Kimberly McDonald grew up with a love for rocks and colour, and a few simple maxims from her southern mother. One in particular stuck with Kimberly and possibly even foretold the future: never leave home without your earrings and lipstick on. Not only will you not catch her ‘out’ without them, they are two symbols of the businesses to which Kimberly has dedicated her professional life; Beauty and Jewelry.
In her early 20’s Kimberly split her time between her home in Atlanta and the city she’d always dreamed about as a child, Paris. During her time in Paris, she attended courses at a make-up institute, learning how to use colour and cosmetics to enhance natural beauty. Back home in Atlanta, McDonald was featured in a local publication that catered to the socialites of the area, The Seasons. She became the featured makeup artist of the Southeast for Christian Dior Cosmetics and had many of the southern elite among her clientele. While in France she also worked for many big designer names as a makeup artist, but it was her newest love that kept her most occupied. Kimberly had discovered her love for vintage and antique fine jewelry, regularly purchasing unusual pieces for her own collection. While, back in Atlanta, her clients began to envy and request to buy these fabulous French finds.
On the eve of her 30th birthday, Kimberly decided that it was time to move to New York. Not knowing anyone in the city, she packed her belongings and her three cherished pets and headed for the Big Apple to learn the jewelry business. She worked at a diamond brokerage firm for some time and then decided that it was time to go back to working solo.
As she was transitioning, she kept in touch with many of her clients from the south, assisting them with jewelry purchases as well as continuing to serve as a valuable resource for their questions about procedures, people and products in the beauty industry. It was this interaction that inspired Kimberly to start Beauty News NYC. She wanted to give these women a website that would keep them informed about what was new and current in the beauty industry, and to make it the kind of publication that was not influenced by how much money an advertiser spent. Beauty News grew to include over a dozen writers that cover topics from Skin Care to Travel, from Natural Living to the City Pulse. Kimberly wanted to include Metro Mamas and their Babies, Metro Pet owners and of course, the Men’s Perspective. In December of 2005, Beauty News NYC launched its sister publication, Beauty News LA.
All the while, Kimberly continued with her private jewelry business, launching the yoga-inspired ROCKRAS line in 2005. This line married her love for colour and her love of stones and offers clients an alternative approach to colour therapy or chakra therapy…in the package of well-made and unique fine jewelry pieces. ROCKRAS pieces have been featured in InStyle Weddings and Fashion Week Daily and have been worn on Naomi Judd’s New Morning and What Not To Wear. Kimberly also works for some of her clients as a ‘curator’ for their jewelry collection and has been featured in the Robb Report, Worth Magazine and several other publications for her work with these clients, which includes securing rare and one of a kind pieces.
Asked about what lies ahead, Kimberly says this; “I find that the further ahead I look, the closer I get to my original loves…rocks, colour, lipstick. Isn’t it great when your first loves remain with you for life?â€
