As the Social Manager and Content Creator at WAH Nails, Ellen Atlanta knows everything there is to know about drool-worthy aesthetics. Her Instagram feed is curated to pastel perfection, featuring wildly fun wardrobe pieces, daily musings as a WAH girl and of course, the most fantastic nails. Dashing in and out of photo shoots and meetings around London, Ellen radiates girl power vibes on a daily basis, all while managing to stay totally stylish. We caught up with the bubbly beauty to chat about what it means to work for one of the coolest nail brands, and how her penchant for style evolved from a young age.
We absolutely love your style! What would you say defines it?
My style is very pink…I stick to cool toned colours, I love faux fur, satin, statement coats and shoes. Recently, my style has really been inspired by the Marie Antoinette shoot that Rihanna did with CR Fashion Book - the colour palette, the reds mixed with pastel pinks and blues, the corsetry, the opulence – it’s feminine yet risqué and unapologetic and I think that’s really empowering. I like to emulate that attitude, I can wear pink and thigh-high boots and still be a strong, independent, intelligent woman… and I’ll still kick your ass.
Your Instagram is gorgeously curated, how did your love affair with styling and all things pastel start?
I’ve always loved fashion and I’ve always had really specific taste. My mum is a fashion designer and I used to have birthday parties where my friends and I would go to her work and create our own t-shirts! I remember I used to lay my outfits out on the floor when I was little, I’d even set them out in different poses, doing different actions and everything. I’ve always had a strong sense of what I did or didn’t like, but it took me a while to really find my style. I started off copying people I admired and I remember getting frustrated because I didn’t feel like I’d found ‘me’ or my personal style yet. I think it was around 2012 where I first did a blog post about ‘the pastels trend’ and wanting an outfit that resembled ‘an explosion in a My Little Pony factory’ – it just spiralled from there. My style has definitely evolved since then, but I still follow a similar colour palette. I think that was the start of me finding my style and my voice in the fashion community.
What’s your day-to- day like as Community Manager and content creator for WAH nails?
My role is quite wide-ranging so every day is different! I manage the WAH Community, everyone from our super fans to cool girls, influencers and celebrities; I’m also lead on all written content for WAH, so I manage the blog, the newsletter and any copy we need; I manage our PR and press requests and then will soon be managing our social channels too! It’s a total whirlwind! On Monday I spent the whole day in the salon – we had cool WAH girls coming to preview the WAHxASOS collection and do a photoshoot with us, so that was super fun. WAH brings girls together in a way that no other brand does, I’ve had so many occasions leaving work feeling so inspired and just giddy with girl power and energy, there’s a buzz that comes with working for the brand and being amongst WAH girls that you just can’t describe! I want that to radiate throughout the WAH community, and I want everyone to want to be a part of it.
Some days I have back to back events and meetings – on Wednesday I started my day at a Blogger Breakfast, meeting cool influencers and chatting about all things WAH, then we had a meeting to plan our Halloween content, a PR meeting about WAH Soho and I finished the night at the launch dinner for WAHxASOS! Other days I work from home trying to sort through my email inbox in an attempt to stay organized through all the craziness! No day is the same, but I LOVE my job!
Do you have a favourite nail colour/polish that you just can’t live without?
I always go for the same colours, no matter how strong my intentions are of going in and trying something different! I love lilacs, baby pinks, baby blues, silver metallics and glitters. WAH’s Schrager’s Touch is an absolute favourite - glitter just makes everything better.
Where do you love to shop most?
I love ASOS, I check their new in pages every day and I have a premier account, so I abuse the free next day delivery and free returns! I also love searching for something a bit different on Depop and eBay, I recently got some pink velvet thigh-highs from there and I’m obsessed!
What inspires you?
The girls I get to meet and work with! I also love magazines, and I don’t mind paying for them because it’s an industry I want to support. I currently have a pile next to my bed that I look through for inspiration – I love Plastik, Dazed, Wonderland and I’m always keen to find new ones.
How do you stay healthy (body and mind)?
This is something I’m not great at… Food is a big weakness for me! I’m lazy when it comes to eating well and I love anything that’s convenient and sweet. It doesn’t help that our offices at Facebook come with a whole trolley of free snacks…
One of the girls I live with has recently turned vegan though, so that has really impacted my eating habits. I’d say around 50% of what I eat is now vegan, my breakfast is every morning (porridge and almond milk) and most of our dinners are, because we eat together and it just makes life easier! I don’t think I’ll ever fully transition to the vegan lifestyle, but I think if we all took small vegan steps, we’d benefit the planet hugely. In terms of keeping a healthy mind, I struggle a lot with anxiety and panic attacks, as many of my generation do. I still haven’t found the perfect way of dealing with it, but sometimes I think it’s important to take a step back and look at how far I’ve come. I don’t always need to put pressure on myself to be better, I need to focus more on what I’ve already achieved and where I’m at now.
Would you share an early beauty memory or a biggest beauty mistake with us?
Oh god there are loads! My mum cut a triangle in the middle of my fringe once… she was trying to cut into it like the hairdressers do, but I just ended up with a big triangular gap in the middle. I had bleached yellow hair for a while… I used to do it myself and it was awful – but I think that was all just part of growing up and seeing what worked. I still have bleached hair now, I just learnt how to maintain and tone it! I remember going to high school wearing dream matte mousse and dream matte powder (I have dry skin btw) and I can’t even imagine how awful that looked, it was probably about 2 shades too dark as well. Remember when it was all the rage to cover your lips in foundation and put gloss over the top? Yeah…
What is beautiful to you?
I love depth – it’s not enough for me if you just have a pretty face, I want to know about your ambitions and how you want to change the world. I love talking to people who are passionate about what they’re doing, people always light up when they’re talking about something they love. I think it’s beautiful when you see girls realise their power and potential. I recently worked with young girls at a fashion charity for disadvantaged youth across London, we started chatting and the conversation went from feminism and equality to politics and Brexit. These girls were still young, but they had a fire and a passion about these subjects that just amazed me. I want to nurture and encourage that fire in girls, to let them know that it’s so much more important than just being skinny or pretty.
If you could only Slapp on one beauty product, what would it be?
Concealer! Specifically, the Collection Lasting Perfection concealer. It’s always raved about and for £4 you really can’t go wrong. I have quite dark purple under eye circles and get a bit of redness on my cheeks, so on lazy days I just use a bit of this and some mascara.
Do you have a beauty muse?
Most of my beauty inspiration comes from YouTubers to be honest! Claire Marshall is a QUEEN and I’m always looking for inspiration from pale skin beauty gurus like Kayla Hagey, I trust all of her recommendations. I get so much inspiration from Eleanor Barnes (Snitchery on Instagram), she is absolutely stunning and creates the most insane looks. She inspires me to try different things that may be out of my comfort zone and she talks about wider social issues and injustice, so I really admire her for using her platform.
Follow Ellen: @Ellenatlanta
