“I went to Hofstra on Long Island and interned at Women’s Wear Daily. I took another one at Marie Claire, and to be honest, they were both terrible. And then I graduated. I couldn’t find a job either. The crash of 2008 probably had something to do with that. But I kept in touch with girls in both places and was able to avoid having to go back to Nowheresville, Massachusetts. , I was doing odd jobs to make ends meet. I was writing articles, freelancing as much as I could, trying to get my name out there. I was trying to get back home. It was me. That was the worst moment. I thought, ‘I can’t do this.’ I lived in Queens, right above the airport. I got an email and the lady was like, “We’re looking for people at Vogue, please come over,” so she ran over there and has been there ever since.
career
I’m doing a lot of things. I mainly write articles for the web, celebrity trends and trend watching, and that’s what I enjoy the most. I cover fashion in Central Asia and Eastern Europe, creating profiles of local chic freaks. Before the pandemic, I had been organizing my closet for a while. I started organizing a closet for my former boss, Sally Singer. He was one of the first people to appear on Into the Gross. This is crazy. He read about her on this site before he started working for her. So I started cleaning out the closets around my office, and word spread that people started cleaning outside the office as well.
Since the pandemic happened, that wasn’t possible anymore. Then one day I thought, “Oh no, I’m going to try something on Instagram.” At this point, a lot of people were putting on a show on Instagram. When you click on it, someone is playing live. I was like, “Let’s just do it.” What’s interesting is that a closet is a gateway to learning about someone, and I’ve been in a situation where I was in someone’s closet before. Reach a level of intimate storytelling. I’ve never had any contact with these women outside of this work, so it was interesting to see how clothes functioned as a storytelling vehicle. That was the beginning.
It was just renewed a few days ago. That means being more active on Instagram. I’ve already received requests to come back and do people’s closets. It’s a lot of physical labor. Carrying around things like this makes my back pain worse. I was in the middle of cleaning out my closet when my lower back pain worsened. But I like it, and I enjoy learning about people through their clothes, helping them reduce their stuff, and putting clothes back into the world for others to wear.
skin
I’m a pharmacy girl. I live near her CVS and grew up eating their products. I’ve gone through phases where people would send me something and want me to try it, or a friend would try something. I may have tried things I wouldn’t have tried before, but I always go back to where I was before. Something I’ve been doing since high school. A long time ago, I started using Neutrogena’s facial cleansing bar, which has a deep honey color, and have been using it since I was in high school. By the way, I just started using toner this year. I use Thayer’s Witch Hazel. After that, apply the cream. Since I started using sunscreen as an adult, I use Supergoop. I use Supergoop, a sunscreen with vitamin C, on my face. Daily intake is vitamin C + SPF 40. I’m using Supergoop. Apply PLAY Everyday Lotion to your body. Since I use Retin-A, I have to constantly reapply sunscreen.
Sometimes my face gets swollen, so I try doing gua sha to wake me up. I use the metal ones from FaceGym. If you eat a lot of salt or go out to eat hotpot the night before, you’ll wake up to find your eyelids very swollen. So I have an ice mask that I bought in Paris at that weird French pharmacy that everyone goes to. I had never been there before. I’m going to put the mask in the freezer, so I’m going to do that and then I’m going to put it on my face. It’s so cold. It’s good and it wakes you up. You can find it for almost free on Amazon. If you don’t have a mask, place an ice cube or a bag of frozen spinach on your face. Basically anything cold. Then, to wake me up and get the blood flowing, I start slapping my face like crazy. One thing that works is that I always go for a run in the morning. Running relaxes your body and improves blood flow. So I do that, slather my face a lot, and then use a face oil. A friend gave me the Laurel Wolf Berry Chia Serum and I love it, but I’m not picky about face oils. Once I run out of this, I’m using Mad She Hippie, which was recommended to me by a former beauty editor at Vogue (shout out Akiri She King!). So I’m going to massage the oil and try to recreate what I do at the face gym. That’s what I’m doing. That’s the only thing in my adult life where I got to a certain point where I thought, “I’m going to take care of myself.”
I go to a face gym once, maybe twice a month. However, the price is high so it’s a treat. They knead my face in a way I can’t imitate. But when you’re alone…you just have to try to do it yourself. I definitely dropped a lot of money on the face tool package deal. One of them is his Purelift Pro, which delivers electric shocks to your face to tighten your muscles. I use it when I wake up about 3 times a week. I use it with a Costco-sized aloe container. When I’m stopped at the airport and TSA searches my bag, I usually yell, “This is not a sex toy, I swear!” The blue tub I use contains Nivea cream. I apply Vaseline to my eyes before going to bed. I learned this from TikTok.
If I have blemishes, and I mean severe acne, I use Mario Badescu Drying Lotion and then a regular acne cream. Whatever you can find, or whatever is cheapest. I also use Chistaya Linea Facial Scrub. This is an extra-fine apricot scrub. I buy these at the supermarket in Ukraine and return every year with a few bottles in my suitcase. When it’s running low, slice the tube in half and take out the rest. This is my last tube.
hair
I use Garnier for my hair. I use it all the time. I love you; I swear. I’ve been using this product since I was in high school. I remember loving the commercial and being transfixed by the green packaging…so fresh and clean. Obviously, it had an impact. I wash my hair every day after working out, even though I need to lose it. The other day I didn’t have time to go to the pharmacy and get Garnier so I had to get some VO5, but anyway. I used to dry it with a hair dryer, but I was like, “I don’t care.” You don’t have to do this anymore. ” If you straighten it, it will look unnatural. I use Moroccan oil. I’ve been using the same bottle of oil for 5 years. Honestly, if I’m traveling and don’t have any, I just apply face oil to my hair. I have Aussie Mousse and I love it and just put a little bit in my hair and rub it in every once in a while. Sometimes they don’t.
As for haircuts, it’s crazy because I dated Julian Farrell and he gave me crazy haircuts that cost a thousand dollars. I did it a few times for the story and it was great. It was a supermodel haircut, but the pandemic happened and I stopped going. After that, I went to B’s beauty salon for a while. A guy named Tony will do your hair for $40. Then I stopped cutting hair altogether and moved back home to Massachusetts. A girl named Jill gets her hair cut at Glow Salon, which is down the street from her mother’s house. She pays $40 for a blunt cut and is fine with it. That’s all I do. Nothing sexy here.
I enjoy learning about people through clothes, helping them downsize, and putting clothes back into the world for others to wear.
compensate
For makeup, I bought Chanel foundation at a friend’s beauty sale. I use it mixed with Fenty foundation. Mix it in your palm and apply it to the red area. I have Covergirl’s waterproof eyeliner, but if I’m feeling really whimsical, I’ll curl my lashes and apply waterproof mascara. It’s from L’Oreal. I usually try to wear makeup when I enter the office, but sometimes I don’t. If you want me to come, I will.
For my lips and cheeks, I use Rimmel’s Lasting Finish lip liner. To be honest, I should have bought this years ago because the label has completely disappeared. I thought this was from Kylie Lipkit until I looked it up now…I hope it’s not expired. The lip gloss is a strange thing I bought at a French pharmacy. I don’t know anything about that country, but it’s basically Vaseline in a pink tube. Everybody said, “You should buy this,” and I said, “This is Vaseline.” But I liked it and read that it was good so I started applying it under my eyes at night. I pluck out my eyebrows myself with tweezers. It used to be thinner, but then it was really bushy. But now I just have to clean it.
body + wellness
In the shower, I use a large red bottle with pomegranate scent. I use microbeads, even though I’ve heard they’re terrible for the environment. I have a loofah that I use. I don’t really use body lotions or oils.
I cut my nails yesterday. I should finish it because it looks nice, but I don’t use abrasive because it chips too much and I end up ruining it. I do that when I go to an event or something. I wonder when they’ll do that again. If you feel in danger, get a buff.
I use Clinique Happy scent. Something I never let go of in high school.I actually wrote an article trend about it. And Gucci Lush smells like a sassy, sweaty night out. I especially wear this when doing hookah. I loved this campaign.
I go for a run in the morning and honestly, that’s the best thing for me. I used to drink a lot for a while. I shouldn’t have been drinking so much, but there’s a culture around drinking when you’re in the media. When you go out to dinner, there are drinks. You’re out with co-workers and you just want to gossip and have drinks. It’s always there. At some point in 2017, I was drinking heavily and it was affecting my work, sleep, and mental health. I was very depressed to say the least, and I think it was because the alcohol interfered with my sleep. It looked really bad and was already swollen. I took before and after photos for the article, but I ended up going crazy from drinking so much. So I stopped drinking cold turkey and didn’t touch it for two years. Then I started eating it once a month or on special occasions. I was strapped in, so I stopped drinking and started running. I do it every morning and it’s like my meditation. Otherwise, you will feel like you have a lot of pent-up energy during the day. This helps me calm myself down. I certainly think that’s the most important thing to me. I can’t meditate. ”
— as told to ITG
All photos taken by Alexandra Genova in New York City
