If I were to have a brother, something I often dream about, I would want him to be Phillip. He is beautiful, inside and out, kind, smart, funny. He is of Italian descent. He doesn’t use his fridge. He values things like chivalry and uses words like “emote.” And when in doubt, he asks “WWBD” – What Would Beyonce Do? Meet Phillip Picardi, Online Beauty Editor, TeenVogue.
AP: What city were you born in? PP: Boston, MA.
AP: What city to do you live in? PP: New York!
AP: What is your middle name? PP: Francis.
AP: What is your astrological sign? PP: Aries.
AP: What is something about you most people don’t know? PP: I’m kind of a slob. I can’t keep my room clean to save my life and I burp sometimes. The girls at my old job used to call me “Belching Beauty.”
AP: What is your most prized possession? PP: My good health.
AP: If you could have dinner with the person of your choice, who would it be? PP: Beyoncé. I think we’re soulmates slash twins. She just doesn’t know it yet.
AP: Describe your fashion style in three words maximum. PP: Preppy urban greaser.
AP: Do you wear a watch? If yes, what model? PP: I don’t like anything on my wrists or fingers—I emote with my hands and jewelry makes me feel bound.
AP: Diamonds or pearls? PP: My great grandmother once found a pair of diamond earrings on the ground. She was poor, you know, from Italy—a peasant life and all that. But she loved her daughter-in-law, my grandmother, so much and valued their relationship. So when she found them, she couldn’t fathom keeping them! Instead, she placed them in my grandma’s palms and said, “May you always find diamonds.” I keep those words with me every day—I’ve found quite a few diamonds in my short time. (Metaphorically speaking.)
AP: What is your #1 beauty secret? PP: That I’m always wearing a full face of makeup. Ha!
AP: What fragrance do you wear? PP: My only constant in the world of fragrance is Editions de Parfums Frédéric Malle’s Musc Ravageur. It has a naughty sillage—a clove, vanilla, musky trail. It completely and utterly contradicts my personality, which is more effervescent and bubbly, but that’s why I like it. Cate Blanchett was just talking about fragrance at a Giorgio Armani event recently and she said, “Perfume is a way of expressing a secret side of ourselves.” I think that’s what Musc Ravageur does for me.
AP: Botox or not? PP: I’m far too young for Botox, and too farsighted to comment either way.
AP: Hair color: natural or not? PP: Mine? Natural, of course. But Aura Friedman at Sally Hershberger has been trying to convince me to go “chinchilla,” which she explains as a mélange of silver, grey, white, and black. I’m still contemplating it…
AP: What are your special diet tips, if any? PP: I recently started eating only raw foods one day per week. It kind of sets the standard for the rest of the week and reminds me to be good. I also have a green juice three times a week and drink a minimum of three liters of water per day. In the afternoons, a couple hours after lunch, I have hot water with lemon to help digest. But other than that, I don’t follow any diet or food trends. In fact, I’m a happy and avid eater. Cookies and fried chicken and pasta!
AP: What do you do for exercise? PP: I’ve been on a kick for the past month. I do yoga once or twice a week, a weights routine three times a week, Pilates once a week, and TRX or resistance band training once a week. I also go for a swim once a week and add in a few miles of running or stairs before the weights.
AP: What are three things that you always have in your fridge? PP: I don’t use my refrigerator.
AP: What is your cocktail of choice? PP: I work for a teen magazine, so I think it’s important to keep alcohol out of professionally-related things like these.
AP: What is your secret to work/life balance? PP: I do what I love. I think Sheryl Sandberg put it best in “Lean In” when she wrote that the very phrase “work-life balance” suggests that the two are mutually exclusive. I’m a beauty editor, and beauty is a 24/7 job.
AP: How many miles do you fly per year on average? PP: Oh, I have no idea. I fly for work about every other month or so, maybe? I take the train home to Boston when I can, too.
AP: What are your three top tips for travel? PP: 1. Always bring a travel candle with you. 2. Always bring at least two liters of water on a flight so you can stay hydrated. 3. Exfoliate your face and body as soon as you can off the train so your cells can catch up to all that movement your body’s been through!
AP: 3 songs on your ipod right now. PP: Emotions, the Neptunes Remix — Destiny’s Child, Jealous — Beyoncé, Let It Go — Keyshia Cole.
AP: What book are you reading right now? PP: A short stories collection by Roald Dahl
AP: Quote to live by. PP: “What Would Beyoncé Do?”
AP: What is your worst pet peeve? PP: People who put their makeup on in the subway and men who don’t understand chivalry.
AP: What time do you usually wake up in the morning, and how many hours of sleep do you usually get? PP: 6:30 is the average, sometimes earlier. And about six hours of sleep.
AP: What is your favorite thing about the beauty industry? PP: That it offers a vehicle for men and women to express themselves and feel their best.
AP: Least favorite thing. PP: That there are known harmful chemicals and ingredients in many of the products we use.
AP: Who is your mentor? PP: That’s so hard to say—I’ve worked for a number of brilliant women who I admire very deeply.
AP: Words of advice for young women starting their careers today. PP: You are your own greatest advocate. Don’t be afraid to project confidence.