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Tracy Teel is a beauty and skincare writer and the owner of Finesse Writing and Editing LLC. She was a long-time tutorial writer for San Francisco Globe’s beauty platform, FierceLeague.com, covering everything from skin and hair care to makeup and nail art.

Tracy is one of the earliest members of Beautytap’s Beauty Expert community and writes many editorials for Beautytap as well. She is sought after by skincare companies, dermatologists, and cosmetic surgeons for her writing expertise, and proudly taught at her MFA alma mater, the University of California Irvine, as a member of their adjunct faculty in English.

Her vast experience also includes work as a textbook reviewer for Prentice Hall, she has been recognized three consecutive years in the Who’s Who Among America’s Teachers and has written professionally for 30+ years. Her poetry chapbook Such Dust was published by Finishing Line Press, and her poetry and prose have appeared in Alaska Quarterly Review, Rattle, Pearl, Kaleidoscope, and Lake Arrowhead Life.

Tracy sits down with Beautytap to share what lead her to the beauty industry and why the Beauty Expert Program is “unlike anything I’ve ever experienced.”

1.)   How did you get your start in the world of Beauty writing?

Beauty was one of my earliest passions, and thanks to my mom’s guidance, I developed a full skincare routine in my late teens. Years later, after starting my own writing and editing business, I concentrated my efforts on the beauty industry and pitched ideas to individual companies directly and through freelance platforms like Upwork.

2.)   What type of writing education did you receive and what were your first writing jobs like?

Creating beautiful language and conveying a sensory experience through words has always been my passion, so I majored in English and received both my BA and MFA from UC Irvine. At the time, UCI’s program was ranked fourth in the country, and I studied with exceptional poets, James McMichael and Michael Ryan, and attended master classes and intimate readings with U.S. Poet Laureates Charles Wright, Philip Levine, W.S. Merwin, Donald Hall, Robert Pinsky, and recent Nobel Prize winner Louise Glück.

In the beginning, I wrote anything and everything industry-wise, from window film to automotive, but once I dug my heels in and started pitching my services to beauty brands I enjoyed, I started gaining traction … slowly. Emphasis on slowly.

3.)   How did you find out about Beautytap and how long have you been a part of our Beauty Expert Program?

As a K-beauty fan, I discovered Beautytap via former Marketing Director Jude Chao (aka Fiddy Snails) in 2018. Fiddy introduced me to then editor Anna Park, who asked me to write my first editorial for Beautytap that summer, and I became part of the Beauty Expert Program at its inception in 2020. I guess you can call me a Beautytap lifer.

4.)   Before you were at your current role what did you do in Beauty and beyond?

Unlike most beauty experts, I never worked in beauty retail. I spent most of my career in hospitality (catering and convention coordination) plus 11 years teaching creative writing at the university level.

5.)   How did you leverage Beautytap for your writing career?

As a member of the Beauty Expert Program, I often reach out to brand founders and their marketing teams after experiencing a product I particularly enjoy. Thanks to the connections I made through the review program, I now write for Acca Kappa, Lorde + Belle, and MDPen. 

6.)   What do you think of the Beautytap expert review program?

The Beautytap Expert Review Program is unlike anything I’ve ever experienced. I’ve received products in exchange for written reviews in the past, but no other company offers in-depth master classes like Beautytap does.

I appreciate deep-level education, the live Zoom classes, and the opportunity to interact with and ask questions of presenters. To do a thorough job when writing a review, it’s intensely helpful to receive detailed information about formulations, application tips, and usage recommendations directly from the brands themselves.

7.)   What other aspects of the program do you enjoy?

The Expert Review Program at Beautytap has broadened my knowledge base as well as my industry network. Interacting with the other Beauty Experts makes everything I write richer because of their specialized expertise and insight. Writing can be a lonely business, but at Beautytap, I feel like I’m part of a community that shares my passions.

8.)   Any last words for our readers, the company and community?

Because of the dynamic pace at which the beauty industry changes, you have to stay informed to stay relevant. You’re only as good as your last project and what you did lately will always carry more weight than what you did in general. Find the value in every experience and then use what you learn to grow and succeed.

Follow Tracy Teel at Beautytap and on Instagram.

Learn more about Beautytap’s Beauty Expert Program here.

For brands interested in game-changing product reviews, learn more about how to partner with Beautytap’s community of professional beauty experts for detailed, honest, SEO-driven reviews here.