Welcome to the Intern Diaries. A lot happens behind-the-scenes here at Milk Makeup HQ and our interns play a huge role in keeping things moving. Here you'll get an inside look to see exactly what a day in the life looks like for them. This week, get to know T’yanna (she/her), our Growth Marketing Intern and winner of the Milk Makeup Visionary Fund.
What school do you go to?
Thomas Jefferson University/Philadelphia University.
What are you studying?
Fashion Merchandising and Management with a concentration in Global Brand Strategy.
What’s your dream job?
Fashion stylist. I’ve always had a passion for fashion (that’s definitely a Bratz reference). I always used to get compliments in high school about how I put clothes together and how I was stylish, so I thought, Let me take this into the real world.
Why did you want to intern at Milk Makeup?I wanted to intern at Milk Makeup for two reasons. One, because it would broaden my spectrum of what I’ve learned. Having studied fashion, a background in makeup makes me more versatile so I can pitch myself to more companies. Two, I get to learn about the history of Milk. It’s a family-oriented company, which is another cool thing I like about it. Can you talk a little bit about your FSF project proposal?My project for the scholarship was based on a collaboration between Milk Makeup and Pantone to help promote a digitally-engaged strategy that would launch in the Metaverse. I chose Pantone to be a part of the collaboration because of the color story they share with consumers–the Pantone Color of the Year. This year's hue was Very Peri, which encourages courageous and imaginative expression through unprecedented times. What’s your personal relationship with beauty?In high school, I was a huge ColourPop stan (I still am!) and that’s what helped me start doing my makeup. Also because I have such sensitive skin, I can’t use certain products. Playing around and seeing what products could and could not work for me is how I fell into beauty. To me, beauty means the same thing as fashion: it’s a form of self-expression. You don’t need to worry about whether someone really likes or really hates your look because at the end of the day, it’s about you, and if you feel confident in your look, that’s all that really matters. |
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What’s your one ride-or-die Milk Makeup product?Definitely the Overnight Melatonin Serum. It puts me to sleep. A couple of dabs after a good shower and my skincare routine and I’m out. I also love the Lip Color Lipstick in Wavy. I used to wear lipstick every day in high school. I love a good matte maroon dark lip. That’s my go-to. What’s a typical day at Milk like for you?I come into the Soho office three times a week. It’s about an hour commute (17 stops), so I try to leave the house between 9:30 to 9:45 AM. The first thing I do is sign on to meetings and add new ideas to my presentation. I’ll ask my team for feedback and questions to see if other people have questions—then I present. The Metaverse is still relatively new and a lot of the questions they may ask haven’t been answered yet, so I do a bunch of research and make sure I’m answering each question to the best of my ability. Then I work in the Plaza [ed note: that’s what we call our lobby/hangout space at Milk HQ] and hang out with my intern friends for the rest of the day. What’s your go-to coffee order?My go-to coffee is a small vanilla iced coffee with any kind of milk. I can’t do hot coffee, it just doesn’t hit right. What’s your zodiac sign?I’m an Aquarius Sun, Capricorn Moon, and Cancer Rising. |
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What’s an album or song you’re listening to on repeat?
Wasteland by Brent Faiyaz.
What advice do you have for people who want to intern at Milk?
I would say step out of your comfort zone. I’m a shy person. When I first met other interns, I was sitting at the table by myself. Coming into the office after being remote, the interactions can be kind of intimidating. But once you open up it’s very invigorating—everybody’s nice! The more you say hi, the more you get comfortable and come out of your shell.
What’s the thing you’re most proud of that you’ve worked on at Milk?
My presentation on Milk’s potential involvement in the Metaverse and how it can benefit our company. Having the opportunity to work with Milk and be on calls with the CEO, you don’t really get to do that when you work at other internships.
Can you tell us a bit about the Fashion Scholarship Fund?
I got accepted to the Milk internship program through our partnership with the Fashion Scholarship Fund. I was one of two winners. It’s still an experience that I never in a lifetime thought I would be doing. I found out about it through one of my professors at my school and she suggested it to us. It was a whole three month process. I remember right before I submitted it I was on a call with my professor, going through last minute edits. But I’m really grateful for the internship, I’m really excited about it. It’s exciting, it’s a whole new field for me because I don’t have a beauty background. Learning about what goes on behind the scenes, what goes into it, from the planning stage to the execution is really cool. I’m curious to see what happens at the end with the scholarship.
Follow T’yanna on Instagram @projectcapree.
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