We recently connected with Kelsey Pierson and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Kelsey, thanks for joining us today. Risking taking is a huge part of most people’s story but too often society overlooks those risks and only focuses on where you are today. Can you talk to us about a risk you’ve taken – it could be a big risk or a small one – but walk us through the backstory.

It was always on my bucket list to live in another country. Nearing graduation from college, I didn’t have any job prospects until a friend of a friend mentioned they had family in France who needed a nanny for the coming fall & I said hell yes! I got in touch with the family, we got all the details & visas sorted out and I was officially moving to France in the fall. While I was there I was in charge of cooking, cleaning, teaching the 5 children (all under 10) English, laundry and basic household duties. Here’s the kicker though- I don’t speak French. I took a crash course the summer leading up to leaving but I learned “1,2,3 and animals” not basic conversational French (you know the type needed for everyday activities & survival). It was a very hard adjustment but I tried to make the best of it by exploring my city & nearby countries, meeting up with friends who also had moved to other places after graduating and checking off bucket list items. I kept trying to remember this was my dream even if it wasn’t the most glamorous. At the end of the day, both the family and I agreed this wasn’t a good fit and I headed back to the US around Christmas. when I first arrived in France, I had very little savings, didn’t speak the language, knew no one, cried a lot out of frustration, and yet, still, it is one of my favorite life experiences. It taught me so much about myself and really for the first time in my adult life was when I learned how to be alone & truly independent. I wouldn’t trade it for the world and I’m so happy I did something just for me.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I’ve been in and around the beauty & fashion industry for most of my life. Like any little girl, I played dress up and got into my mom’s makeup. During my teen years, I really fell in love with modeling and that became everything to me. I started modeling around 15 and still continue to this day. I went on to be signed with a NY agency and walked in NYFW and featured in multiple magazines posing for high fashion brands & local boutiques. Everyone who knew me, knew I was a model. When COVID hit, everything stopped. There was no work, no photoshoots, nothing. It was the first time I questioned a lot of my identity and tried to figure out who I was outside of being a model. In addition to be fashion obsessed, my family traveled internationally & I couldn’t get enough. I studied abroad in college, took a trip any chance I could & actually interned at a travel agency in college. My husband has always been very supportive of my dreams and really encouraged me to “try on” different hobbies & interests for a career. And one more key element about me, I’m a millennial. I grew up with Instagram and Facebook and I’ve always been active on social media. So not knowing who I was, needing an income, and I love being in front of the camera and sharing my life with others, I started narrowing in on being a content creator. If you asked me what my niche is, I couldn’t tell you. I know a little about a lot and don’t want to confine myself into one specific category. I love so many things and sharing those with my friends.

Right now, I’m working on a couple projects I hope to release soon so stay tuned! 😉 But hopefully for those who follow me , they’ll laugh a little, feel better about themselves, and maybe find a new product or beauty tool they never knew they needed.

I’m so proud of how consistent I have been regardless of the results and taking time to learn new skills to make my content better such as photo editing and the TikTok algorithm.

What I want people to take away from following me is that life is hard but it can be incredibly beautiful. They are worthy of love and are enough. That a lot happens but they can overcome anything. And finally, wear your damn SPF.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

I wish I had the magic answer. Truthfully. I’m still struggling to grow my audience. What I do know that does help is consistency, researching trends, understanding what your audience needs/wants and most of all being yourself. You may hear that the market is over saturated but it’s not. I promise. There isn’t another creator like me on social media and I’m learning to embrace that

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

The lesson: more is not better. This includes a lot of experiences for me but mostly when it comes to skincare. Having all of the new products and trending skincare is nice but truthfully your skin does not need all of that. You just need a good cleanser, toner/serum, moisturizer, & SPF for daytime use. That’s it. I can guarantee you once your skin becomes accustomed to those 3 or 4 products, you will see results much better than the 10/12 step skincare routines. A few years back, I accidentally mixed two different acids on my skin and wanted to actually rip my face off. I was left with really sensitive and bright red skin that even water hurt it for several days after. I switched to a basic routine very soon after and my skin has returned the love by being soft, clear, healthy, & cooperative.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kelsey.e.pierson
• Other: TikTok: www.tiktok.com/@kelsey.e.pierson