Blogger Babble: Polly Blitzer of Beauty Blitz

By The Inside Source
March 24, 2010

At any given moment, Polly Blitzer is probably looking for something: a pen, her BlackBerry, or a free place on the back of her hand to test the day’s twentieth shade of green eyeshadow. As the brainy, bubbly founder of the online beauty magazine Beauty Blitz, Blitzer spends her days on the hunt for the latest, greatest and most insider products and tools to share with readers, often scooping her more established competitors in the process.

Beauty Blitz offers readers a look at newest trends. (Hot right now: false lashes, eco-conscious lipstick and the “Half-Moon Mani,” a reverse French manicure.). The site also features interviews with celebrity hairstylists, such as What Not to Wear’s Ted Gibson, and makeup gurus like Bobbi Brown. And in the blog section of the site, Blitzer gives readers the scoop on products that have helped her personally and shares information about freebies, special deals and new launches.

If it sounds like the perfect job for someone who lives and breathes beauty, it is. But being an industry expert takes a lot of work. Blitzer spends long days testing products, meeting with beauty companies, assigning articles and making television appearances. A former In Style editor, she’s used to these aspects of her job. But ever since she started Beauty Blitz in 2008, she has found that managing these tasks while dealing with the nuts and bolts of running a small business takes near-military organization—and every time-saving trick in the book. With no time to run from store to store in search of the perfect file cabinet or makeup case, Blitzer often turns to eBay to complete her shopping list. There, she can find inexpensive, practical, stylish ways to tame office clutter and manage her many hats—on her own timeframe and from the comfort of her desk chair. And that is a beautiful thing.

Here are some of Blitzer’s current eBay obsessions:

1. Vintage Murano Elegant Glass Crystal Perfume Bottle (starting bid, $3.99)
“I love the old bottles women used to use to decant their perfumes. This is one obsession that has nothing to do with getting organized; I just like to keep them around. On a sunny day, they catch the light and sparkle around the office.”

2. Reed & Barton Giftware Pineapple Mint Julep Cup (buy it now price, $37.50)
“I fell in love with these silver cups—traditionally used for serving mint juleps—because I’ve gotten flower arrangements in them. I quickly graduated from using coffee mugs to hold makeup brushes and pens to using these. I collect julep cups with little borders or engraving; details that remind me of my grandmother’s tea service.”

3. NEW TX By Timex World Time Orange Dial Men Watch T3C447 (buy it now price, $391)
“When I need to know the time as I’m rushing from appointment to appointment, I usually look at my BlackBerry. But I would love to have a basic man’s watch with a big face.”

4. New Baekgaard Black & White Makeup Cosmetic Case Bag (starting bid, $12.50; buy it now price, $14.75)
“It’s a beauty law of physics that if you reach into your bag for a beauty product, you get a writing instrument, and when you reach into your bag for a writing instrument, you get a beauty product. A pouch that keeps my makeup separate would cut down on the number of times I end up writing down an e-mail address with an eyeliner pencil.”

5. New Klein 24” Deluxe Leather Bag (buy it now price, $245)
“I’m constantly schlepping home tons of products to try, so I need a sturdy tote bag to carry them. I love this carpenters’ tool bag. It beats the price of a designer bag, will last twice as long, nobody else will have it, and I won’t cry if shampoo spills in it.”

6. Sena Leather Magnet Flip Blackberry Tour 9630 Case Red (buy it now price, $47)
“My BlackBerry’s days are numbered if I continue to drop it twice a day.”

7. New Wendy Bellissimo Black Medallion Waste Basket Bin (buy it now price, $18)
“Before we got married, my husband and I had a big negotiation. We are each allowed only five things in the shower. To stick to my end of the bargain, I’m constantly tossing products.”

**Photo of Polly Blitzer by Guy Aroch**

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