Monday, October 29, 2012

College is RUINING MY SKIN

Stress, papers due, and two years later my usually clear skin suddenly looked like the skin of an awkward me back in middle school. What was going on? Sometimes, as a girl who loves her skin, you do crazy things. This week it was trying different homemade scrubs, the result? Not bad! My favourite one was a random combination of stuff that sounded good for my skin. I was honestly impressed at how well this worked. haha! Who knew?
College is RUINING MY SKIN
Maybe not drinking water is the culprit to my bad skin days? Or maybe it's a huge load of history reading charts!
What was in this scrub that I favored?
1. Freeman's fruit face (peel) mask.
2. 2 tsp. organic honey.
3. 1 tsp. organic olive oil.
4. Loose green tea leaves (I just ripped open a few packets of green tea and added them to the mix of ingredients.) 
5. A seriously relaxing Sex in the City marathon. 

What about you? Do you have bad skin days too? What helped? I hope everyone is having an okay Monday, Monday's are tough, just remember to breathe and have some water!

Monday, October 15, 2012

What is BEAUTIFUL?

In light of all this girl-bashing "you look..bigger" "not so cute" it is important to remember that just because women in magazines are airbrushed doesn't mean you have to be. Weight and looks have been issues with everyone for as long as well, forever. I even found myself thinking I wasn't beautiful because I gained weight. Is that true though? No.

So what exactly is beautiful? I'll tell you right now what it isn't.

Beautiful is not starving yourself to be thin.
Beautiful is not trying to be someone else.
Beautiful is not always a size zero.

Beautiful is being healthy.
Beautiful is loving yourself.
Beautiful is YOU. 

As long as you're healthy, you're doing your best to stay that way and work out a few times a week, be happy with yourself. Being a size double zero won't solve all your problems, you'll still be you. So eat healthy, work out, and stop thinking negative thoughts about yourself. You'll feel better.

Tuesday, October 9, 2012

How do I get an internship in NYC? Or Anywhere?

Internships are one of the best way to learn your trade (and in my opinion the best way to learn). But how do you get an internship? What if you can't find anything near where you live? One word.

ASK

I realized last April (of 2012) that I wanted to work in fashion, in magazines, and that after a trip to Jersey and New York, that I wanted to find an internship in the city. Of course I was in full swing panic because everyone had already applied and been accepted to all types of internships. What was I to do? I emailed, I called, I sent texts. By the time August rolled around I had four internships under my belt. "But how Belle?"

I emailed everyone I admired in the fashion industry, senior fashion editors, other interns, web assistants, even copy editors. I emailed anyone that would listen or give me advice. And some people got back to me. Actually a lot of people emailed me. I used Craigslist and that landed me an assistant buyer internship with a wonderful fitness company. Craigslist helped me get another position as a Social Media Manager for an Ethiopian Pop-up dinner. I emailed a local newspaper where I was living in Jersey and asked if they were hiring interns/freelance writers and I was given a position there. Craigslist came in to play again in July when I found a Fashion Marketing position for a start up company. Don't be afraid to ask, the worst that can happen is that you get a no. On of my family friends suggested I try to meet her friend in NYC at Hearst, and she knew someone at Seveneteen magazine. Getting advice from someone in the fashion industry seems daunting, but everyone I met was so incredibly sweet, and full of advice. When I went back to visit in NYC I TWITTED a senior fashion editor at Hearst and she TWITTED back. We got coffee together and I got some insanely good advice.

Not in NYC? Don't worry! Just email everyone, just ask, you'll never know unless you try.

Three DO's and Don's to Tips and Tricks?

DO's
  1. Use twitter to follow your favorite people and make sure to comment on things you love. Like her skirt? Tell her so! (POLITELY).
  2. Do email people that you want to meet, get advice from.
  3. Do dress professionally for any meeting (obvs).
DONT'S
  1. Don't follow people on twitter that you might work for one day if your twitter is disturbingly honest "this grl in frnt of me got the wrst muffin top i eva saw." Rule of thumb, if you wouldn't want you grandma to see it, then don't put it on Twitter/Facebook/whatever.
  2. Don't forget to offer to take them to coffee or lunch. You're probably taking up their break, so make it worth their while, and don't forget to say thank you and send a thank you email or note. It's a nice touch.
  3. Don't wear anything low cut, short or see through, I feel that I really shouldn't have to say this but unfortunately people do it all the time.