Batsheva and Miriam Haart spent the bulk of their lives living in an Orthodox Jewish community and after leaving with their mother, they got their own reality show, My Unorthodox Life. However, at the heart of it, they’re just a pair of sisters, or best friends as they call themselves, moving through the ups and downs of relationships, college and carving out a place for themselves in New York City. From see-through shirts to single life, we hear from the Haart girls about how life is going for them right now and what’s next.
How was the transition from living a traditional Orthodox life in Monsey to city life and having newfound freedoms as it relates to beauty, fashion and self-expression?
Batsheva: “When we did live in the community, beauty was always something that was safe to do post-high school. In high school, I wasn’t allowed to wear any makeup at all. [After that] wearing makeup was something that was okay, so a lot of people would try to express themselves [with makeup]. I think what I learned was to kind of tone it down a little bit when I was introduced to different things because I had other ways to express myself with fashion and what I was wearing and the colors I was wearing. I think just being able to see no-makeup makeup as a beautiful thing, and when I was growing up, it was like full eyeliner and eyeshadow and I was a teenager, and I thought that was beautiful, and then I was introduced to other things and realized that you don’t need all of that to look beautiful.”
Miriam: “For me, it was very different because in the community, I never really wore a lot of makeup. I was young. I think the most I wore was mascara. I never wore eyeliner or anything like that. The way that beauty and fashion changed for me is kind of my expression. New York City especially has been a place for me where I found these new freedoms. It’s where I ate my first cheeseburger. It’s where I wore my first pair of pants in public. So it’s definitely a special place to me that represents freedom and expression. Also, in New York City, there are so many different kinds of people, so I feel so comfortable just going out in like a see-through shirt with no bra. I don’t care. Whatever I want to do, I feel fine doing it. It’s definitely super opposite from my life growing up, and it’s just really nice.
I love both of your styles—they’re very different. How would you describe each other’s style?
M: “She has a very good style. She’s very good at finding things even if they’re not super expensive, she puts the time in and finds really cool unique pieces. I really respect that. I actually also steal a lot of clothes from her, so that’s one of the reasons I love it. I’d say her style is very cutesy. I don’t know if that’s an actual word, but I think it’s just like feminine and fun and colorful and bright, some form-fitting, some loose, depending on the fashion of today.”
B: “I think Miriam is all about comfort, and she loves a good sweat set or tracksuit, but she recently started getting a little more dressed up, and it’s like, wow, she looks great. I feel like every age that you’re in, you have a different sense of style, so I feel like we’re entering a new era of Miriam’s looks.”
What’s next for both of you?
B: “I think for me, it’s just embracing single life, personally. Then professionally, continuing to grow my community online and work with different brands and just get my name out there a little bit more.”
M: “I’m graduating this year, so once I’m done at Stanford, I’m probably going to move to New York City and work with my mom and my family on the Metaverse and different cool digital projects that I’m really interested in.”
Do you have any beauty secrets you’ve learned from your mom?
B: “My mom always carries lip balm around to have nice, soft lips. Nobody ever wants to look at someone with chapped lips and living in New York City it happens all the time really easily, and she always has a lip balm.”
M: “She uses these tinted blushes that you dot on your face and rub in, so it’s not powder and those I really like so that I adopted for my mom and I use it all the time.”
Are there any recent makeup launches you love?
B: “Charlotte Tilbury just came out with a new foundation that I really love—it’s called Beautiful Skin ($44). I always use her Flawless Foundation ($44), this is a little bit lighter but still has a good amount of coverage.”
M: “I actually really like Charlotte Tilbury as well, so I think that one’s cool. My sister introduced me to that brand.”
Why have you decided to partner with Autotrader? What stood out to you about the company or the partnership?
B: “The partnership is all about finding your right match, and we’re very lucky that we were born sisters, but we chose to be best friends. It’s hard to find that perfect person, whether it’s a best friend or a partner. But they really help make that transition to finding your perfect car that fits your lifestyle so seamless and easy. That’s something that really spoke to us, that messaging.”
M: “They have this list called the Best New Cars for 2022. We’re looking to buy a new car, the end of our lease is coming up, and we have a car called the kids’ car that we all share. So there are some cars on this list that seem super cool, so we’re excited. We’re really interested in the Genesis GV70, which we found from this list. So I think they just really take the stress out of car buying for different people’s lifestyles, so we’re really happy to be a part of their brand and to share their mission.”