Defining Home with Sterling Jones

Sterling Jones is a twenty-something beauty and lifestyle marketer, art historian, and writer originally from Georgia. Sterling grew up in Atlanta, a multi-cultural city that is changing and growing with the arts. Her experience and curiosity took her through the luxury beauty, fashion, and arts industries. With this heavy influence, Sterling represents a fresh perspective as a young feminine woman of color for brands today looking for the next voice in beauty and lifestyle. In 2017, Sterling created a beauty journal blog that grew into the beauty media platform The Beauté Study. Over the years, it has organically grown into a trusted media platform with the support of a growing population of feminine women growing and defining in their beauty epiphanies. We recently chatted with Sterling about her career, creativity, and how she defines home.

What are some of your first memories of luxury beauty and fashion?

My family is heavily engaged in beauty from a cultural standpoint. My parents taught me the power of taking care of yourself through a beauty lens. My father focused on caring for my hair and how I present through my crown since he was a barber by trade. My mother was very adamant about fashion. She traveled around the world in high school and learned about Bally, Ferragamo, and much more. My uncle taught me about watches and jewelry since luxury accessories are his favorite aspect. My parents, grandparents, and uncles have immersed me in fragrances, from how they scent their homes to their scent wardrobes.

I did not realize certain products were considered a ‘luxury’ until I started working at a luxury women’s boutique in my hometown of Atlanta. Initially, I saw the products as a choice that either friends or family made to have. At the boutique, I learned more about the luxury fashion industry and how it intertwined with luxury beauty. Once I got to college, I noticed a similar aspect to the connection with the luxury industry with different sectors like the arts, jewelry, watches, accessories, and cars. I look over my memories fondly with how I enjoyed the ‘luxury’ of these items without realizing it at a young age.

How would you describe your work?

The first word that comes to mind is Venusian. In other words, I engage with different aspects of the beauty industry from three different lenses. The art historian side comes from a historic and critical point of view of how society views beauty. The writer side knows how to communicate those thoughts while communicating with others to impact their views on beauty. The marketer knows how to play on the human mind and emotion to engage society in how they consume beauty. In all three points of view, beauty is a ritualistic experience that, through time, people have engaged in like religion, just like how civilizations bred their cultures and worshipped figures like Venus. 

How do you hope to impact the world with your work?

I am a humanist by design. I hope my work impacts people to reflect on themselves and their parts of human nature. I am an art historian and a marketer, which people don’t put together. However, both fields study different aspects of human nature and design. I tend to study humans through the eyes of beauty, a type of human capital in other societies. I hope my impact is twofold. For the person who comes across my writing, I hope they take that work, absorb it, and see if they can apply it. For those who come across my work in the beauty industry, I hope they can feel inspired enough to enjoy the flow of it all. 

Working in an industry that is fast-paced & ever-changing, which means you’re busy and on the go, how do you compartmentalize your work and home life and find time to create an Oasis in your personal space?

I have created firm boundaries between my home and my work. First, I made a set of boundaries with time to ensure that I am spending time relaxing and recharging. I set up days and times when I am working towards action steps. After the pandemic, I strongly believe in stepping away from something to avoid perfectionism and overthinking tendencies. Then, with the help of my favorite healer, Keylee Miracle, I have set in my mind to ritualistically build those boundaries over time through reiki healing and hypnosis. One of the key statements I’ve learned from her was to ask myself, “What is mine to do today?” When I return home, I set physical boundaries by turning off my devices, burning my nightly candles, and starting my nightly beauty routine. This is where the personal ‘work’ begins with the passion for caring for me daily. It is reflected in how I see the world and make an impact outside of my four walls. 

Is there any aspect of your home life that shapes your work?

My home is my temple of relaxation. However, my vanity table is my altarpiece. The conversations, rituals, and visions I have with myself at my vanity table have bought me too many places in life. My work involves beauty, and I utilize my vanity table as a gateway to developing that work. At one point, my vanity table has been my writing desk to write out my upcoming goals and plan my visual cues.

What is your ideal home fragrance? 

Each room in my home has a selected scent that encompasses the purpose and vision of the room. At large, my ideal home scent is layered with woods like sandalwood, amber, and cedarwood, incense-like myrrh, and flowers like roses. My bathroom and kitchen are a beautiful blend of citrus, flowers, and herbs scents like green apples, oranges, roses, and lavender. If I had to choose between two scents, I would always grab a myrrh incense for a base with the Maison Louis Marie No. 4 Candle called ‘Bois de Balincourt.’

Our brand’s theme this month is Peace, Presence, and Tranquility; what do these three words mean to you? 

I associate these words with the theme of Inner sanctum within one’s self. How’s your inner self? Are you respecting yourself? What I mean by respecting yourself is, are you talking to yourself kindly? Are you treating yourself kindly? I believe these three words can simultaneously help anyone make life exciting and calm. 

How do you create space in your day-to-day life for happiness? 

In the mornings, I meditate and ask, “what is mine to do today?” Once that question has been asked, I set my day to make choices that reflect that happiness. For example, I love to connect with others. I choose weekly to create space to meet with others through my work or personal endeavors. By the end of my day, I relax and recap my day to reflect on what inspired me that day.

What’s the most important room in your current home & why? 

My bedroom is the most crucial place. It leads my space where I have meditation space and where I house my favorite items. I believe that your bedroom can tell things about who you are as a person and what your mental state is like at the current moment. In reflection, I am going through a shift in life again, and my bedroom reflects that aspect with new additions. 

What is the first song or artist you gravitate toward when relaxing at home on a quiet evening?  

I tend to gravitate towards classical in the evenings, especially by the cello player Hauser. I have been drawn to the Arctic Monkeys’ album, Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino. The first song on the album, ‘Star Treatment,’ gives me chills, and I know I will have a great night listening to it. I’ve learned over the years that home isn’t specific to a place; home can be found in a person, place, or thing. Based on the current flow of your life, how would you define home? Home is in the mind. My mind is going through flows and shifts, but I use my mind to make life home for me.

You can find Sterling online working away through beauty products to review on Beauté Study.com or developing new art of glamour writings with her writing platform under The Sterling Study platform.

Images of Sterling Captured By

- Red Image Captured by Keno Y with Kevlar Rose Agency

- The rest of the images Captured by Nick Thomsen