Two years ago, Beauty Unbiased started with a dream and an Emerson quote – “Though we travel the world over to find the beautiful, we must carry it with us or we find it not.” After a site redesign, that quote ended up losing its place in the masthead, but not in my heart.
The dream was to write, something I’ve been doing since elementary school when I was creating stories about fictional pregnant teens giving up their babies for adoption (long story, more info on last year’s anniversary post). I love a good excuse to reflect on things, and this second anniversary has me feeling all sorts of deep things.
Life got in the way a bit of writing as regularly as I’d promised last year. Starting with Hurricane Sandy last October, which thankfully, I was spared of any physically damage to myself or my belongings, but mentally it just sort of set things off in a discombobulated, weird direction. I had no power for four days, no cable or internet at home for awhile longer, and no phones or internet at my day job for a solid couple of weeks. Watching people recover from their big losses (many still are) and waiting for things to get back to normal took a toll on me, and in turn my blog. Then I moved, lost internet again for weeks, and started spending more evenings commuting than writing.
Oh, I also tried my hand at contributing as a beauty editor on another blog, which was a three post a week commitment. I felt like a woman who had to become a nanny for another child to earn money, all the while thinking about her own little bundle of joy at home that she would rather be pouring her love and energy into. (I saw this happen in a movie once, and it was devastating.) I quit and then had the opportunity to write a few posts for Racked, which brought up far fewer abandonment issues for me. My freelance pursuits are still alive and well (call me editors!) but my new mantra has become why worry about a byline when you have a whole blog?
Oh, I also tried my hand at contributing as a beauty editor on another blog, which was a three post a week commitment. I felt like a woman who had to become a nanny for another child to earn money, all the while thinking about her own little bundle of joy at home that she would rather be pouring her love and energy into. (I saw this happen in a movie once, and it was devastating.) I quit and then had the opportunity to write a few posts for Racked, which brought up far fewer abandonment issues for me. My freelance pursuits are still alive and well (call me editors!) but my new mantra has become why worry about a byline when you have a whole blog?
The past year hasn’t been all hurricanes and deep thoughts though. While it’s been a time of rebuilding and reevaluating, I also was involved in some pretty amazing things. I spent a fantastic New Years Eve in Times Square thanks to Nivea, something I had never done before. I initially expected to be a jaded New Yorker freezing and miserable in Times Square, but it really was something to drown in a sea of confetti, knowing that millions of people are watching the very location you’re celebrating at.
Then there was my first legit (aka not self-produced) photo shoot with Birchbox and Madewell this past March. Of course I ended up choosing to wear shorts on a freezing day, but I met someone really special that day, and we’ve been inseparable ever since: my grey marbled Madewell sweater. I’d give you a link but no one has been able to find it! I also realized the impressive staying power of Armour Beauty‘s lip gloss in Barracuda red that day, and it hasn’t left my purse since.
By far the biggest post I’ve written this year is a review of the hair removal tool, the Pearl. Shout out to all of my Aussie and New Zealander readers for checking that one out. Folks are really curious if it works! Read the full post at the link, but spoiler alert: it does get rid of your hair, and also makes your place smell like burnt hair. So proceed with caution or at least a really good smelling candle.
Finally, there are two posts in particular that I’m pretty proud of and plan to do a whole lot more of in the future. I’m not quite sure what to call them, so for lack of a better title, I’ll call them my opinion pieces. One was on the trajectory of emotions felt signing up for something online and what it is like to actually attend an event where you spend anxiety provoking hours in a room full of strangers. The other covered my thoughts on millennial women spending an average of $748 a month on beauty products, while 94% live in debt. Overanalyzing mundane personal and larger social issues, yeah that is really my thing. As well as overanalyzing beauty products, which will continue to be my thing for the next year and beyond. Third times a charm right, so it must apply to the third year of my blog as well.
Thank you to all who read, spend time liking and Tweeting alongside me, and for trusting me to have all of the right answers about your skin care routine or concealer (I don’t, but thanks for the votes of confidence). I cannot wait to see what year three brings!
Thank you to all who read, spend time liking and Tweeting alongside me, and for trusting me to have all of the right answers about your skin care routine or concealer (I don’t, but thanks for the votes of confidence). I cannot wait to see what year three brings!
beautyunbiased.com 
Go Heather and Beauty Unbiased! xx -Debie
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Thanks Debie! I hope to toast with some lavender champagne very soon!
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