Campus Life | April 17th, 2023

An Impressionable Fit for the Students of FAMU

By: Jacaiya Stephens

Hair galore, bras, strikes, and more! It is safe to say that the students of Florida A&M University provided a warm welcome for Impressions of Beauty’s Beautiversity Experience Tour, partnered with Victoria’s Secret, held on Wednesday, April 5th, on campus in the Grand Ballroom.

Impressions of Beauty was founded by FAMU alumna and Tallahassee native Ashlee W. Gomez. Who launched her brand, Impressions of Beauty, in 2013. IOB directly connects with multicultural college students through digital content, interactive campus events, and beauty and culture varieties.

Photo credit: @impressionsofbeauty on Instagram

Their Impression

On their mission, IOB works with Historically Black Colleges & Universities as an initiative for students who are interested in brand development and entrepreneurship. Amongst Gomez was another notable FAMU alumna Lydia Smith who serves as the Chief Diversity Officer for Victoria’s Secret.

IOB partnered with Victoria’s Secret hosting over 100 young ladies. While offering brassiere fit tests and promoting diversity expansion and potential careers with Victoria’s Secret.

As exciting as this sounds, it was beyond amazing for a few FAMU attendees, like second-year student Adiyah Thomas.

“I rushed to the event as soon as my morning class was over!” Thomas continued to express her anticipation and excitement for the event by describing some of her favorite parts.

“My friends and I follow Impressions of Beauty on social media and love their content. So, when we saw they were coming to FAMU, it was no question of if we were attending or not. Once we got in, the vibes were great, the booth options were amazing. Especially, the Pretty Little Thing shopping items.”

IOB hosted several other beauty and lifestyle brands on their Beautiversity Tour, such as Pretty Little Thing, Crème of Nature, Bolden, Originals by Africa’s Best, First Line, & Darling.

All participants were able to engage with campus influencers, student entrepreneurs, and Greek stroll-offs. The most noted was the mini merchandise shopping spree that had numerous natural hair samples and products from brands like Aunt Jackie’s and African Pride and clothing by Pretty Little Thing.

Our top IOB’s Beautiversity Experience Tour favorites:

• The Camera360 and photo booth props
• Personalized mini shopping booth with Pretty Little Thing
• Sit-down chat with FAMU alumni Lydia Smith and, FAMU scholars & the DJ!

Impressions of Beauty were able to strike the attention of several young ladies and leave their mark once again!

First-year student Briana Vene shared her experience, “I really liked that they have different ways to engage with them on and off campus. One of the Impressions of Beauty booths allowed us to apply for different influencer or campus positions, things outside of school that I would like to be a part of.”

The in-house event was truly a campus delight for all that attended. From goodie bags, giveaways, & empowering conversations, what more can a Rattler ask for?