Hi, I’m Abigail Posner and, like many women, have spent my life observing, admiring, contemplating, and trying to emulate all things beautiful. I can reasonably say I started my “career” in 6th grade when I decided that my 19th century history project would be a study of fashion in the Wild West.

My desire to comprehend what’s behind people’s behaviors, dreams and everyday choices — including what to wear and which hairstyle to have, led me to study Social Anthropology at Harvard University.

Over the past few years my focus on the subject matter has intensified, as I am asked to understand the world of beauty (appearance, design, luxury and fashion) for my clients on a daily basis.   I am a strategy director at Publicis NY, a global advertising agency.  My job, in a nutshell, is to help my clients develop and communicate their brands based off of strong insights into the brands themselves, the marketplace and the people who they want to appeal to.  I’m in the lucky position of getting to spend a lot of time with great clients and very interesting, diverse people as I try to discover what makes them tick and, ultimately, what will inspire them to change their behavior and become believers in my clients’ brands.

This blog shares and expands upon my exploration of the vast, deep and amazingly fascinating role of and our relationship to beauty in our lives.  The posts are divided into the following areas:

1. Responses and reactions to beauty related news

2. Findings from primary and secondary research on the topic, including interviews

3. Observations from daily life

4. Pictures of the week that intrigue me

5. Weekly surveys to answer key questions

6. Additional articles gathered throughout the week

7. Weekly reviews of posts

My other, and even more important and beautiful job is to be the best wife to my wonderful husband, Marc, and greatest mom to my fantastic children, Elijah, Boaz and Laila.

I look forward to your thoughts.

Karen Propp

When I was about five, I gave my mother a painting I had done of a horse.  My mother had a difficult time seeing how the shape in front of her represented a horse until she realized that it was exactly how the creature’s muzzle would look to a small child.  I have always tried to see things a little differently.

I love fine art, design and nature. I can’t say I share the same passion about fashion as Abby does (there IS a might funny album of my fashion don’ts on Facebook), but I do value style and art and I am deeply interested in how we use beauty and our shifting perceptions of beauty to express who we are and our understanding of others.
Besides being the web geek that re-designed this blog, I will be posting my own thoughts and insights on a variety of beauty related topics. Follow me as I chronicle my weight loss challenge, 30lbs in 30 weeks.

Hello! I’m Amber Hopkins, I work closely with Abigail as part of the strategy team at Publicis NY and am a contributor to Beauty Skew. A New York transplant originally from the charming island town of Palm Beach, Florida, I’ve been fortunate enough to have been surrounded by beauty my entire life.  From the idyllic beaches of my childhood, I moved to the picturesque Green Mountains of Vermont for college, where I was able to embrace a completely contrary aesthetic (from Lily Pulitzer sundresses to hand-dyed, organic wool rasta caps, for example). It’s these places and the people who live in them that have truly shaped what I have come to define as “beautiful”.

Prior to joining the team at Publicis, I worked in the publishing industry, where I did everything from arranging a poetry reading in the middle of the Brooklyn Bridge to pitching an author to Fox News. I’m coming to the blog with hopes of giving the reader a different perspective within the discussion of “beauty”. Although Abigail and I both work and live in the city, we live pretty different lives.  Let’s just say that I’m twenty-four years old, single and my biggest responsibility (besides work!) is my 7-month old puppy, Lady, a beauty in her own right.  I’m very excited to be a part of the blog and the many provocative conversations to come.

Look for my weekly update “More to Love: Additions to the Reading List” and my other postings!