Beauty has always been in Grace Gold’s blood. From her days as a childhood makeup maven to her stint at the Lancôme counter during her college days and now her work at AOL’s Stylelist.com, the beauty writer has always had a soft spot for all things beauty. But she didn’t always realize she could make a career out of it. In fact, it wasn’t until Gold took a job at the Lancôme counter while studying journalism in collegethat she realized she could combine her love of writing and beauty. So she did what every magazine hungry gal does: She got an internship in the industry, landing a coveted internship at Harper’s Bazaar.
Gold has spent the last few years covering breaking beauty news, events and products for Stylelist.com and has loved every minute of it. But it wasn’t always easy. After graduating from NYU with a B.A. in journalism, Gold faced what many magazine lovers do: a tough job market with very few job openings. So instead of entering the magazine world right away, she took a job doing PR for Lancôme after her Harper’s Bazaar supervisor told her about a job opening.
Gold spent the next year with Lancôme and kept her sights on a magazine job in the meantime. After several “close but not quite” job interviews, Grace finally landed a break when she scored a job at People StyleWatch: “My attitude was just ‘This is what I want to do and I’m just gonna keep trying until it happens.’ And it was probably my fourth or fifth try when People Magazine hired me. But [I just thought], thank God I didn’t give up before then.”
These days, Gold keeps quite busy writing two stories a day for Stylelist, calling AOL her “main bread and butter.” Chrissy’s Beauty School chatted with Gold about her career, her must-have beauty products, and the new product she’s dying to try. Here’s what she had to say!
Chrissy’s Beauty School: So how did you get involved in the beauty industry? Is it something you always saw yourself doing?
Grace Gold:“I was always into beauty. From a very young age I used to makeover all my friends in grade school with my mom’s Clinique gift with purchase items; she’d always give me the little bag. And all through grade school and high school I was just always the one doing everyone’s makeup and giving everyone advice. But I always loved writing and I went to NYU to study journalism.
While I was there I had to get a job on the side to make some money and I [decided] I should do makeup. So I worked at Bloomingdale’s at the Lancôme counter and just had the time of my life. I couldn’t believe that I was getting paid to play with makeup all day long.I would do it all day long on a Saturday and come home exhausted, and the first thing I’d do was put on the computer and see what [was] going on in beauty news. And it really made me realize that it just gave me so much energy and I never got tired of it, and it was exciting and it never felt like work to me.
So I was actually getting really nervous about being a journalism major because I really wanted to work in beauty but I thought my dad would kill me because I went to NYU and he took out all these loans. But then I realized, while I was reading magazines at the nail salon, that you could write about beauty and that turned the light bulb on my head.”
CBS: It’s funny how so many people end up in a career where they’re doing something they loved to do when they were children.
GG:“Oh it’s totally true! And I remember a lot of people telling me when I was in college, ‘Have fun with the beauty stuff now before you have to get a serious job.’ And I remember thinking, ‘Why is it like that? Who wrote that rule that you have to get a ‘serious’ job?’ Even if the topic that you love is a serious topic, people feel like they can’t have fun when they actually start a career. My advice is just to do whatever it is that energizes you and [makes you] feel like you’re playing almost.”
CBS: What’s your favorite part of working in the beauty industry?
GG:“Just meeting people constantly who are doing what they love. People who work in beauty and have their own brands and are doing all these great projects [are] so exciting to be around; they’re full of energy and so optimistic, and they’re go-getters. Being around those types of people every day of your life just makes your own life so much better; it makes you feel so much more inspired…And, of course, [you cover] events and you get to see the most exciting places at the moment and eat really great food, and just experience life in a really fun way.”
CBS: So true! Everyone always tells me they’re so jealous of what I do.
GG:“Anybody who works in the this industry get[s] that. You know, their friends are all jealous of their job and I just want to say ‘You don’t have to be; you can just do what you love, too!’”
CBS: So what kinds of makeup trends are going to be hot going into the winter and spring?
GG:“What’s really exciting is, after seasons of very neutral makeup, color is so back. It [seems] like people are so tired of looking natural and doing the minimalist thing (which seemed to creep in with the recession and stayed for a long time). At fashion week and in the industry, all you’re seeing is color.
So really, the best way to have fun with that trend this fall is to get a really great lipstick color. And it always looks great to wear a bold color when it’s colder outside. It’s a great thing to wear to the holiday parties. The colors of the moment seem to be a really great red or even a great plum.”
Makeup Talk
They say that every job has its perks. Well, when you work in the beauty industry, you get more than a few sweet perks and get to try out all the latest products. Here are a few that Gold is dying to try!
1. Silk’n SensEpil at-home laser device: Best used when you haven’t been exposed to the sun or recently gone tanning, this product is at the top of Gold’s wish list.
2. CND limited edition Jason Wu Collection: Gold is counting the days until this nail set, a collaboration between the young designer Wu and CND, launches this spring.
Gold’s must-have products
If stranded on a desert island, these are the three makeup products Gold would bring along with her!
Clé de Peau concealer: Even though it rings in at $70 a tube, Gold says the tube is worth the price because it gives great results and lasts a long time. Gold says her concealer has lasted 2.5 years!
Lancôme Color Fever lip gloss: Gold swears by these glosses because they give a precise application, making it look like you’ve used a lip liner.
Cover Girl mascara: Gold says she always uses whatever new mascara this easy breezy brand releases. “I feel like every woman feels so much prettier when she uses mascara; it opens your eyes,” Gold says.