Eden Hansom – Women in Biz/Personal Story

The year was 2018, but the foundation for me to actually blow up started a few months prior back in 2017. 
Let me take you all back to how it all started.

I was working for a local TV station. 6 years to be exact, and I felt like I had plateaued. Granted, I never intended to even be there for 6 years but there I was, in the creative services department lacking the creativity to even do the things I wanted to for myself. Before I got into the TV game, I was a blogger and very consistent in my work. From lifestyle, to pop culture to underground music, I was in the mix. Then came the opportunity to work for a news station and the TV experience that I thought would catapult me into the next phase. 

Wrong.

Instead, I felt myself getting deeper and deeper into complacency for other people’s projects, which pushed me farther and farther away from working on the things that mattered most to me. Something had to change, but what was it going to be? 

Then in 2017, I started traveling more and living instead of existing. And that’s where it hit me. I’ve got to get back to my happy place and start pouring more back into myself. Skincare and makeup have always been my loves, but little did I know that combining my knack for writing and my love for beauty was going to be my ticket to being a global favorite review of some of the top publications I’ve just read. Fenty Beauty had just launched back in September of 2017 and EVERYONE just had to get their hands on some product, including myself. I spent most of the fall collecting whatever was left on the shelves to buy from concealer to highlighter, but my foundation shade seemed to always be sold out (#440). FINALLY, in October I think, I got my hands on some and just HAD to let everyone know by way of a review on their page. I wrote about it in only the Eden could and forgot about it. And just lived my life……

Fast forward to the beginning of January 2018. 

I flew to San Diego to spend some much needed sister-time with my bestie/sisterfriend and my niece and nephew. During the trip, we decided to leave the kids with her husband and take a nice healing weekend in New Mexico to do absolutely nothing. Imagine my surprise when she nearly kicked the door off the hinges that bright saturday morning, phone in hand, and exclaimed, “B*tch! Did you write this?!’

There it was, my little review I wrote two months prior, reposted on The Berry. And because of my distinct writing style, my sis knew it was me. I was tickled that someone posted it on Twitter first, and then this little publication reposted but little did I know it was just the tip of the iceberg. 

Sunday, we got on a plane and headed back to California and the moment I turned my phone back on is when sh*t really hit the fan. My notifications were going off from instagram. Friends and family were going crazy on my Facebook page, I logged onto my social media accounts and saw that not only had Fenty reposted my review….but THEY HAD TAGGED ME IN IT FOR CREDIT! My follower numbers were going up drastically, people were commenting on my other funny posts, and then other publications I had read for years were also shouting me out and reposting the review. From Glamour to Vogue to Seventeen magazine. You name it, they were reposting it. 

It felt good to be noticed and recognized for something that came so naturally to me. Especially since I was feeling a bit down on myself and questioned if I had the talent to continue writing. Whatever doubt I had that weekend, was replaced by the confidence and validation in my review and the love from all over the world that I COULD in fact do it. Companies were flooding my inbox trying to get me to review products because they too wanted reviews just like the one I’d given Fenty. It felt damn good. 

These days, I’m no longer in television but I’m pressing forward in the industry of beauty and skincare. I’ve learned how to utilize my talent and personality for what I truly love and have learned that consistency and quality will always prevail. When it comes to going viral, there’s not really one set form. All I can tell you is that what works for me is being authentic and personable in everything you put out. If it’s your passion and coming purely from your heart, people will find you.

Just like they found me.

Article written by: Eden Hansom @iamsoeden – Follow on Instagram