Beauty Bets

Writer, editor, and Beauty Bets blogger Elizabeth Dehn was born with a beauty junkie gene. She grew up in Minneapolis, making face masks for friends and spending babysitting money on Mood lipstick and lavender eyeshadow. Now she funnels all of the information she has gathered into the Beauty Bets blog. At Beauty Bets, readers can expect an honest, personal, and witty guide to the beauty products, treatments, and trends that make life infinitely better (plus a few that are completely not worth it). Elizabeth has previously had writing gigs with Fashion Weekly, Everyday with Rachael Ray, and was the lifestyle editor for Minnesota Monthly. Now she is a regular contributor to the magazine, in addition to the Star Tribune, Sotheby’s Artful Living magazine, Twin Cities Live, and MyTalk FM107.1.

What was the inspiration behind starting the Beauty Bets blog?

I needed a creative outlet and decided it was high time I learn how to blog. I’m a writer/editor by trade and beauty is one of my favorite topics, so the blog was a natural extension of both. Also: I saw a need for a smart, professional, and pretty beauty blog—something I’d want to read.

Who or what are your top resources for beauty-related news and information?

I’m fortunate to have a number of fantastic publicists and industry experts keeping me in the loop, but I also read a ton of magazines—Elle, Harper’s Bazaar, Lucky, Allure, Glamour—and follow their beauty bloggers, who are closer to the action than I can get in Mpls!

What are five fantastic skin care, hair care or other beauty products you could not live without and why do you love them?

Now you’re talking!

1. Bobbi Brown Color Corrector completely obliterated my undereye circles
2. Arcona Vitamin A serum is the best at keeping my skin smooth and glowing
3. Morrocanoil tames frizzies, fly-aways, and split ends like nothing else
4. Smashbox Bronze Lights is only bronzer that looks natural, not orangey, on my fair skin
5. Triluma is the first skin lightener that really, truly faded my sun damage from all of those years of baking

If you had $100 extra dollars right now, what beauty items that you don’t own would you purchase?

I tend to splurge on treatments more than products, so I’d probably get my summer freckles zapped with an Intense Pulsed Light laser at Uptown Dermatology!

How has blogging changed your life?

I sleep a LOT less. Seriously—blogging daily is far more time consuming than I ever anticipated. But I love connecting with a community of readers from all over the country—you don’t get that dialogue in print journalism. It’s exciting and energizing as a writer.

What other blogs do you enjoy reading? Who are your favorite local Twin Cities bloggers?

Oh man, it’s a long list. Beauty Counter is fabulous for trendspotting, NY Mag’s the Cut is hysterically witty and fashion-forward, and Cup of Jo is just plain gorgeous. Locally, I love Yes and Yes, Minnesota Monthly food critic Dara Moskowitz Grumdahl, and Ali Shops.

What do you love the most about the Twin Cities / Minnesota and why?

Accessibility — to nature, culture, a killer food scene, and the people I love. You don’t find that combination in most cosmopolitan cities. And then there’s the other six months of the year when I want to move to Hawaii.