where I do the most shopping myself and where I can actually tell you whether something held up after six months of real use.

What I cover

I focus on categories where the gap between what a brand promises and what the product actually does in your daily routine is largest. Recent editorial focus:

• Beauty dupes & skincare alternatives. Drunk Elephant, Charlotte Tilbury, Dior Lip Glow, Summer Fridays, Rhode Skin — I run the side-by-side tests and tell you where a $14 Amazon dupe actually performs and where you're better off paying full price. See: Rhode Skin dupes on Amazon.
• Plastic-free living & the plastic detox kitchen. After the 2024 microplastic-cardiovascular research dropped, we went through every category in our home and replaced what we could. I write the household-swap playbook that came out of it. See: plastic detox kitchen swaps.
• Wedding & gift curation. Bride, bridesmaid, groomsmen, rehearsal dinner, anniversary, mother's day — the gift cluster is where editorial taste matters most, and where most affiliate sites just copy-paste the same Amazon best-sellers. See: wedding gift ideas guide.
• Pinterest aesthetic & home. Cottagecore, indie sleaze, coquette, cozy bedroom, dorm essentials — translating the aesthetic that's trending on Pinterest into shopping lists that actually deliver the look.
• Motherhood & baby. Baby-led weaning, montessori toys, plastic-free nursery, first mother's day — the categories where new parents get sold a lot of stuff they don't need and miss the few items that genuinely make life easier.

Editorial approach

I hand-test every beauty and household-swap pick that runs under my byline. If a product is going to sit on my counter or get used on my own face, I'm not going to recommend it without using it first. For categories where personal testing isn't practical (large appliances, expensive electronics), I work with Kevin to triangulate against published research, long-tail review patterns, and verified buyer feedback before anything ships.

I write in the way I'd explain a product to a close friend over coffee — direct, opinionated, willing to say “don't buy this” when the data supports it. I'll tell you when a TikTok trend is real and when it's manufactured. I'll flag when a viral product is genuinely worth the hype and when a quieter alternative outperforms it for a fraction of the price.

Every recommendation goes through the same test: would I buy this for my sister or my best friend? If the answer is no — even if it earns a higher commission — it doesn't make the list.

Where to find me

I run the GiftedPicks Pinterest account, where I curate boards across beauty dupes, plastic-detox living, wedding inspiration, cottagecore, indie sleaze, and seasonal gift cluster. The newsletter and lead-magnet guides I write for site subscribers go out to readers who want the deeper picks before they hit the homepage.

Contact

For editorial collaboration, beauty brand outreach, or wedding-cluster partnership inquiries: hello@giftedpicks.com. I read everything that comes in, though I can't always respond individually. If you're a maker or independent brand whose product belongs in one of our guides, please reach out — independent picks are the ones I'm proudest to publish.