Q&A With Sally Esposito: Fashion Designer

As a leading independent fashion designer in the Bay Area, Sally Esposito has sewed out a niche in the design industry both in Santa Cruz (her current hometown), and beyond. She's also one of the bloggers at The Penny Rose, and twice a month she infuses her smart fashion sense into educational and stylish blogs. We caught up with this talented seamstress to learn more about what makes the 29-year-old tick. 

How would you describe your personal style?

Uptown hippie meets vintage-loving risk-taker with a strong commitment to high quality fabrics.

What’s your favorite brand of denim?

It continues to change, but right now I’m loving how Paige denim fits. Otherwise, Levis are a trusted standby.

What fashion designer (or beauty brand) are you eyeing right now?

I’ve constantly got my eye on new items from Heidi Merrick, Emerson Fry, Nonoo, Suno, Lauren Moffatt, and Mara Hoffman.

What’s your favorite skin care item?

Honestly, Retin-A. Nothing else compares when it comes to wrinkles and breakouts.

What fashion tip would you give to someone for the upcoming season?

Matching sets! I’ve been obsessed with them for a while and am so happy to see them appearing on the runway and in stores. My go-to outfit this summer will be a coral jacquard blazer with matching shorts that I’ll pair with neutral heels. My advice for the upcoming season—be brave and give matching sets a shot!

If money were no object, what spa or beauty treatment/service would you be addicted to?

Facials—I find them really relaxing and I always love the results.

On occasions when you need to get ready in a rush, what is your quick ‘n’ easy beauty routine?

Benefit Bad-Gal mascara, The Balm Beauty Queen lip stain, and Benefit Stay-Don’t-Stray cover-up. 

What is the most unusual or surprising beauty product in your arsenal?

Evian facial spray. Everyone makes fun of me for having paid 5 euros (I got it at a rest stop in France!) for it, but it’s great to spray on your face right after you apply your make-up. I think it helps your make-up set naturally without looking dry and gives your skin a dewy finish. I like to call it “hydrating from the outside." Plus, it feels great to spray on your face around two or three o’clock in the afternoon when you start to feel tired or need a quick pick me up.

What beauty products would we find in your purse?

Lip stain and Big Sexy Hair Dry Shampoo.

You’re traveling, and can only bring one bag: what favorite beauty/fashion items stay home, and what must go with?

For clothes, I always bring my June leather bomber jacket, a pair of fun (but walkable) heels, a shift dress that’s easy to layer with, a brightly colored belt, jeans, tights, a bathing suit (you never know!) and a pair of boots. The dresses, shirts, and skirts that wrinkle easily stay home.

For beauty, I’ll pack dry shampoo, a curling iron, Dr. Jart + Black Label Detox BB cream, mascara, eyeliner, and make-up remover. I usually don’t bother bringing my blow dryer, eyelash curler, or exfoliator wash. 

Mani or pedi?

Both. 

Lip gloss or lip balm?

Lipstick or lip stain!

Heels or flats?

Heels, for sure.

Fashion Designer Sally Esposito—On Film

Sally Esposito is not only a resident blogger at The Penny Rose, but she's also a remarkable independent fashion designer. Above is a sweet video about her design business. Take a look and tell us what you think.

Sally Esposito Designs from devabfilms on Vimeo.

Meet Anna Wu: Blogger/Makeup Artist/Salon Owner

As a writer and makeup artist at The Penny Rose, Anna Wu is the type of person who brightens everyone's day. She's an avid skincare junkie and knows her way through Sephora like it's a candy store. This 25-year-old also owns Faust Salon & Spa in Scotts Valley, Calif. With her deep knowledge about makeup and skin, as well as her vibrant personal style, I wanted readers to get to know this woman of many faces.

How would you describe your personal style? 
It's constantly changing depending on what or who I am currently inspired by. But I like to stick to well-made basics (mostly black) and accessorize with bold hair, jewelry, and shoes.

What’s your favorite brand of denim? 
J Brand.

What fashion designer (or beauty brand) are you eyeing right now? 
For daily basics, I love Alexander Wang, Reformation, and Isabel Marant clothing. I love clean lines and silhouettes.

What’s your favorite skin care item? 
My favorite skincare item of the moment is Jan Marini's Regeneration Booster. I'm a complete sucker for products so it's pretty hard to choose just one. It acts as a serum and moisturizer and prevents break outs from occurring while fighting signs of aging with insane technology. I'm also not very patient when it comes to skincare. I like to see immediate results, so this product won me over after just one application. 

What fashion tip would you give to someone for the upcoming season? 
Test out new outfits while grocery shopping, or running a quick errand. It's a great way to test out how it makes you feel, how others react to what you're wearing, as well as if it's comfortable.

If money were no object, what spa or beauty treatment/service would you be addicted to? 
Maybe those crazy body wraps that are supposed to pull toxins out of your body, while also rehydrating you and slimming you down. I've never tried it, but if it actually does all of those things at once, that would be amazing! 

On occasions where you need to get ready in a rush, what is your quick ‘n’ easy beauty routine? 
I always fill in my eyebrows and curl my lashes. 

What is the most unusual or surprising beauty product in your arsenal? 
I always have my Epicuren Colostrum Mist on hand. It's great to mist on at the beginning and end of a makeup service. 

What beauty products would we find in your purse? 
Oribe's Dry Texturixing Spray, Shu Uemura's gold lash curler, and a lip product of some sort.

You’re traveling, and can only bring one bag: what favorite beauty/fashion items stay home, and what must go with? 
My Alexander Wang Kori boots, black J Brand jeans,  my leather Veda vest, and a few loose fitting shirts in black and white. The crazy heels stay home because they're too hard to pack. With hair and skincare, I like to pack tons of samples of whatever we have in stock at Faust. I always pack my Precleanse and Daily Microfoliant (from Dermalogica), as well as the Skin Hydrating Booster to help tackle whatever weird dry skin patches that seem to always arise from being on a plane.

Mani or pedi? 
Pedi.

Lip gloss or lip balm? 
Both.

Heels or flats? 
Heels.

Q&A with Elizabeth Limbach: Eco-Beauty Editor

As the eco-beauty editor at The Penny Rose, Elizabeth Limbach brings a smart approach to the "green" side of beauty. Twice a month she blogs about products that she's loving, news in the eco-beauty and eco-fashion worlds, and offers up DIY tricks to save money and be conscious of the global impact of our beauty routines. The 26-year-old is also a professional journalist and newspaper editor. We caught up with her recently for some insight into the best eco-beauty trends of the moment.

How would you describe your personal style?

Feminine, bohemian, earthy, comfortable, sometimes quirky, and environmentally minded.

What’s your favorite brand of denim?

Recycled. My favorite jeans are hand-me-downs from friends, but stores like Crossroads Trading Co. have a great selection of gently used denim. Aside from being eco-friendly, lightly used jeans are broken in nicely.

What fashion designer (or beauty brand) are you eyeing right now?

AmyKathryn bags recently caught my eye, and as of late I’m a big fan of the basic organic tees from Threads for Thought. As for beauty products, I’m itching to invest in some organic skincare products from Sequoia Beauty, which uses natural flowers and herbs and is said to work wonders.

What’s your favorite skin care item?

Naturopathica’s Lavender Protective Moisturizer SPF 17. This is an eco-beauty dream product: all natural, with zinc oxide to protect the skin from the sun and turmeric root to reduce redness.

If money were no object, what spa or beauty treatment/service would you be addicted to?

Massage, hot tub/sauna sessions, and manual lymphatic drainage (MLD), a massage-like lymphatic stimulant that improves circulation and the immune system and is great for the skin.

On occasions when you need to get ready in a rush, what is your quick ‘n’ easy beauty routine?

My usual: a swipe of jane iredale loose powder, a spritz of rose water to blend it, a touch of natural mascara and some tinted natural lip balm. 

What is the most unusual or surprising beauty product in your arsenal?

Baking soda. It’s a powerful yet gentle facial exfoliant, and great for teeth whitening when paired with mashed strawberries. 

What beauty products would we find in your purse?

PeaceKeeper’s lipstick in Paint Me Healed, a jane iredale compact, Burt’s Bee’s Res-Q Ointment, Inesscents’ Jasmine Sandalwood roll-on oil perfume and Chocolate Mint Lip Balm from Organic Indulgence.

Lip gloss or lip balm?

Natural lip balm.

Heels or flats?

Boots—heeled or flat!

The Penny Rose Portrait

Photo by Nick Chao. Click through to see image in large scale.
(Left to right): Ellie Vilmenay, Sally Esposito (seated), Deva Blaisdell-Anderson (standing), Christa Martin, Mama-T, Elizabeth Limbach (seated on the floor), Sarah York, Anna Wu, Jamie Peterson (standing). 

The Penny Rose contributors gathered this weekend for a group portrait by the remarkable Santa Cruz-based photographer, Nick Chao, who took our photo at the Wrigley Building on the Westside of Santa Cruz, courtesy of William Ow and Ow Properties. When I first came up with this idea, I wanted our readers to have a look at the women who make this blog tick. We've included all eight of our writers and our resident filmmaker, Deva Blaisdell-Anderson, a Bay Area film director/producer/editor who contributes short films to the blog. I wanted the image to have the class and glamour of a Vanity Fair spread, yet still be infused with the personalities of each contributor. If you click on the above image, it will take you to one more destination. Click again on the photo and you'll be able to see it in large scale.

Our warmest thanks to William Ow and Ow Properties, Cameron Marks and Vanessa Ambrose (for loaning me a dress and cuff), Laamie Young of Blank Verse Jewelry for the necklace I'm wearing, Nick Chao for his undeniable talent, Deva Blaisdell-Anderson for the short film that will come soon of our experience doing this shoot, Anna Wufor hair and makeup touchups, Mama-T for the behind-the-scenes photos (below), and the beautiful writers of The Penny Rose.

Behind the scenes photos by Mama-T.