Sophia Vilensky

Sophia Vilensky is a Freelance Beauty Writer at Marie Claire. She has also written about beauty, food, and entertainment for publications including Byrdie, Bravo, Teen Vogue, and Us Weekly , and—having grown up in a family of beauticians and spent years conducting deep dives into the world of aesthetics, cosmetic product formulation, and beauty treatment development (luxury, budget, and everywhere in between)—is a maven in her field, showing a special interest in clean ingredients, blush shades, holistic wellness, and the concept of signature fragrances. Also known as Sophie (she’ll answer to either), Sophia has worked as a hospital research assistant, senior copywriter, content strategist, and proofreader for numerous top beauty and wellness brands—though you’ll be hard pressed to her with her hair and makeup actually done.

While you’ll regularly catch her bopping around on either coast, Sophia lives full-time in Minneapolis. A graduate of the University of Minnesota—she was an English major and cinema studies minor—she spent three years as the Minnesota Daily’s Arts Entertainment Editor, winning 2019 Editor of the Year as she integrated herself in the Twin Cities arts scene and connected with the coolest stylists, aestheticians, and designers around. In 2019, she graduated Summa Cum Laude with an NPR-featured thesis project and launched her freelance writing career while simultaneously exploring the world of fine dining (you have to know about it to write about it!) as a team member of James Beard Best New Restaurant-nominated Demi. While there, she tried Osetra caviar for the first time and made sure to ask all the chicest guests about their lipstick color.

When she’s not writing or researching and testing new beauty launches, Sophia is easy to find watching reality TV, reading the latest and greatest novels and memoirs, or taking her supplements. Keep up with her (while she’s keeping up with the youngest Kardashian generation) on Instagram @sophiavilensky