Polly Blitzer is an accomplished editor, successful entrepreneur and, of course, a beauty product junkie. If you want to take the pulse of what's going on in the beauty world, Polly is the person to ask. For this month's edition of Beauty Bylines™, I had the opportunity to check in with Polly and find out some of her favorite products and hair, makeup and skincare trends for 2010. She's a fascinating woman...read on for the interview:
Beauty411: You went from traditional print media positions at Marie Claire and InStyle to starting Beauty Blitz.com. What was the inspiration behind that? What has been the most rewarding aspect of the transition to an online magazine?
Polly Blitzer: After almost a decade as an editor at Marie Claire and InStyle, I'd absorbed the fundamentals of journalism and built different editorial brands. I’d been writing and editing features but I had dozens of ideas that couldn’t be executed within the confines of the printed page. I love coming up with better way of doing things. As I started noticing a dramatic shift in editorial from print to online, I got more involved in instyle.com and began jotting down notes that would eventually inform the foundation of Beauty Blitz Media.
With BeautyBlitz.com, we can present information to savvy beauty consumers in a timely, interactive way. The most rewarding parts of starting BeautyBlitz.com from scratch have been watching it grow, hearing positive feedback from readers around the world, and realizing that if you’re passionate enough and work hard enough, you can flourish at something you never thought possible.
Beauty411: Can you describe what a typical day at Beauty Blitz is like? How far out do you plan your editorial calendar?
PB: I kinda love that I don’t have a typical day, primarily because I wear so many hats (CEO, CFO, editor, TV personality, manager, writer, wife). Each week is a mix of beauty industry events, meeting with beauty companies, overseeing staff, content production and the tech/business side, conceiving new partnerships and pausing frequently for iced coffee with a splash of skim. We’re on a long-lead and short-lead schedule, and we plan our monthly editorial themes a year ahead. But we have the flexibility to publish late-breaking stories on the fly.
Beauty411: Most beauty editors have their finger on the pulse of the "latest and greatest". What beauty trends do you see as prominent for 2010?
PB: On the beauty science front, sunscreens will become more lightweight but even more impervious to things like perspiration and water. I predict a surge in hybrid products like L'Oreal lipstick with serum or CoverGirl and Olay's skincare blush.
Most hair and makeup trends stem from the runway, and the Spring shows I attended were flooded with orange lips (peaches to corals to basketball orange). Celebrities also influence trends, and now that we have daring stars like Rihanna and Gaga, women will no-doubt start taking bigger risks with bolder choices. And hair? The buzzword is volume. Hard science and consumer demand will continue to push the envelope in collagen boosters, anti-oxidants and hair pigments.
Beauty411: Do you have a favorite beauty indulgence, treatment or ritual?
PB: It’s a simple math equation: Blowouts = Sanity. Gwyneth Paltrow once said that her wardrobe battle is half over once she gets her hair done. I sometimes get two blowouts a week. It's an indulgence, but I can never get it quite right on my own, and I like a polished, sleek look. The Time Ritual massage at Mandarin Oriental is the only treatment that knocks the native New Yorker out of me. There’s nothing like a long soak in the tub with a copy of New York magazine.
Beauty411: If we peeked inside your makeup bag, what products would we find?
PB: It’s like a mobile Sephora. And the contents change from month to month, since my job is to test every line. Here’s what I love right now:
- Essie nail polish in a shade she custom-made for my wedding
- Chanel eye quads
- Nars Orgasm for cheeks and Albatross for highlighting
- eye liners (liquid and pencil)
- At least 4 lip glosses
- Benefit Erase Paste
- Chanel Eau Premiere (I’ve been smitten ever since they flew me to Grasse, France for the jasmine harvest)
- Hair elastics, headbands and decorated ponytail holders
- CoverGirl Last Blast and Blinc Kiss Me mascara (depending on what mood I’m in)
- spare earring backings, because I always lose them after TV appearances
- Binaca (so old school but it's the quickest way to minty without chewing)
- Fresh rose lip balm (feels like melted butter, tastes like lemonade and imparts a barely-there flush)
- Shu Uemura lash curler
- slant tip liner brush (Natalie DiStefano, the genius makeup artist at Rita Hazan, taught me how to transform my gumball eyes into exotic almonds)
- Dr. Brandt tinted moisturizer
Beauty411: Do you have any favorite mass market or drugstore products that have worked their way into your beauty routine?
PB: Mass-market companies have the top R&D teams in the world! Plus, the same parent company that produces L’Oreal also makes Lancome, Shu Uemura and Giorgio Armani Beauty. So they share science and resources. I get to cheat, because I meet with all the beauty companies months before collections launch and ask questions about ingredients, formulations and claims.
My drugstore musts are:
- Pantene (been using it since I was 15)
- Wet ‘n’ Wild eye and lip pencils (beauty editors have loved shade #666 for years)
- L'Oreal True Match bronzer (it’s completely matte)
- Q-tips
- Olay Daily Express facial wipes for sensitive skin (I never travel without them)
- CoverGirl Lash Blast mascara
- Neutrogena sunscreens
Polly, thank you for sharing your experiences and insights with me. I loved interviewing you for Beauty Bylines™!.
Photo credit: Guy Aroch
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