Teen Vogue Fashion University 2015

{Teen Vogue Editor in Chief Amy Astley introducing Michelle Phan}

{Amy Astley with Dean Speaker Michelle Phan}

{Fashion Lean @ Instagram, Kristen Joy Watts}

{Writer Mickey Rapkin with Entertainment Editor Dana Mathews}

{@dkny Aliza Licht, SVP of Global Communications @ Donna Karen Internationl}

{@oscarprgirl Erika Bearman, SVP of Global Communications @ Oscar de la Renta}

Hi everyone!

I wanted to do a quick post of my experience at Teen Vogue Fashion University.  I attended the event last year as well, although it was completely different this year since the Conde Nast headquarters moved to One World Trade Center.  I was in the Editorial/Social/PR major (the other majors were design/styling and business) and the speakers I saw were Michelle Phan (YouTuber), Black Frame PR, Kristen Joy Watts (fashion lead at Instagram), a panel of Teen Vogue Editors, Aliza Licht (@dkny), Mickey Rapkin (Writer of Pitch Perfect), and Erika Bearman (@oscarprgirl).  

The lectures (seminars? classes? what do I call these?) involved learning about the experiences of the speaker, and then an open q & a to get advice about the industry.  I really enjoyed the speakers I saw, although I wish the questions were a bit more curated, as some were quite specific and therefore not beneficial for everyone. It was also a race to get the best seat possible, but other than that I had a great experience.  

I think four of my speakers were from Long Island as well, so I definitely related to their stories.  Erika Bearman actually went to the same high school as my boyfriend, so that was a little bonding moment.  Michelle Phan was definitely another highlight, as she was super inspirational.  I have featured a video so you can see some of the advice that all of the speakers gave, so hopefully that provides some insight into the event. 

The offices were beautiful, and I think the speakers highlighted an incredible range of jobs for the editorial/social/PR aspect of the industry.  Let me know in the comments if you have any questions about the experience! 

xo, 

Sophie 

All About NYU | Living in NYC, College Parties, Grades, Making Friends, Celebrities, and more!

Hi everyone!

I feel like I haven't written a post in forever, and honestly it's just from a lack of inspiration to do so. I have been home for break for about a month, so I certainly cannot blame school work for my lack of blogging, but I have definitely been keeping busy!  I went to Florida, got the flu, worked at Forever 21, got a summer internship, and have been appointed as the Beauty/Style editor of the Washington Square News.  What have you been up to?

Now that we have gotten the life update out of the way, I thought I would share a recent video with you from my YouTube channel (where I have been posting regularly, unlike here) all about my experiences at NYU.  Based on the comments that I have received, people seem to have A LOT of questions about NYU and NYC in general, so I have decided to turn this into a sort of regular series on my channel where I answer viewer questions all about school.  Feel free to leave me questions in the comments here if you have any! I hope you find the series helpful.

So that's just a little update for now, hopefully I will start posting on here more regularly again as I have missed it.  Have a great weekend and happy belated new year!

xo, Sophie 

#BeautyConNYC

Mink Pink romper, Francesca's cardigan, Madewell flats, bag, bobby pins, long necklace and bracelets, House of Harlow 1960 starburst necklace, Marc by Marc Jacobs watch

#BeautyConNYC!

Me with Sierra from the youtube channel sierramariemakeup!  She was so shy and grateful when I met her it was lovely to see someone so humble.

Me with Mia from the youtube channel mammamiamakeup! She and Sierra were both so chill about meeting us it was so great.

Me with Claudia (beyondbeautystar) and Allie (alliemarieevans)! These girls were so sweet! We had a mini photoshoot, and the four photos they took were made into a gif.

Me with Fleur from the youtube channel fleurdeforce! Fleur was one of the people I most wanted to meet that day and she totally lived up to my expectations. She was incredibly nice (and has the best sounding British accent EVER) and we chatted for minute about me wanting to study abroad in London!

Me with Arden from the youtube channel arose186!  Arden was hilarious and was handling the mini crowd surrounding her so well.  We obsessed over her Dailylook outfit together; she was just as funny in person as in her videos.

Me with Lauren from the youtube channel laurdiy!  I have made a few of the DIY projects from Lauren's channel and was determined to meet her. She has interacted with me a bunch through twitter, tumblr, and youtube, and so I already knew she would be super nice! We talked for a minute about one of her DIY's that I made and she was just super cute. 

Oops it's been two weeks; I'm just going to keep blaming school until I can no longer do so.  I have been exceptionally busy lately, but one thing I was super excited for was BeautyCon NYC.  BeautyCon is basically a makeup convention where thousands of beauty junkies gather together to celebrate beauty, buy makeup, watch panels, and meet some of their favorite beauty gurus from YouTube. The event was held at Pier 36 on the lower east side of Manhattan, and it was such a fun day!  For me, it mostly consisted of meeting some of my favorite beauty youtubers, watching panels, eating, and trying out makeup products; what more could you ask for really? 

The first set of pictures is what I wore to the event. It was absolutely imperative that I be as comfortable as possible, seeing as my day would span around 12 hours total, about 9 of which I was on my feet for.  A romper seemed obvious as they are just about the easiest way to look like you put effort into your outfit when you really did nothing, I needed the Madewell bag to hold my shnazzy Canon camera (I realized upon arrival that I had left the SD card sitting on my desk because I am a genius), and the wedge sneakers/change of flats were necessary for a day of standing in endless lines. 

I thought I would also include some shots from the event. I got to meet some of my favorite beauty youtubers, including Claudia (beyondbeautystar), Allie (alliemarieevans), Sierra (sierramariemakeup), Mia (mammamiamakeup), Arden (arose186), Lauren (laurdiy), and Fleur (fleurdeforce). I also watched a really interesting panel called "The Rise of Digital Influence" that was hosted by Elle's creative director Joe Zee and included a bunch of youtubers and bloggers.  I loved hearing what Kandee Johnson had to say about staying true to yourself and not allowing online bullies control your life.  Also at the convention were areas set up for Style Haul, Elle, Boohoo, NYX, Tarte, Bare Minerals, Wildflower cases, and loads of other little accessory and makeup stations.  There was also a dj and dance floor, and food trucks which were soooooo yummy. Overall the event was really well put together and I would love to go back next year!

If you would like to see a video all about my Beauty Con experience, there is one right here on my youtube channel! Were any of you at Beauty Con? What did you think of it? Let me know!

xo, Sophie

Talking to a Camera

Something a bit different today.  You may or may not remember (I hope that you remember) that back in the fall I posted a video demonstrating how I do a fishtail braid.  It was something that one of my blog readers requested, and I never really intended to make another video after that.  YouTube has always been an incredibly intimidating site to me; it is a way to share yourself online in a more personal way than any other platform.  I have been watching other YouTubers (I am subscribed to more channels than is probably healthy) for years.  I watch everything from beauty/fashion gurus (some of my favorites are beautycrush,  zoella, clothesencounters, and beyondbeautystar) to vloggers (I have an unhealthy obsession with danisnotonfire, amazingphil, itsgrace, and the vlogbrothers)  to short film makers (kickthepj and bertiebertg are brilliantly creative) and everything in between, but I never really thought I could be one of them.  However, after that first video, I thought I would give it a shot.  I felt incredibly awkward about the fact that I was posting videos online, and I still do, which is why I don't usually post them on here, or twitter, instagram, facebook, etc.  People I know in real life read this blog and follow my other social media, and the concept of someone I actually know (versus a random stranger halfway across the world) watching one of my videos is a terrifying concept to me. What if someone makes fun of me? Or dislikes one of my videos? Or brings it up in school? Terrifying. 

That being said, today I reached 400 subscribers on my YouTube channel.  Considering I only started a few months ago, that's a lot of people, and so I finally feel a bit more confident about people knowing that I make videos.  I think I am going to start sharing them on twitter and such, but I am still a bit hesitant.  I have included a few of my videos here if you are interested in checking them out, and you can subscribe here! It would make me ultra happy if you did:)

Thank you so much to everyone who watches my videos; it means so much to me!

xo, Sophie