This week’s guest is Val Monroe, the former beauty director at O, The Oprah Magazine and founder of the blog called, “How to Not F*ck Up Your Face.” Val has also been an editor at Ms., Redbook, Self, and Parenting Magazines, among others, a contributing writer at Parents and Entertainment Weekly, and have written hundreds of articles on a wide range of topics for many national publications. She has appeared many times on national television, and have been a speaker at O, You events—appearing before up to 5,000 women who have enrolled in a day’s worth of Oprah-centric activities. Val is particularly interested in the intersection of kindness and perceptions of beauty and is working on developing a protocol for doctors doing aesthetic evaluations. She is also focusing on a multi-media project, including a Substack newsletter: How Not to Fu*k Up Your Face, philosophical and practical advice for anyone who’s ever looked into a mirror.
In this episode, Val and I talk about her extensive background in magazine journalism and her career highlights and lessons. We also dive deeper into societal standards when it comes to beauty and why she’s so passionate about changing the conversation from fearing aging to acceptance and self compassion. Val explains the importance of embracing where you’re at in life and how she’s advocating for people to adopt a more positive outlook on aging and encourages all of us to love our faces without objectifying it. She is passionate about this topic and this message, which inspired her to start her blog and newsletter, where she is hoping to change the dialogue of aging in today’s society. We wrap this episode with an unexpected confession that involves why being anonymous in New York City is a perk that you don’t want to miss!
You can support Val by signing up to her newsletter here: https://valeriemonroe.substack.com/ and follow Val on Instagram here.
And feel free to direct any questions, comments or concerns regarding this podcast to thecityconfessions@gmail.com.
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1 comment
Oh this is so interesting for me in particular I worked in the publishing industry in NY and even know people that have worked at these titles and even had an interview at Red Book!! This industry has changed a lot. I so going to check out her website thanks for the introduction!
Allie of
http://www.allienyc.com