website

Meet The Beauty Bean

On Beauty Sweet Spot, I love to cover what I like to call, beauty that goes beyond the blush brush.  Recently I met Alexis Wolfer who began her own site, The Beauty Bean, and was intrigued because I felt we had a lot of the same thoughts on the idea of what beauty really is.  

Meet Alexis and check out her site!  If you like Beauty Sweet Spot, you'll be sure to enjoy reading The Beauty Bean as well.

When did you first decide you wanted to start The Beauty Bean? What’s the philosphy behind the site?

I first came up with the idea in 2008 when I was in graduate school at Columbia University. I wrote my Master’s thesis on the corporate social responsibility of women’s magazines to promote better body image and prevent eating disorders in women and girls and knew there had to be a better, healthier way for us to get our fix of fashion, beauty, and fitness. So I started working on The Beauty Bean, a free online magazine with all the perks of our monthly glossies, minus the all too common focus on unrealistic body ideals and weight.
 
I want women to feel beautiful, fit, and confident and for our readers to see that beauty is much more than a number on scale: that it is about beautifying, nourishing, lusting, sweating, and pampering (the categories on our site!).

How did you come up with the name?

The site is, ultimately, about beauty inside and out so I wanted “beauty” in the name. The “bean” part came for a few reasons. I wanted to evoke the sense of nutrition and food and I liked how beans are small and easy to pop in your mouth. I also just liked how it sounded!
 
What’s your favorite feature?

I love the “Ask Alexis” part where you can tweet or email me your questions. It helps us stay in tuned to the needs and wants of our readers and also gives the site a personal twist.
 
What’s been the highlight of your career with The Beauty Bean so far?

Hearing all the positive feedback from readers!