Names: Molly and Laura Gilinsky
Ages: Molly is 22 and Laura is 21
Hometown: Omaha, Nebraska
Her Campus had the opportunity to sit down with two entrepreneurial sisters, Senior, Molly and Junior, Laura Gilinsky. Two means double the information, double the style tips and obviously, double the fun. They’ve created a style blog on Instagram that has gained over 5,000 followers (putting our 298 followers to shame) and they have over 2,000 subscribers on their YouTube channel. In our chat, they dished all about their fashion and lifestyle platforms, and we discovered how their individual differences have created the perfect balance in launching their successful blog.
Her Campus: What inspired you to start a style blog?
Molly Gilinsky: It’s something we have talked about for almost a year now. Laura has always been into makeup and beauty products, and I’ve always had a distinct style. I was in an entrepreneurship class last semester that allowed us to start the Instagram and video blog accounts with support from the entrepreneurship department and feedback from entrepreneurs. It actually helped a ton, and it was definitely a “trial period” to see where we wanted to take the social media presence. From there we developed a vision of what we wanted, based upon our personal tips and also requests from followers who had seen our initial video. The blog officially launched November 4, 2014 [both Instagram and YouTube account].
Laura Gilinsky: It has changed a lot since we started. Initially we were more video-focused, thinking that followers wanted to see who we are and wanted our personalities to come through visually. A couple of months in, we realized that we had a wider breadth of followers on Instagram, and it generated a very different audience than YouTube videos, although there is about 50% overlap. We also realized our personality can come through on Instagram through our style, writing, etc. So now we are more photo-focused than video.
HC: Who are your biggest fashion inspirations?
MG & LG: Julia Engel is definitely our biggest inspiration for classic style. Julie Sarinana “Sincerely Jules” is also one of our favorites. She has a little bit more of a boho look.
HC: What does a typical “scrub” outfit look like for you?
LG: My BP sweats and a BELLA+CANVAS t-shirt (the two softest things I own.)
MG: I’m all about the soft too – Lululemon Wunder Unders and an off-the-shoulder XL tee from LOFT.
HC: Where are your favorite places to shop and why?
LG: Sephora and ULTA. Makeup is definitely my weak spot.
MG: Since I was in middle school everyone has made fun of me for loving to shop at stores for women in their 20s-30s. Banana Republic, LOFT, GAP, White House and Black Market are my go-to shops.
HC: What’s one makeup essential you can’t live without?
LG: Mascara 100%! I can’t leave the house without it or I feel like I look asleep.
MG: Laura is the makeup whiz, I just follow what she says. I bought Stila CC Foundation the other day and have been wearing it non-stop. I love the way it makes my skin look.
HC: What’s it like working on something like this with a sister? Do you guys inspire each other or have a super different sense of fashion?
LG: It’s so fun to have a reason to get together a lot (not like we need a reason, we hang out all the time). Then when we are together to work on the video blog, there is a good balance between work and having fun! We also each have our own sense of fashion. Molly has always had a consistent classic style (black, whites, greys, beige tones), whereas I’ve always been the one willing to take a risk and try new trends… and whatever is most comfy.
MG: I love love love working with Laura. From a logistical standpoint, I feel like I take the reigns (scheduling, making scripts for the videos, editing videos and planning), but Laura is so great with the creative side. She will make tweaks to my posts, edit photos for me, stockpile Instagrams, take pictures of random things we end up using later and put together outfits. She definitely has the creative vision. I feel like we balance each other really well.
HC: Okay, so clearly you guys have some differences, but it seems like you definitely balance each other out. Now, for the ultimate decision: Curled hair or straight hair?
LG: Straight. It takes me five minutes. Plus, my hair doesn’t stay any other way.
MG: Curled. Every day. Love it.
HC: One of you likes curled, the other likes straight. So, basically you two are like PB&J, the perfect combination of differences. Where can we find more of your amazing fashion and lifestyle advice?
MG & LG: Our Instagram is @mollyandlaura and you can watch our videos on our YouTube Channel, Molly & Laura.