VOTE.

 

Today is the day. I am feeling apprehensive. Trepidatious. Anxious. Scared. Nervous. And also, a touch hopeful.

I truly hope everything we have done in advance of this election has been enough. That democracy will triumph. That equal rights for EVERYONE will not be stripped away. That science, intelligence and knowledge will prevail. That Joe Biden and Kamala Harris will have the chance to bring us a brighter future and a better world.

I decided to bound as Rosie the Riveter because this very image epitomizes the strength and hope I'm wishing for in this moment.

 

Let us hope.

Year in Review: Looking Back on 2019

2020 is upon us. A new decade full of new chances, new choices and new adventures. As is customary on my blog, I'm looking back at 2019 -- the year that's passed, the year that brought more happiness into my life once again.

I look at every moment as a chance to embrace the best life has to offer. Yes, I have lows -- for instance, I was fired from my job this year -- but I never let them get me down. I use them as learning experiences to grow and change for the better, and to continue to make my life what I want it to be. Despite them, I turned 2019 into my best year yet -- a year filled with family, with friends, with new opportunities, with the first time I've gone fully freelance and actually not just survived, but THRIVED.

My wish for the coming year, and the coming decade, is to continue to embrace every moment. Let's all find happiness, peace and strength in the year ahead.

My most special moments this year had some definite themes that emerged. Keep reading for a look at what happened this year!

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The Beauty of Life Turns 10! Happy Blogiversary to Me!

10 years ago, the landscape of my life was quite different. I lived in an apartment in New York. I was a copywriter for Ralph Lauren. I was only 26 (about to turn 27, one of the best years of my life). And I had just started The Beauty of Life.

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Life, Lately ... Told Through Photos!

I don't know about you, but I take a lot of photos. I mean A LOT. And, yes, I post quite a few of them on social media, but sometimes I just take them and they never see the light of day! Well, I thought I'd take this opportunity to share just a few of my recent photos with you -- some beauty, some fashion, some just completely random. Hope you enjoy this little glimpse into my life as of late! And, yes, I own the Free People Tree Swing Top in multiple colors.

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Let's Get Social: I'm Loving My New Social Circle Business Cards!

A few weeks ago, I was perusing a beauty blogging group that I'm part of on Facebook and came across a post from Jen of mybeautybunny.com. She was talking about these fabulous new business cards she had just gotten from Social Circle Cards. The photo she shared of her customized cards was enough to make me reach out to them immediately, especially since I'd been dying to redo my business cards for, I don't know, two years or so. (Chalk that up to supreme laziness.) And thus my quest to obtain fabulous new business cards was finally ready to come to a very perfect end.

Social Circle Cards are small but mighty. The round cards with scalloped edges come in a personalized carrying case. You can include up to five different social networks and websites on a card depending on space. Once you decide which design you'd like -- there are a ton to choose from, and all are so gorgeous it's seriously tough to pick just one -- you work with a designer to customize your cards.

Is this carrying case the cutest or what?

After MUCH deliberation -- because, really, I wanted to choose so many of the designs! -- I settled upon the Stacy. I love the color scheme -- black, gold and white are just so chic together. I also love the font and the overall design of this card. You can actually customize your cards with various colors, fonts or even logos, but I loved these just as they were!

I originally wanted to include both my blog and portfolio links on my cards, but I decided in the end that they took up too much space and didn't allow me to include my social media handles. And, since I'm really using these for my blog instead of my work portfolio, I decided to lose that link. (Hey, I can always get a second set of cards for that!)

The links and handles I eventually decided upon are:

My blog link (for obvious reasons)
My email address
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram
Snapchat

Networking at its chicest!

Even though you're really only supposed to be able to include five links and handles, I'm thrilled that I was able to get a sixth on there! I'm absolutely thrilled with how these turned out. I only needed to do one round of edits with the designer and then I was completely satisfied.

And, to top it all off, they shipped QUICKLY! Once the design was customized and finished, I got my cards within a week. Talk about a fast turnaround!

Social Circle Cards start at $34.95 for 50 cards plus a case, or you can get refills of cards (100 for $39.95 and 200 for $59.95). I can't wait to start handing mine out to people! Visit socialcirclecards.com now so you can create your very own business cards, too.

They Say it's Your Birthday: My Birthday Wishlist!

My birthday is on Sunday. And I know you're never supposed to ask a lady her age, but you know what? I'm proud of the fact that I'm turning 36. (Especially since I still look like I'm in my 20s. Thank goodness.) In celebration, I've compiled a little wishlist of everything I'd be over the moon to get -- or, really, even what I'd love to buy for myself. It may surprise you that, although my tastes tend to run on the luxury side of things, that most aren't that expensive. But as I get older (and hopefully wiser), my need for THINGS seems to be decreasing. I want to celebrate what's really important in life with a few fun objects along the way. These are the items striking my fancy right now.

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The Beauty of Life Turned 8! Happy Blogiversary to Me!

A little over 8 years ago -- on January 12, 2007 to be exact -- The Beauty of Life was born. I'd been wanting to start a blog for awhile, but was struggling a bit with what I should write about. At the time, LiveJournal was all the rage (remember that?) and my brother gave me a very sage piece of advice: "Whatever you do, Jamie, don't start a LiveJournal blog. You don't want just anyone reading about your exploits." How very right he was! So as I looked around my room one night, eyes settling on everything from nail polishes and body creams to eyeshadows and candles, I suddenly realized that I had a lifelong passion for (read: obsession with) all things beauty. And just like that, I started this very blog!

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It's My Birthday, and I'll Write if I Want to.

Me, celebrating my birthday yesterday at Pounds and Ounces in Chelsea.

As I write this, I'm sitting on a plane to Los Angeles. (God bless Wifi, however slow it may be on this Virgin flight.) And I'm reflecting on the year past and concentrating on the year ahead, because today is my birthday! It was also recently the 6th anniversary of this blog, which feels unbelievable -- it's really hard to remember a time when I didn't do this, or imagine a time when I wouldn't want to. I'm extremely grateful for all of my lovely readers (read: you!), without whom I would probably still be doing this, but it wouldn't be nearly as much fun.

This past year of my life was, admittedly, not the best. I had a lot of health issues, including months of physical therapy to heal a hurt shoulder. I suffered the daily struggle of New York life as I tried to figure out just how exactly I was supposed to pay my rent and all of my bills while freelancing and paying my own medical insurance. I lost some friends who had been very close to me, which, no matter how old I become, still stings.

But the best thing that happened to me is that I realized things can only improve from here. 32 was my least favorite year yet, but that means there's so much room for my life to get better! And the coming year promises to bring many exciting changes, which I'm keeping under wraps for now but will be revealed in due course. In any case, I'm extremely excited to see what is down the road and to embrace 33 for everything it has to offer.

Blowing out the candles on my cake on my 8th birthday. Note the dress with the matching headband. And HOW did my hair get those amazing beachy waves?

It doesn't really feel like I'm that much older than the little girl in the picture above, blowing out the candles on her birthday cake and making a wish. (For the record: I'm eight years old there.) I truly can't believe 25 years have passed since that photo was taken! Time really does fly when you're having ... well, fun, and sometimes heartache, but it does just tend to fly in general.

I want to extend a heartfelt thank you to everyone who reads this blog -- I truly appreciate you! And, to be truly self indulgent ... happy birthday to me!

Merry (Almost) Christmas: Watch My Brother and Me in Our Video of Wonderful Christmastime!

I've always loved Christmas. And yes, I'm aware that I'm a Jew. But I can't help it -- it just gets me in the holiday spirit! I'm especially fond of Christmas songs, and one that's played in my house on repeat during every holiday season is Wonderful Christmastime by Paul McCartney & Wings.

Well ... just in time for Christmas, my brother, Evan Sanders, and I made a music video of that very song! Here it is:



We'd been talking about doing this since last Christmas, but didn't pull it together until the past few days. Evan worked tirelessly on this video throughout the week before I showed up at his apartment to record my vocals and do the video this weekend -- and then he worked for another 30+ hours to put everything together. Our friend (and Evan's bandmate) Jesse played drums and provided some vocals as well.

Everything about this video was just so fun to do, from the singing of many different parts (even through a sore throat and cold) to the various fashion choices I decided upon:

Rachel Zoe Minelli Sequined Top in Black (no longer available)
Forever 21 Cropped Sequined Leggings ($22.80 at forever21.com)
Diana von Furstenberg New Hanky Top in Teal (that color is sold out; similar colors available for $198-$285 here)
Forever 21 sequined black tee (no longer available)
American Apparel Shiny Legging in Gold ($46 at americanapparel.net)

I really hope you enjoy our rendition of the song -- leave me a comment and let me know what you think, and be sure to like the video on YouTube as well!

Today Marks 10 Years In New York. Happy New Yorkiversary to Me!

Ten years ago today, I moved to New York. I got on a plane with my four suitcases (back then, you could carry on two and check two that each weighed up to 70 pounds!) and said goodbye to my childhood.

Along the way, there have been ups and downs, starting with my first apartment – a space I’d only seen on Craigslist, living with people I’d never met. (I'm going to go on record as saying that was one of the dumbest ideas I've ever had, though I couldn't know until I tried. But I don't recommend doing that.) But each experience I’ve had in New York has shaped the person I’ve become, for better or for worse. Looking at the side by side images above -- the left is from the day I moved, while the right is from just yesterday -- it's hard to believe so much time has gone by. I look at the baby-faced me on the left and am sort of stunned that I've accomplished so many goals.

I always knew I wanted to be a New Yorker. I started saying I was going to live here when I was 12 years old. And though my career choice changed a few times -- I went from thinking I would be a cantor at a synagogue, to singing on Broadway, to a brief stint where I thought my French was good enough for me to be a translator at the United Nations -- I always knew writing and journalism would play a major part in my New York story. Always, those other careers were secondary to writing. And, again, the way my career has shaped itself isn't what I pictured -- I'm not, for example, the Editor in Chief of Seventeen -- I absolutely love what I do, both professionally as a fashion copywriter and personally as a beauty and fashion blogger. I really wouldn't have it any other way.

That's not to say New York hasn't thrown its punches at me. I've been both sat on and punched in the face in the subway (yes, both of those experiences really happened), dated guys who deserved an episode of Sex and the City for how crazy they turned out to be, made and lost friends, lived with great roommates, lived with crazy roommates, lived with the best roommate of all -- myself. I've become a fiercely independent woman who knows what she wants and came into her own among eight million other people.

And let's not forget the core of my professional life (which, more often than not, bleeds into the personal side of things) -- beauty and fashion! I've been obsessed with both for as long as I can remember, and while some of my tastes may have changed, it's actually shocking how much has remained the same.

I am, for example, still a jeans and T-shirt girl at heart -- though I'll rock a pair of heels with my jeans now instead of Birkenstocks. And I've amassed quite a collection of shoes -- Manolo Blahnik! Christian Louboutin! Stuart Weitzman! Celine! Barneys! Dolce & Gabbana! Okay, I'll stop bragging. I think anyone would admit I've cultivated an intense addiction to nail polish -- Chanel, RGB, butter LONDON, Zoya, Nails Inc., the list goes on -- which, really, has existed since my best friend and I used to trade crazy nail polish colors back in high school. While everyone else was wearing pink and red, we were wearing green and brown. And I've grown to love mixing high and low, wearing everything from Ralph Lauren and Chloe to Forever 21 and H&M. I feel that not only my fashion sense and eye for beauty but my entire being have developed and grown up in the big, bad city.

In short? I never could have imagined everything I've been privileged to see and do in the past 10 years. I wouldn't be the person I am without every single experience New York has given me. What a ride it’s been.

Happy 5th Blogiversary To Me!

I can't believe it, but it's been five fun-filled years here at The Beauty of Life. It seems like yesterday that, as I was looking around my apartment, my eyes settled on this Illume Candle and prompted me to write my first post. From meeting some of the biggest names in the business backstage at Fashion Week to filling my home and office with more lipglosses, eyeshadows and nail polishes than I can count, life (and the beauty of it!) has certainly been anything but boring.

Thanks so much to all of you for reading The Beauty of Life all these years. I look forward to continuing on my journey with you!

Hanes Launches Silk Reflections Ultra Sheer And I Met Celebrity Stylist Phillip Bloch!

If you want to get in on the sheer tights trend, you'll definitely want to know about the new Hanes Silk Reflections Ultra Sheer. At an event yesterday announcing the launch (which will be available at department stores in February 2011), celebrity stylist Phillip Bloch had us all laughing uproariously while he took us through the big trends of the season -- all perfect with Hanes Silk Reflections Ultra Sheer, of course!

Hanes Silk Reflections Ultra Sheer will be available in six shades -- Barely Black®, Barely There®, Gentlebrown, Jet, Little Color®, Natural -- with a retail price of $10. Each one is like "cosmetics for the legs," according to Phillip.

And -- as if that weren't enough -- Phillip was amazingly nice, chatting with each of us personally after the event and even posing for photos! Check us out!

A Trip Down Memory Lane

While at home in Cleveland a couple of weeks ago, I had the chance to go through a bunch of old pictures that had been in my grandparents' house. While these photos have nothing to do with beauty, they have everything to do with my upbringing and my often joyous outlook on life. I wanted to take this opportunity to post a few here. See snapshots of my childhood and early adult life after the jump.



Spending time with my brother -- I believe it was near the end of my senior year in high school
Hard to believe I was ever small enough to fit in the crook of my grandpa's elbow!
As you can tell, we are not a theatrical family in the slightest.
In the hallway of my high school after playing Kim MacAfee in Bye Bye Birdie. Don't you love my red-and-black checkered pants? (I actually did like these.)
With my mom and brother, gathered around the table at my grandparents' house (Friday night tradition)
I am so happy I stumbled across this photo of my mom and me. One of my very favorites.
I think my personality was apparent from a fairly young age.
Bottle time with my grandma
I absolutely love this photo of my mom!
This is my grandpa's classic laugh.
With my prom date -- who, at 18, I was convinced would be my husband.
My family rejoicing after a Show Choir performance my junior year, with my very best friend Katie thrown in for good measure.

Shameless Plug: The Beauty of Life Featured on Glamour's The Girls in the Beauty Department!

Exciting news today, fellow beauty chicks! Glamour's The Girls in The Beauty Department featured a story today with some of their favorite beauty bloggers' lash tips -- and yours truly is one of them! Check out the story here.

The Beauty of Life Featured by Prescriptives!

Exciting news this morning, fellow beauty chicks! Imagine my surprise and delight when I woke up to find an email from Prescriptives in my inbox featuring a quote from yours truly! Check it out:

I'm so excited and just wanted to share with all of you! If you want to read my full story on the product, click here for a recap. Thanks to Prescriptives for this fabulous start to my day!

Shameless Plug: The Beauty of Life Featured on Glamour's The Girls in the Beauty Department!

I am absolutely thrilled and delighted today. The lovely Beth Shapouri over at Glamour's The Girls in the Beauty Department -- which is one of my daily must-reads for its fun questions, great product reviews and celeb looks -- featured me on this week's edition of their Blogging Babes series!

I am so excited and honored to be featured on the Glamour blog. Click here to read the article and find out the products I can't live without, how I got my start as a beauty writer and so much more!

Shameless Plug: The Beauty of Life Featured on Allure's Daily Beauty Reporter!

Want to know what my biggest beauty splurge has been? Then you'd better head over to Allure's Daily Beauty Reporter, where yours truly was featured today! The fabulous brains behind the operation, Jessica Matlin, asked me for some comments on my biggest beauty splurge ever. And I'm in good company -- Janice from Specktra and Jessica from Sephora's Beauty and the Blog contributed as well. Head over to Daily Beauty Reporter now to check it out!

The Beauty of Life Featured in On Makeup Magazine!

Exciting news, fellow beauty chicks. On Makeup Magazine recently did a story on the 52 best beauty bloggers, and The Beauty of Life was among them! I was so excited to be reading along and all of a sudden stop at my blog. (See below for proof!) It wouldn't be possible without all of you -- thanks for being such wonderful readers!

Exciting News From The Beauty Chick!

Exciting news in the world of the beauty chick, my fabulous readers! From now on, please make sure to update your bookmarks to http://www.thebeautyoflifeblog.com. That's right, I have my own domain! The old address will redirect to this one, so if you forget for awhile, don't worry -- you'll still get your daily dose of the beauty chick. Looking forward to having you continue along on the beautiful journey with me!

Birthday Time!

All right, I have to just write about myself and not a product for one moment. Why? Because today is my birthday! And my birthday wish is to keep trying out products, loving them and reviewing them for all of my lovely readers. All right, selfish post is now done!