Stylista’s Cologne on Elle, Kate and those long eyelashes
If you watched last night’s Stylista, you saw our very own Cologne Schmidt sent packing. (What do you think? Was her departure fair, or should it have been whiny Kate?) I interviewed her last week, planning to post her responses today…but never dreaming it would be her last hurrah! Sob.
Congrats on the show. Are you recognized anywhere? Have long-lost friends started crawling out of the woodwork?
Thank you! Today was a normal New York day–work, then happy hour with the girls. I actually did get recognized once. A guy came up to me and said “You look just like this girl from this new show Stylista, do people always tell you that?” I had to laugh. And I did discover relatives I never knew I had, which was a fun surprise. Everyone has been very supportive.
What does being a fashion editor mean to you? Why were you interested in working at Elle?
A fashion editor has the unique ability to combine creativity and intelligence. You have to always be ahead of trends and be able to predict where the fashion world is going next. Decisions a fashion editor makes can essentially change the way people dress, shop, and think about style. You have to have a love for fashion, innate eye for style, creative vision, and intellectual capacity. It is a fast-paced job that requires a lot of involvement and ambition. To by honest, it is exactly what I would love in a career. Elle is one of the most ideal magazines for me to work at. It is fast-paced, reputable, smart, and beautifully laid out. I admire the talented minds that generate Elle each month.
Tell me more about your line, Oh de Cologne.
I started working on OhdeCologne.com immediately after I returned home from filming the show. I have several vintage dresses that I found in San Francisco and Berkeley that I absolutely love and wanted to recreate, with several contemporary changes. Currently, Oh de Cologne is purely figure-flattering vintage-inspired dresses and four uniquely shaped crystal refillable cologne bottle necklaces on long sterling silver chains. I had always wanted to start my own company, so I decided to use the summer make it all happen. I found a local pattern-maker, seamstress, and web designer to bring my designs to life. I spent days rummaging though the garment district of downtown LA-eventually finding the perfect fabric, lace, elastic, etc. to create my line. With pictures, rough sketches, and innumerable meetings and emails later, my line was a reality. Then, my little sister and several Newport friends of mine helped me with my fashion shoot you can see online at OhdeCologne.com.
My budget only allowed me to get a limited number of dresses and necklaces produced, which I hope to be able to expand at a larger scale in the future. Ultimately, I would love to branch out to other seasonal lines, a tween line, tops, bathing suits, slips, rings, and braclets.
We’ve witnessed Megan and DyShaun terrorizing Kate. What did you think watching it back on TV?
I am kind of torn with the whole Katie situation. On one hand I have to feel bad for her because she really does mean well; however, she makes herself such an easy target for people to make fun of. She really brings a lot of it on herself, with the way she dresses and her sometimes ‘ridiculous’ comments, but no one deserves to be made to feel horrible about themselves. You just can’t take her too seriously.
I noticed you applying Maybelline Great Lash at the beginning of the episode, and you had a very 1960’s Twiggy vibe going on with the eye makeup. Any mascara tips for getting your lashes so defined? (And do you *really* like Great Lash? It’s highly recommended, of course, but it does nothing for my own wimpy lashes.)
You noticed! Yes, I use Maybelline Great Lash in The Blackest Black. I’ve used it for years. To be honest, I can only afford drug store mascara because I go through it so quickly and I think it works just as well as the expensive stuff. I like the small brush because my lashes are hard to deal with, and I can do multiple coats without a lot of clumps. I have super long lashes naturally, and never curl them, so other mascaras may do the trick as well–I probably should branch out
and try a new kind. I get a lot of flack for wearing a lot of mascara, but I just like the 60’s Twiggy look and I was just born with really long thick lashes–I swear I only wear 2 coats. The nurse’s first words when I was born was ‘Wow, this baby has really long eyelashes’.
Tags: Beauty Q&A, Cologne Schmidt, Maybelline Great Lash, Stylista
November 6th, 2008 at 3:24 pm
I really thought Cologne would be there until the end! Initially I wanted Kate to stick around simply out of spite for Megan and DyShaun, but now I could really do without the three of them. Cologne is right in that Kate makes a victim of herself and refuses to take constructive criticism. Even when others try to tactfully offer some helpful suggestions, she just seems to complain about how she shouldn’t have to change. If she doesn’t see room for improvement, what’s the point of even being on the show since she obviously isn’t willing to learn anything?
I actually really liked Cologne’s eye makeup when I first saw her photo. I’ve tried to recreate but my eyelashes aren’t made for it. They don’t separate nicely and just end up looking kind of oddly clumped together.
November 6th, 2008 at 4:00 pm
I don’t think Cologne should of been eliminated. I think it should of been Kate. At first i was mad everyone was ganging up on her but now I see why. Kate strted everything by causing a scene about the mother/daughter pair thing. Cologne only surrendered because she felt sorry for putting pressure on that poor woman.
November 9th, 2008 at 6:52 pm
Cologne definitely was the classiest woman on the show. She showed an enormous amount of poise when, after told she was being eliminated, she went immediately to Anne, shook her hand, and thanked her for the opportunity to be there, and expressed how much she had learned. That showed what a beautiful person she really is, inside and out.
November 10th, 2008 at 7:00 am
As a TV blogger who loves fashion and beauty, I haven’t been *loving* Stylista. However, Cologne was my *favorite*! I definitely think she was sent home too early, and as it often is with reality shows - unfairly. Why is it that nice people get walked on all the time? She was so nice to naive Kate.
I love her site name and I’m glad she’s moved on and sounds happy.
(I have great luck with the Maybelline Great Lash in Blackest Black, as well. Nadine - you possibly already blogged about this, but I think the Le 2 de Guerlain Mascara at Sephora must be able to work wonders for anyone with the two applicator tips. Worth a try, at least!)
January 16th, 2009 at 11:09 am
I’m so glad she got eliminated here are 3 reasons: She picked an ugly outfit. she should’ve listened to kate.and she is a spoiled brat and she has bad taste in clothes