A woman is like a tea bag – you can’t tell how strong she is until you put her in hot water. — Eleanor Roosevelt
Charred. Practical frameworks for beating burnout.
Heeled. Stuart Weitzman sale at Rack. Love these neutral sandals and bold flats.
Apologized. What to say instead of saying ‘sorry.’
Flowed. I love the drama of this flowy, floral-printed Vince Camuto top.
Designed. Loved these popular logos remade in Bauhaus style.
Dangled. These simple drop earrings and ear cuffs from Baublebar are so fun.
Upward. Her boss told her she wasn’t a leader. 15-years later, she became his boss.
Sparkled. This Charlotte Tilbury Pillow Talk palette is my favorite shadow.
Snoozed. The politics of couples sleeping in separate beds.
Twirled. This toile printed dress is so pretty and feminine. Bring on spring!
Served. Female veterans combat harassment at our VA Clinics.
Wished. These fortune cookie boxes make a great gift; just add a sweet note.
Produced. How long do I wait for my partner to decide if they want children?
Thank you to all 400+ of you who submitted testimonials for my Sephora Squad application. To have such a high concentration of readers send in notes was so gratifying. Sadly, I was not selected, but there are some wonderful choices on the list of semifinalists.
I heard from someone in PR who encouraged me to apply that I likely wasn’t competitive for two reasons. First, a lack of makeup tutorials and direct beauty content on my social media compared to the semifinalists chosen. (Completely understandable.) And second, because I didn’t have a “strong track record” of “partnered beauty content.” Well, I’m not going to apologize for being unwilling to take sponsor money from SKII in April and Pond’s in May and Dr. Brandt in June when I don’t organically choose to buy their product lines.
Thank you again! I’m a little sad not to be chosen, but many of those selected are solely beauty bloggers with incredible content. I found so many great new Instagram follows going through the list of semifinalists, so I definitely have my favorites.
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Thank you for not having a track record of partnered anything content.
I’ve done a few partnered posts, but not many. I have to love your product or your store before you offer to pay me. So I’ve partnered with Nordstrom once, and a couple of other places. But I take a love first, money second approach. Some brands are into it.
Thank you again for being open and honest about the partnerships you choose to pursue. We all value your opinion because of this honesty. I am excited about the others who were chosen and bummed you were not included, but at least we all get to view new content together!
Really appreciate you not caving to pressure on partnering, and being really transparent when you do! You’re one of the few bloggers I trust because of it.
Count me in with everyone else on applauding you for standing firm with your #sponcon methodology for years. I wish Sephora had read a little more about you and why you’ve chosen to do limited sponsored content. Oh well, Sephora’s loss. Would you consider doing it again next year, or is it a lost cause?
Ugh, coulda predicted that from Sephora. 🙁 The “lack of partnered beauty content” is why I visit YOUR site and not any of those g-d influencers. Eff that. Someone on Reddit said it best, that influencers do nothing but “peddle products they don’t use to people they don’t care about.” You’re better off, AB!
Sephora made a big mistake on this one. If you did tons beauty posts, your beauty recommendations wouldn’t be as authentic, and I wouldn’t follow you anyway. Thanks for being YOU!
Also, my husband and I frequently sleep in separate beds and it is the best thing we could have done for our relationship and well-being. Getting a good night’s sleep is priceless.
I also am disappointed by Sephora’s decision. The fact that you have not done a lot of paid or sponsored posts on beauty is precisely why you would have been ideal.
Echoing the previous, you are one of the few bloggers I really trust and I have bought numerous items based on your recommendation over the years.
It’s funny, the separate beds thing is about the only secret my husband and I have. I have a rally hard time getting to sleep and he wakes up in the night. We sleep separately and are incredibly happy, but we almost never tell anyone we sleep apart because it sounds “so bad.”
Really enjoyed the article on Bauhaus. This is interesting content I’ll remember and why I actually only read your blog about style. I like that there is career focus, cool stories like the Bauhaus one, and that appearance isn’t the only focus, but there is an acknowledgment that it matters a lot. Thanks!
The ‘Practical Framework for Beating Burnouts’ from First Round Review is one of the best articles I’ve ever seen about managing burnout. Such awesome advice that can be implemented at any level. Thank you for bringing insightful ideas to your readers!
In January, I changed my outgoing voicemail at work from “You’ve reached Kim; sorry I missed your call, please leave a message” to “You’ve reached Kim. Please leave a message.” I doubt anyone else has noticed, but it makes me feel just a tad more confident and in contro at work.
Adding my voice to those who value your recommendation because you have such high standards. Maybe this will free you up for some other awesome as of yet unknown opportunity!