I’m always asking other women how they got their cool gigs, what’s making their skin glow, and where they found those amazing shoes. Maybe I’m nosey, but I’d like to think it’s just the journalist in me. I’m lucky enough to know some super inspiring women who are letting me take a closer look inside their careers, closets, and beauty cabinets in a new series, In Her Shoes.
Last Sunday, I chatted up Bethann Wagner, who not only allowed me to interrupt her morning but said, “Come on over—I’ll make mimosas!” For the past three years, the Arizona native has been rocking the Bay Area tech scene, with roles at Yelp, Google, and now, YouTube. Mother to one-and-a-half-year-old Harlowe, Bethann beautifully balances “story time with Tory (Burch) time” and offers style inspiration on her blog, Bethanimalprint. From comfy spots on her Anthropologie bed, we talked curly hair, career jungle gyms, and what to wear on a job interview when you're practically still in the delivery room.
Tell us about the work you do at YouTube.
I’m on the New Partner Development team. I source new talent to be on the YouTube platform and help develop the early stages of their YouTube channels. I focus on fashion and music partners, so it’s really fun for me because I love fashion.
What’s the coolest part of the gig?
The coolest part of working in this space is getting to meet so many awesome people in the fashion industry and so many bloggers who I really admire. I’ve also been able to go to events like New York Fashion Week.
Working with bloggers, and being one yourself, what have you learned so far?
I started blogging to roll my sleeves up and understand what bloggers are going through, and it’s really tough! I had no idea how hard it is to blog, not only to think of content but to get your content out there. It’s really tough, but I’ve been having a blast doing it.
You help bloggers develop their video content. Should we expect to see more video from the blogosphere?
Definitely! Video is the next big thing!
So when will we see video on Bethanimalprint?
I’m actually really camera shy, which is funny since I spend most of my day telling people to make video and helping them with their YouTube channels. But when it comes to being in front of the camera, I’m so shy!
Can you tell us a little bit about your background before YouTube?
I studied advertising and merchandising in college, then worked in Scottsdale, Arizona, at a company where I helped buy and sell leads. From there, I went to selling advertising at Yelp in San Francisco, then account management at Google.
The interview process at Google is notoriously tough. What was your experience like?
For me, it was even more difficult because at the time, my daughter was two weeks old! A friend drove me from SF to Mountain View for my interview. Three people interviewed me that day, and the whole time I was thinking, I can’t wait to get back to my baby. And my boobs really hurt! I wore this grey sheath dress from Anthropologie that I thought looked so professional, but my belly still looked like I was about five months pregnant, so I wore a Belly Bandit. I was afraid they would take me less seriously if they knew I just had a baby, so I strapped that sucker on so no one could tell.
How would you describe your style?
It changes every day! Sometimes I’ll wake up and want to look like I’m from the ’50s—not pin-up, but classic—and I’m feeling like the older sister who always wants the younger sister to turn the music down. Then sometimes I’m that younger sister with the music really loud, and I want to dress a little bit edgier, like today I’m wearing camouflage pants.
What pieces in your closet get the most action?
Jeans, jeans, jeans. I love J Brand jeans and a pair of distressed Joe’s Jeans that I wear constantly. I’m lucky enough that I get to wear jeans to work, so I have an entire drawer dedicated to jeans. Other staples are Marine Layer and James Perse shirts. I also have a collection of nice-ish blouses that I got pretty much exclusively at Nordstrom Rack that I wear to work.
Has your style changed at all since becoming a mom?
Definitely. I think it comes too with getting a little bit older. Since I’m in my late twenties now, the height of my heels has gotten a little lower. That started when I moved to San Francisco because there are so many hills, but especially now that I’m carrying around my daughter Harlowe all the time. I wear flats a lot more and dresses and skirts a lot less because I’m running around like a mad woman and do not need to show the world what’s under there. Harlowe also loves when I wear statement necklaces. She plays with them like they were meant for her. She also loves a good arm party. Whenever she is getting a bit irritable, I give her the bracelets that I’m wearing, and she puts some on and admires her arms.
Let’s talk beauty. What’s your routine like?
It’s different for weekdays and weekends. On the weekdays, I keep it pretty simple. My daughter wakes up early and we get ready together. I’ll wear tinted moisturizer from Benefit and eyeliner. I always have eyeliner on. During the weekdays, it’s usually just a brown eyeliner. I love MAC's Teddy—I’ve been wearing that for about four years now—and NARS in Via Appia. For mascara, Benefit's They’re Real is amazing! I felt cray cray the first time I bought it since it’s a little bit more expensive than what I’d normally invest in a mascara, but it’s worth every penny. I swear when I was being created, God played some mean trick on my eyebrows because they’re totally blond—like Taylor Swift blond—and I have to pencil them in. I pencil them in everyday.
When I go to work, I like to have a lip gloss. I actually use a cream blush by MAC on my lips because it stays on forever. Benetint works great as lip gloss, too. For blush, I love Hot Mama by theBalm. It makes you look a little bit tanner. I tried to wear NARS Orgasm because everyone wears it and of course I see it on every beauty blog, but when I put it on, I look like a glittery mess. If I’m going to have a really long day—like I’m going out after work—I’ll use Benefit Stay Don’t Stray before I put on my Laura Mercier concealer. It helps concealer not get into my creases. Sometimes I’ll use just that and not put any concealer on.
On the weekend, I like to do a cat eye with a Make Up For Ever cream or sometimes I’ll get a little funky. I just started wearing Kalisté by NARS, which is kind of teal-ish. I also love lip colors. I don’t have a signature lip—just like I don’t have a signature scent—and I kind of wish that I did. I wear MAC Impassioned, and I am obsessed with the new NARS satin lip pencils. I’m wearing Luxembourg right now and for a nude, I really like Biscayne Park.
What are some of your favorite skin care products?
I’m obsessed with my Clarisonic. I have, like, this love affair with it. I love that it helps your skin absorb your products better. For face wash, I’m using the Malin+Goetz grapefruit face cleanser. I love the smell of grapefruit. I bought it on Birchbox because it had really good reviews. I’m not afraid to try new things when it comes to my face cleanser. I never buy the same bottle twice. For creams and moisturizers, I use pretty much exclusively Kiehl's, with the exception of a Murad cream that I use at night. I always put Kiehl's cream under my eyes. I have an eye cream for night that’s supposed to firm and decrease the appearance of fine lines, which I'm totally into right now, and an energizing eye cream for daytime.
Now let's discuss your 'do.
So, if you see my hair, you probably don’t think I spend any time on it because it’s usually pretty crazy, but I actually have three Bed Head products that I put in my hair every single day. My hair is naturally curly, and by curly I mean kind of frizzy. And it’s temperamental. I know the barometric pressure of any city that I’m in because of the way my hair is behaving. First, I put in the Foxy Curls Extreme Curl Mousse, then the Contour Cream, then Curl Spray. It wouldn’t all be possible without my Shu Uemura shampoo. It smells like roses and somehow diminishes the appearance of damage. My ends are damaged in a major way from over a decade of bleaching the crap out of my hair. I'm growing it out now, so I have an inadvertent ombré situation happening. I also use a repairing L’Oreal conditioner that’s sulfate-free. I read that Rumi Neely uses it. I don't like to invest too heavily in conditioner, and this one is like $7 and keeps frizz at bay.
You're also big on fitness. Do you have a workout routine?
I like to get a workout in six days a week. When I'm at work, I'm fortunate enough to have a gym there and take some of the classes that are offered—I love Body Pump, TRX, and circuit training—and I'm a really big runner, so I run when I get home. I run about three miles a day. I recently ran a half marathon and am training for another one.
What’s the best piece of advice you’ve received lately?
I’m reading Lean In right now, and something that really resonated with me is that we often think of careers as a ladder, and that you have to climb that ladder, when realistically, your career is a jungle gym. You might go up a little bit, and then you need to make a lateral move, and that’s totally okay because you plan on being in the workforce for thirty or forty years. So if you make a lateral move that you’re going to learn from and that’s going to make you happy, then that’s okay because in the grand scheme of things, over that long career that you’re going to have—that I plan on having—you want to be happy.
Last question: If you could only keep one pair of shoes from your closet, which ones would you chose?
I would choose these black Tory Burch heels because they seriously go with everything and they’re ridiculously comfortable. They’re professional, but you can also wear them out, like I wore them to my husband’s birthday on a date. They have a thick, chunky heel so they’re super comfortable.
Last Sunday, I chatted up Bethann Wagner, who not only allowed me to interrupt her morning but said, “Come on over—I’ll make mimosas!” For the past three years, the Arizona native has been rocking the Bay Area tech scene, with roles at Yelp, Google, and now, YouTube. Mother to one-and-a-half-year-old Harlowe, Bethann beautifully balances “story time with Tory (Burch) time” and offers style inspiration on her blog, Bethanimalprint. From comfy spots on her Anthropologie bed, we talked curly hair, career jungle gyms, and what to wear on a job interview when you're practically still in the delivery room.
Tell us about the work you do at YouTube.
I’m on the New Partner Development team. I source new talent to be on the YouTube platform and help develop the early stages of their YouTube channels. I focus on fashion and music partners, so it’s really fun for me because I love fashion.
What’s the coolest part of the gig?
The coolest part of working in this space is getting to meet so many awesome people in the fashion industry and so many bloggers who I really admire. I’ve also been able to go to events like New York Fashion Week.
Working with bloggers, and being one yourself, what have you learned so far?
I started blogging to roll my sleeves up and understand what bloggers are going through, and it’s really tough! I had no idea how hard it is to blog, not only to think of content but to get your content out there. It’s really tough, but I’ve been having a blast doing it.
You help bloggers develop their video content. Should we expect to see more video from the blogosphere?
Definitely! Video is the next big thing!
So when will we see video on Bethanimalprint?
I’m actually really camera shy, which is funny since I spend most of my day telling people to make video and helping them with their YouTube channels. But when it comes to being in front of the camera, I’m so shy!
Can you tell us a little bit about your background before YouTube?
I studied advertising and merchandising in college, then worked in Scottsdale, Arizona, at a company where I helped buy and sell leads. From there, I went to selling advertising at Yelp in San Francisco, then account management at Google.
The interview process at Google is notoriously tough. What was your experience like?
For me, it was even more difficult because at the time, my daughter was two weeks old! A friend drove me from SF to Mountain View for my interview. Three people interviewed me that day, and the whole time I was thinking, I can’t wait to get back to my baby. And my boobs really hurt! I wore this grey sheath dress from Anthropologie that I thought looked so professional, but my belly still looked like I was about five months pregnant, so I wore a Belly Bandit. I was afraid they would take me less seriously if they knew I just had a baby, so I strapped that sucker on so no one could tell.
How would you describe your style?
It changes every day! Sometimes I’ll wake up and want to look like I’m from the ’50s—not pin-up, but classic—and I’m feeling like the older sister who always wants the younger sister to turn the music down. Then sometimes I’m that younger sister with the music really loud, and I want to dress a little bit edgier, like today I’m wearing camouflage pants.
What pieces in your closet get the most action?
Jeans, jeans, jeans. I love J Brand jeans and a pair of distressed Joe’s Jeans that I wear constantly. I’m lucky enough that I get to wear jeans to work, so I have an entire drawer dedicated to jeans. Other staples are Marine Layer and James Perse shirts. I also have a collection of nice-ish blouses that I got pretty much exclusively at Nordstrom Rack that I wear to work.
Has your style changed at all since becoming a mom?
Definitely. I think it comes too with getting a little bit older. Since I’m in my late twenties now, the height of my heels has gotten a little lower. That started when I moved to San Francisco because there are so many hills, but especially now that I’m carrying around my daughter Harlowe all the time. I wear flats a lot more and dresses and skirts a lot less because I’m running around like a mad woman and do not need to show the world what’s under there. Harlowe also loves when I wear statement necklaces. She plays with them like they were meant for her. She also loves a good arm party. Whenever she is getting a bit irritable, I give her the bracelets that I’m wearing, and she puts some on and admires her arms.
Let’s talk beauty. What’s your routine like?
It’s different for weekdays and weekends. On the weekdays, I keep it pretty simple. My daughter wakes up early and we get ready together. I’ll wear tinted moisturizer from Benefit and eyeliner. I always have eyeliner on. During the weekdays, it’s usually just a brown eyeliner. I love MAC's Teddy—I’ve been wearing that for about four years now—and NARS in Via Appia. For mascara, Benefit's They’re Real is amazing! I felt cray cray the first time I bought it since it’s a little bit more expensive than what I’d normally invest in a mascara, but it’s worth every penny. I swear when I was being created, God played some mean trick on my eyebrows because they’re totally blond—like Taylor Swift blond—and I have to pencil them in. I pencil them in everyday.
When I go to work, I like to have a lip gloss. I actually use a cream blush by MAC on my lips because it stays on forever. Benetint works great as lip gloss, too. For blush, I love Hot Mama by theBalm. It makes you look a little bit tanner. I tried to wear NARS Orgasm because everyone wears it and of course I see it on every beauty blog, but when I put it on, I look like a glittery mess. If I’m going to have a really long day—like I’m going out after work—I’ll use Benefit Stay Don’t Stray before I put on my Laura Mercier concealer. It helps concealer not get into my creases. Sometimes I’ll use just that and not put any concealer on.
On the weekend, I like to do a cat eye with a Make Up For Ever cream or sometimes I’ll get a little funky. I just started wearing Kalisté by NARS, which is kind of teal-ish. I also love lip colors. I don’t have a signature lip—just like I don’t have a signature scent—and I kind of wish that I did. I wear MAC Impassioned, and I am obsessed with the new NARS satin lip pencils. I’m wearing Luxembourg right now and for a nude, I really like Biscayne Park.
What are some of your favorite skin care products?
I’m obsessed with my Clarisonic. I have, like, this love affair with it. I love that it helps your skin absorb your products better. For face wash, I’m using the Malin+Goetz grapefruit face cleanser. I love the smell of grapefruit. I bought it on Birchbox because it had really good reviews. I’m not afraid to try new things when it comes to my face cleanser. I never buy the same bottle twice. For creams and moisturizers, I use pretty much exclusively Kiehl's, with the exception of a Murad cream that I use at night. I always put Kiehl's cream under my eyes. I have an eye cream for night that’s supposed to firm and decrease the appearance of fine lines, which I'm totally into right now, and an energizing eye cream for daytime.
Now let's discuss your 'do.
So, if you see my hair, you probably don’t think I spend any time on it because it’s usually pretty crazy, but I actually have three Bed Head products that I put in my hair every single day. My hair is naturally curly, and by curly I mean kind of frizzy. And it’s temperamental. I know the barometric pressure of any city that I’m in because of the way my hair is behaving. First, I put in the Foxy Curls Extreme Curl Mousse, then the Contour Cream, then Curl Spray. It wouldn’t all be possible without my Shu Uemura shampoo. It smells like roses and somehow diminishes the appearance of damage. My ends are damaged in a major way from over a decade of bleaching the crap out of my hair. I'm growing it out now, so I have an inadvertent ombré situation happening. I also use a repairing L’Oreal conditioner that’s sulfate-free. I read that Rumi Neely uses it. I don't like to invest too heavily in conditioner, and this one is like $7 and keeps frizz at bay.
You're also big on fitness. Do you have a workout routine?
I like to get a workout in six days a week. When I'm at work, I'm fortunate enough to have a gym there and take some of the classes that are offered—I love Body Pump, TRX, and circuit training—and I'm a really big runner, so I run when I get home. I run about three miles a day. I recently ran a half marathon and am training for another one.
What’s the best piece of advice you’ve received lately?
I’m reading Lean In right now, and something that really resonated with me is that we often think of careers as a ladder, and that you have to climb that ladder, when realistically, your career is a jungle gym. You might go up a little bit, and then you need to make a lateral move, and that’s totally okay because you plan on being in the workforce for thirty or forty years. So if you make a lateral move that you’re going to learn from and that’s going to make you happy, then that’s okay because in the grand scheme of things, over that long career that you’re going to have—that I plan on having—you want to be happy.
Last question: If you could only keep one pair of shoes from your closet, which ones would you chose?
I would choose these black Tory Burch heels because they seriously go with everything and they’re ridiculously comfortable. They’re professional, but you can also wear them out, like I wore them to my husband’s birthday on a date. They have a thick, chunky heel so they’re super comfortable.
wow shes super cute. how the heck does she run 3 miles a day and workout 6 times a week and work full time and have a little one? I work part time and teach 2 exercise classes a week and rarely get in one more. My 2 year old takes up every square inch of time, I dont think i could get half of those lovely products on in the morning. Id love some tips on balance from this wonder woman :)
ReplyDeletebeautiful Jua love you
You're next, Holly! I want all of your holistic health and beauty tips! My friend Rebecca has a toddler and an awesome blog called Mommyproof, and she recently interviewed Bethann about work-life-parenting balance. If you want to check it out, here's the link: http://mommyproof.com/mom-crush-monday-with-bethann-wagner. You're a wonder woman, too, lady! xo
DeleteThat was a great interview too, what a hilarious, adorable and savvy mama! Its so inspiring hearing about other women and the ins and outs of their lives, the decisions and priorities we all have to make and the guilt that comes with it. And all the tips available from women speaking their truth. Thanks Julia, Thanks Bethann I bet Harlowe is an amazing little girl xoxo
DeleteThanks for including that link, Julia! And Macaya Mama, I honestly "don't know how she does it" when it comes to Bethann. I just wrote a post (below) about how I am getting seriously down about not finding enough time to exercise. I so, so feel you (my readers had some kickass suggestions, though)!
Deletehttp://mommyproof.com/when-do-you-find-time-to-exercise-no-seriously-when/
One more thing - when it comes to the mom/life/work/exercise/etc balance, I have come to terms with the fact that everyone's situation is ENTIRELY different. Someone's partner could be a stay at home parent, or they could be an investment banker who's never home. You might have a partner who loves to cook dinner every evening, or one who only gets home for "bedtime" a few nights a week. I've (tried) to stop "comparing" because it only leads you (okay, me), to feel frustrated. That's why I'm trying to work within the framework I have ;) xox
Thanks, ladies, for reading and for such thoughtful comments! I'm not a mom yet so I cannot even pretend to understand for even a minute what it's like! But, I do know that I'll be turning to all of you for your advice someday! xo
DeleteJust wanted to thank Macaya Mama for the sweet comments. Thank you Julia for the feature. I love you blog so much!
DeleteGreat post! I LOVE this series, what a great idea. I love not only celebrating strong, successful, badass women, but getting a peek into their routines & regimes is so fun.
ReplyDeleteLove these pictures too! :)
Thanks, Caity! I'm so glad that you liked the first post in this series! Bethann made for an awesome (and totally badass) subject!
Deletexo
Julia
this is actually so interesting to read - smart lady
ReplyDeleteThankfifi
p.s. thanks so much for your sweet comment on my blog and my furry boy.x
Thank you so much, Wendy! I'm so glad you enjoyed this post. It was so fun to put together!
DeleteI'm loving your blog and of course, Mr. K! You make me want to try to include my dog in some of my outfit posts...unfortunately, she doesn't seem as well-behaved as your pooch!
xo
Julia
Excellent profile piece Julia! Enjoyed learning about Bethann's career and love the photos.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much, Jenny! Now I need to fly to NYC and interview you! I know you are full of excellent career insights and Swedish beauty secrets! :) xo!!!
DeleteLovely piece! Can't wait for our collaboration!
ReplyDeletexx,
Alex
www.sfshopgirl.blogspot.com