Hearst’s online beauty shopping mecca, BestProducts.com, has recently procured yet another find: Marissa Gold. The born-and-bred New Yorker has been a beauty editor since 2006, with stints at Woman’s World and iVillage, and a career-changing play as Senior Online Editor for Glamour, which she left two years ago to live a freelancer’s life.

Earlier this month she returned to her nine-to-five roots as Hearst’s new Digital Beauty Editor at Bestproducts.com, the ad-free shopping site that features product picks by Hearst editors which have been “researched, tested and determined with authority by editorial staff.” CEW Beauty Insider recently chatted with the product huntress about her new job, what she’s interested in and who’s purchasing her suggestions.

Beauty Insider: What made you return to a full-time position?


Marissa Gold: It all happened very quickly. Hearst approached me earlier this summer about the role, which sounded like the core of what I do, which is focus on products. They wanted to get back to the goal of sharing knowledge with readers, in real time, that helps them get what they want. As an editor, that’s attractive to me. Plus, I love being in an office around creative people. Accepting the job felt like coming home.

BI: How does Bestproducts.com work?


MG: It’s a modern shopping site that brings back the tradition of servicey content and trendy, shoppable product round-ups across all parts of lifestyle and fashion. It’s not a dead-end experience where you read and leave. It’s packaged tightly with products and information where you get to the point quickly. It’s like you’re at a party with a friend and they ask you what the best mascara is and you tell them. The site does that, but adds an intimacy and authority to the recommendations we’re making. And because it’s digital, and we link straight to purchase, they can buy that product instantly.

BI: What’s your big goal?

MG: With the web, it’s hard to keep up. As any beauty editor will tell you, it’s a constant stream of products. I’ve been testing and researching products for over 10 years, so there’s a process to this, and a level of knowledge. In general, I’m testing about 50 products a week. You’re constantly scrambling to put out great content in a timely way. My goal is to respond as quickly as possible to what’s trending and to pick things worth knowing about.

BI: Who is your main consumer?
MG: We like to think of our consumer as millennials, 20s to 30s, who are looking for answers to questions, and products to solve their problems, and entertainment and things they can trust from people who are authorities.

BI: What are your biggest obsessions right now?


MG: Lips and brows. Both are having a moment. What I love are products that are a combination of something. There’s a brow product I really like that’s a tint and an enhancement. It’s a fill-in and a growth treatment and offers both a cosmetic and a skin care aspect.