Simply Stylist NYC 2015 Recap

This year’s Simply Stylist ‘Do What You Love’ NYC Fashion and Beauty Conference took place over the weekend and, to no surprise, it was more incredible than we could have ever imagined! There is nothing better than being able to provide a space for all of our stylish Boss Babes to network, learn from the best of the best, and immerse their minds in a day full of inspiring panelists! A VIP brunch, hosted by Library of Flowers, kicked off the day at the W Hotel (P.S. We want to give a huge shout out to the incredible Melanie Severin of Minted for designing all of our amazing event materials!). Our very first speaker, Elissa Kravetz of The Farley Project, chatted with our attendees as they fueled up and munched on scrumptious eats in preparation for the much-anticipated day. Following the brunch, attendees were witnesses to a whirlwind of informational panels, inspiring keynotes, breakout speakers, and were even given the opportunity to network with fashion and beauty brands at The Brand Experience.

In case you (unfortunately) missed out on this amazing day in the Big Apple, we have a put together a recap of everything that happened, check it out below!

PANEL 1: Keynote — Olivia Culpo: Fashion & Beauty Entrepreneur and Actress

If there is one thing we know for certain about Olivia, it’s that she knows the importance of making her dreams a reality! As a student at the Boston University, Olivia entered the Miss Rhode Island Pageant on a whim. Little did she know, she would later win Miss Rhode Island, Miss USA, and Miss Universe in less than a 2-year time span. Apart from the pageant world, Olivia is also an actress, beauty lover, and has appeared as a guest host on Extra, RuPaul’s Good Work, and E! News (so it was only fitting that she was interviewed by the always-stylish Catt Sadler at Simply Stylist NYC)! Olivia prides herself in attempting to break the mold of what society sees as being a woman, which she does through her extensive charity work and diverse background.

If you don't know what to do, do everything. That's the only way to find out. — Olivia Culpo

PANEL 2: Stylist Panel

Lounge provided by Dot & Bo

Our Stylist Panel, which was moderated by Elana Fischman of People Style Watch, consisted of Amy Nadine, Celebrity Makeup Artist, and Style Expert Lilliana Vazquez! Amy is the co-founder of The Beauty Department and a noteworthy Celebrity Makeup Artist with a long list of A-List celebrities, including Rachel Bilson, Emmy Rossum, Anna Paquin, Kate Bosworth, George Clooney, Hugh Jackman, Mel Gibson, and Patrick Dempsey. Lilliana Vazquez is an Emmy-award winning host, the founder of TheLVGuide.com, and author of The Cheap Chica’s Guide to Style: Secrets to Shopping Cheap and Looking Chic. Together, Amy and Lilliana briefed our attendees on the importance of meeting people in-person, rather than over the telephone, and how networking can benefit your career in more ways than you can imagine!

You have to not take things personally. — Amy Nadine

You have to make time for the things that make you an all-around person. — Lilliana Vazquez

PANEL 3: Expert & Entrepreneur Panel

Moderated by Bethany Heitman from People Style Watch, our expert + entrepreneur panel included Dan Carlberg, Co-Founder of BlogLovin’, Ashley Graham, Model and Body Activist, and Julie Ann Quay, Founder of VFiles! The panelists’ diverse backgrounds provided everyone with invaluable information on being an entrepreneur, qualities they look for in a new hire, how to (properly) kill people with kindness, and keeping in contact with people you meet along the way. Always remember: No connection is a bad one!

Ideas are cheap. It's not the idea that counts, it's about the execution. — Julie Ann Quay

Panel 3: Blogger Panel

Tiarra Monet, YouTube Video Blogger, Cara Santana of CaraDisclothed, and Brandi Cyrus of Style Native made up our incredible blogger panel, which was moderated by Hilary Sloan of ShopStyle! If we learned anything from these four Boss Babes, it’s that hard work and effort pays off. As long you stick to who you are, what you want, and surround yourself with talented people, your blog will speak for itself — just be patient!

If you love what you're doing, then you're not really working a day in your life. — Cara Santana

You have as many hours as Beyoncé and she's probably not watching Game of Thrones right now. — Brandi Cyrus

PANEL 4: Keynote — June Ambrose: Celebrity Stylist and Designer

June has styled countless celebrities, including Jay Z, Will Smith, Alicia Keys, Mariah Carey, Zoe Saldana, and Kerry Washington to name a few, and has had multiple collections at HSN, wrote a book titled Effortless Style, and has her very own makeover show, Save My Style, airing this fall and TLC! Basically, June is the definition of a Boss Babe. At Simply Stylist NYC, she gave our attendees amazing advice on how to stay positive on even the worst of days. Although your dreams may be difficult to achieve, June believes that if you want it bad enough, you will do anything to get there!

Build a career, not just a job. — June Ambrose

The Brand Experience Following the panels, the Simply Stylist NYC Conference was transformed into a shopping, relaxation, and pampering sanctuary we like to call The Brand Experience! Ticket holders got the opportunity to #TryDry with Dove’s Dry Spray Antiperspirant, retouch their beauty needs with The Glam App, take a load off with a massage by Soothe, speak with Laneige about all their skincare woes, take a feet break with Ortholite, and quench their thirst with a Svedka cocktail or a KeVita sparkling probiotic drink! In addition to all the pampering, attendees were able to take in Designs by Ahn’s gorgeous flower arrangements, get their #OOTD illustrated by Lily Qian, print pics instantly using Fotofwd, and receive tips from the ShopStyle Collective Blogger Bar! They even got the chance to win some amazing prizes with picture contests by Minted and Dot and Bo. What more could we ask for?

Breakout Sessions Lastly (but definitely not least), we had our breakout sessions! We enlisted Beca Alexander and Daniel Saynt of FashionINDIE & Socialyte, Celebrity Stylist Madison Guest, and Amy Levin of CollegeFashionista to give crash courses on Blogging 101, Styling 101, and turning a site into a thriving business! The day finished up with an IFB Blogger Roast hosted by ShopStyle, where the winner walked away with a PAID holiday campaign with ShopStyle. Not a bad end to the day, if you ask us.

Gift Bags

On top of all of the networking, shopping, pampering, and inspirational speakers, one of the highlights of this fabulous day was the gift bags! These totes, which were filled with makeup, beauty products, snacks, gift cards, and tons of other goodies, were the only things that kept us from becoming fashionably depressed over the completion of #SimplyStylistNY. So, we would like to give a HUGE thank you to all the brands who contributed their amazing products for our guests!

Overall, the Simply Stylist ‘Do What You Love’ NYC Fashion and Beauty Conference was an overwhelming success! Until next time, keep in mind our daily reminder: If you don’t love what you do, change it. You only have one life to live!

As always, we would also like to thank our hostess, Catt Sadler of E! News, who guided the day and looked simply stylish while doing so!