Photography: Emily Johnston Anderson

Alyssa Hertzig is truly the epitome of a Glitter Girl: she spends her days working as the Beauty Director at SHAPE Magazine, testing out new products and writing about the best in beauty. In her free time she writes her personal blog The Sparkly Life, where she explores her love of fashion and all things sparkly. She’s even raising a future Glitter Girl—her adorable daughter Sadie has already developed a penchant for sparkles and stylish pieces. Alyssa’s love of all things chic is made evident through her breathtaking shoe collection and bright, airy home décor. She recently invited us to her Williamsburg, Brooklyn home to take a peek at her covetable closet and stylish abode.

“This is our living room—I love the huge window and the brown, tan, and blue color palette. Since my daughter plays in here every day, we had to decorate it with her in mind, hence the dark couch and soft, rounded tables. And that’s not the only way she’s left her mark on the décor: In front of that window, there may or may not usually be an Elmo ball pit…! And ha—I just realized that my addiction to One Kings Lane is very evident in this shot. The blue side table, both of the pillows, and the mirrored tray are all from that site—eek! I’m clearly obsessed.” Wearing Rebecca Taylor dress & belt, Rachel Rachel Roy heels, and a Pamela Love necklace.

“Here are a few of my favorite shoes hanging out in my closet: (clockwise from top left) forest-green Marni sandals that you can barely see peeking out—I snatched them up from Jane Aldridge of Sea of Shoes when she sold some of her stuff online; leopard print Manolo Blahniks that I bought on eBay; Barbie-pink Louboutins; silver glittery Zara heels; nude-patent Louboutins; and studded black Loubs with a crazy-high heel.”

As beauty director for SHAPE Magazine you must try a ton of beauty products. What are some of your current favorites?
I definitely try out loads and loads of products. This is a big part of my job, so I am always switching it up and finding new favorites. Right now, a few of the things I’m especially loving are Estee Lauder Invisible Fluid Makeup (it feels like nothing on but somehow still has awesome coverage), Olay Regenerist UV Defense Lotion SPF 50 (like any good beauty editor, I’m a stickler for wearing sun protection every day), Child perfume (so sexy!), Kerastase Masquintense (perfect for my long, superdry hair), Fekkai Glossing Cream (I use it as a leave-in conditioner), Yes to Carrots Facial Towelettes (amazing for taking off makeup), and the Proactiv 3 Step System (I had bad breakouts for years until I jumped on this bandwagon—now I’m a total convert). Ahh! It’s so hard because I really could go on forever.

How did you get interested in beauty?
I’ve always been obsessed with beauty products and I’ve always loved writing—I just never really knew that there might be a way to combine the two things into a career. I started out in magazines as an editorial assistant/glorified receptionist at Harper’s Bazaar, and while there, I noticed that there were people in the office who got to try beauty products and write about them for their actual job! At the time, Bazaar’s beauty director was Kerry Diamond, who is now the vice president of PR for Coach and is one of my mentors and favorite people in the whole world. I practically stalked Kerry until she hired me, and ever since, writing about beauty has been my actual job, too.

“One of the best parts of our apartment has to be this closet. I’m not, shall we say, a neat person by nature, but having a lot of room really helps me to keep things relatively orderly. I used to share the closet with my husband, but I had a professional organizer come over one day to help me get it in order, and the first thing she said was: “Do Greg’s clothes definitely have to be in here?” After that, his stuff was banished to the guest room. It’s actually been great for many reasons: I have much more space, and it turns out that you tend to argue with your spouse a lot less if you’re not constantly stepping over their clothes.” Wearing Zara jacket, DL 1961 jeans, vintage necklace, J. Crew tee, Christian Louboutin shoes.

“I couldn’t resist buying Sadie these glittery gold shoes (similar). They’re still a little too big for her, so for now, they’re holding court in my closet.”

“I love, love, love jewelry, and one of my favorite ways to kill time is shopping for vintage jewelry on eBay. The four rhinestone necklaces here are all eBay finds and all were under $30—two were under $10! The bangles in the bottom right corner are Hermes enamel bracelets, which I adore. The necklace on the left with the burgundy pearls and the crystal pendant is actually something I made a few years back. I used to love making my own jewelry—my best friend Dana and I actually used to have our own line that was sold in local boutiques when I lived in Chicago.”

How would you describe your personal style?
Feminine and girly, but with a slight edge, and almost always revolving around accessories. I tend to gravitate towards solid-colored clothes, which I then punch up with a statement necklace or a great pair of shoes.

Do you have a go-to pair of pants or a dress that you tend to re-style season after season?
I definitely have a few go-to dresses. One of my favorites is an airy dove-gray tank dress that I’ve had for years. In the winter I wear it with tights and a black sweater. In the spring, I pair it with blush-pink heels and a matching cardigan.

“These spiky Christian Louboutins are my all-time favorite pair of shoes. I randomly saw red-carpet pictures of Martina McBride wearing them at the Grammys last year, and I became totally fixated on finding them. They were sold out everywhere, but finally, Barneys tracked down a pair for me in California. To say that they’re definitely not the most comfortable things in the world is putting it mildly, but look at them—I mean, really, who cares?”

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