While it’s hard not to think of Kimberly Stewart without thinking of her famous crooner father Rod, it was in fact his inspiration that started her toward her latest venture, a home organization company called The Realm. Now, the O.G. celebrity socialite is doing what many have done in the midst of the pandemic, pivoting to follow her passion to make the world a more orderly place, one closet at a time. Here, she shares her best home organization tips and drops the details of her 20-year skin-care routine which she adopted long before it became cool.
NewBeauty: You’ve been in the public eye for decades and now it’s almost unreal you’re in your 40s. Is there anything that you’re doing for your skin now that you weren’t doing before?
Kimberly Stewart: I think one of the things that I stopped doing my 30s is baking my skin in the sun. I used to love to tan and my mom has always given me grief about going in the sun. Now, if I ever do go in the sun, I put on a hat and extra SPF and I also will use anything over 30 on my body because in your 40s really start to see the sun damage. Which unfortunately, if you saw in your 20s and 30s what the sun damage was going to look like, you’d say, “oh hell no.” But I’ve also always been into skin care, drinking lots of water and eating healthy.
NB: Which products are your go-tos?
KS: I swear by anything, Dr. Barbara Sturm. I’ve been a devotee for the past 20 years, since she built her business, way back when she was just a doctor in Germany. It’s amazing to see where she’s at now, and I swear by every single product. Her hyaluronic acid, the cream. I remember people used to think I was insane when I would say I was using a moisturizer that had my own blood in it. Now everyone uses that cream and that I was using 20 years ago. I’m a huge fan of anything she makes.
NB: What inspired you to start The Realm?
KS: So, it’s actually it’s funny because the idea came to me when I was in Palm Beach late last year to officially make it an actual business but organizing has always been my thing since I was a little kid. I always used to organize my shoes and my Barbies, and I was really into making everything look very meticulous and kind of perfect. So, when I organized my dad’s pantry just for fun and posted about it on Instagram, I got tons of messages asking, “Can you do mine next?” I didn’t know how many people were serious about it, but that’s when I said, I should just do this professionally. I also feel like the timing of it is so right because of everyone being at home and wanting to get rid of stuff. There’s a lot of “I can’t look at my closet anymore, or I can’t look at my office drawers,” going on, so that’s kind of how I got started.
NB: You’re in Palm Beach right now. Where else will The Realm be organizing spaces?
KS: I have a lot of clients in Los Angeles, too. I now have employees in Los Angeles that are taking on some projects in March. I’m currently here in Palm Beach, which is of course filled with fabulous closets. When people say don’t look in my closet because they don’t want me to see the shape it’s in, that’s my favorite part. I really see that as a challenge, like how bad can it possibly be? And once I’m done, the contrast from where it was to where I take it is so rewarding.
NB: Do you see a link between what you’re doing and general wellness?
KS: When things are cluttered and out of place, I personally get anxiety. I’m such a do-er, if there’s a mess I will be the first one to fix it. So, order is a huge thing. When you have a bunch of stuff that is just unnecessary, it just accumulates over time and just it feels heavy. When you purge and get rid of stuff, you have a clean palette to work with and life in general flows easier.
NB: What are your top tips for organizing our beauty space?
KS: I’m pretty basic with my makeup, so I just have one foundation, and I don’t have 14 different products out at all times. In terms of makeup and products, it just depends on how much stuff you have. I like to keep everything at a minimum. I also think it’s important to have everything you don’t use daily in drawers or cabinets. I also always look at the expiration dates on things—you’d be surprised at how much stuff you actually have that is past its shelf life. If I’ve had some makeup or product for too long, I get rid of it.
NB: What about tackling closets, what’s your approach?
KS: If you haven’t worn it in the past year, I normally store it or get rid of it. I just think it’s super important when you’re in your closet to have unnecessary things like that out of the way. I don’t do different closets for different seasons or anything like that, that’s too complicated and I like to just keep everything super simple and not have too much clutter. I typically put things into three different categories: the stuff that you store, the stuff you want to get rid of, and then obviously what you’re keeping. New, uniform hangers are a must. And then I organize depending on the client, and we categorize like colors or some people like an ombre effect.
