Hi ladies! So, I’m realizing that I can’t do SYB all by myself. I have an adorably demanding daughter and an unadorably demanding career (juggling freelance writing/editing for several outlets is like being an on-call doc, but with Carpal Tunnel and no paycheck). I wish I could post something fun and original every day — because I’ve loved you guys so intensely for almost a decade and adore doing it — but no mas puedo, y’all. And it kills me!
Thusly, I’ve just added three fabulous young writers to the Shake Your Beauty team! These women are too good. Funny, devotedly passionate about beauty, and whip-smart. Pop culture cuties with a serious yen for fragrance, makeup, hair, and skincare. And here they are…
Meet Latoya Lewis! She’s a New Yorker born and bred, and though she studied both boys and criminal justice at Johnson & Wales — beauty is her thing. She’s worked for Nordstrom’s for six years, written for Refinery 29, and lives with her BF (who she calls @TheMister). She also has a plant named Miracle. Because she’s shocked it’s still alive. Latoya’s also mid-transition, so round of applause for that struggle.
This is Arielle Weinberg! She founded the gorgeously written beauty blog, The Scents of Self (her tagline is “The Nerdy Perfume Blog,” but I can attest that she’s nerdy in the sexiest way). Obvs, she’s a devout fragrance junkie — and hopes to use her Natural Sciences degree from Johns Hopkins to develop perfumes one day. Smarty. Arielle lives in Manhattan, where she attempts to “live a meaningful life despite the fact that MAC Viva Glam Cyndi is discontinued.”
And this is Anieka Wilson, a Queens-bred, recent graduation of Hostra University. While she majored in Public Relations (and was a boss about it, interning at 95.5, NYC’s Top 40 station), she totally fell in love with beauty. Once a “crazy-haired, anti-earring” chick — her words, not mine, you guys — she quickly became the go-to advisor amongst Hoftstra’s hair-and-makeup obsessed ladies. After killing it in the NAACP Legal Funds communications department, Anieka’s now starting a freelance makeup business!
Give it up for my new SYB Babes. You will love them. I feel so lucky.
xoxo,
Tia