I'm writing this from my KSU dorm room and the snow is falling outside (well, it was when I started writing this post!) and it's so sad because I just got back from sunny Los Angeles, CA! At the beginning of December, I had the opportunity to attend the PINK Rep fall incentive trip to Los Angeles as a result of all of my efforts as a K-State PINK Rep this semester! 10 of the top-performing schools out of the 110 PINK Rep affiliated colleges were selected for this reward, and I am forever thankful to PINK for choosing me to attend this once-in-a-lifetime trip!
This incentive trip was a dream come true for me and my co-rep McKenzie after all of our hard work this semester; I'll never forget the moment we realized we'd won the trip; we were both in the lobby of our dorm at the same time and we basically burst into tears and couldn't stop screaming (and I was working at the front desk at the time haha)! Here is a snippet from the recognition announcement of why PINK selected us:
"Kansas State - Talia and McKenzie's 8/30 Panty Frenzy was extremely successful and led to creating amazing buzz about their program right in the beginning of the school year. Their social media content has also been *fire emoji* and our Digital Team has consistently commented on how high quality their content is!"
Needless to say, I am forever thankful to VS PINK for inviting me on this trip (and for everything else they've done for me) and am so excited to give you the inside scoop on a PINK Campus Rep incentive trip! :)
DAY 1
On the first day of our trip (Thursday 11/29), McKenzie and I hopped on a plane at KCI, set to arrive in Los Angeles around 5:15PM. Our flight ended up getting delayed due to rain at LAX (apparently a rare occurrence), but it was fine because we got to watch the prettiest pink sunset from the air!
We landed just in time to meet all of the other reps in the lobby of the Huntley Santa Monica, our hotel for the week, and head to dinner at Herringbone. The itinerary PINK had sent us showed us eating outdoors somewhere and then exploring the Santa Monica Pier, but the rain ruined both of those plans, so we got to head back to our hotel early and prep for the next day (which was 100% fine since we spent all day traveling and still hadn't seen our hotel room!)
The Huntley was legit the cutest hotel I have ever been in - the lobby alone had me ooh-ing and ahh-ing! Our room was so spacious, decorated with the prettiest white and crystal accents, complete with tasty treats from Sugarfina in acrylic cubes! PINK left us each a pink duffel full of goodies (PINK apparel, snacks, beauty products) on our beds as a welcome gift, and it really made for the best ending to a long travel day!
DAY 2
Day two started with a walk around the block - through the beautiful California weather - to a Pure Barre class. I really appreciated this part of the itinerary because it was so nice to start the day with a fun workout, and it helped us to bond with the other reps! PINK had provided fitness outfits (in our duffel bag gifts) for us to wear to the class, and the PINK camera team followed us around all day shooting promo footage, which was so much fun and honestly made us feel famous!
After the Pure Barre class, PINK had an acai bowl bar set up for us, and we walked back to the hotel to get ready for the day before heading to a PINK focus group. We met with the PINK creative team and basically gave them feedback on product ideas and give them some insight into the wants/needs of a college girl! I always love these focus groups and feedback surveys that PINK sends reps in the PINK rep app - I think it's so cool that we get to influence the product that PINK puts out!
We hopped on our shuttle after the focus group to drive into LA and grab lunch at Pink Taco, a quirky, photo-worthy, pink-painted stop right next to Chateau Marmont (a hotel frequented by celebs!). After getting our fill of guac, tacos, and churros, it was time for the part our itinerary that I had been most excited for - an Instagram tour of LA! All of the locations for this tour were a surprise for us; first stop? Beverly Hills!
Our tour included stops at the Beverly Hills sign, Urban Light (LACMA), and the Paul Smith pink wall; honestly, I'll never get over the effortless aesthetic of California and all it's palms. We also made a surprise stop at Herrera Cafe, a coffee shop famous for their latte art. "Hi, yes, can I please get the Kim K crying latte?"
Our dinner location for day two was actually on of my favorite parts of the trip! Catch LA is a stunning rooftop restaurant on Melrose Ave and is popular with celebrities and yeah I'll probably never eat anywhere cooler. The entryway included a long ceiling strung with lights and hanging flowers and could be seen on every PINK rep's insta story that night. The food was delish and their signature "hit-me" dessert (look it up!) lived up to expectations!
To end day two, we headed back towards our hotel for some post-dinner shopping at PINK Santa Monica. PINK gave us all $50 gift cards to shop with and the digital team followed us around, taking photos and getting footage for the future PINK rep recruitment videos. We ended the night walking around and shopping with our newfound PINK pals, and I had the best time bonding with reps from all around the U.S.!
DAY 3
To kick off the last day of our trip, we decided to sneak out to the beach early morning with the reps from Auburn. Our hotel was just a couple blocks from the ocean, so we woke up at 4:30AM to get ready for the day and catch the sunrise on the beach by 6AM. The early morning was SO worth it! We ran across the sand and dipped our toes in the waves and made the best memories watching the sun rise over the Santa Monica pier!
We cleaned up at the hotel and then hopped on a shuttle to spend the day at the Teen Vogue Summit! The summit was full of empowering keynotes, breakout sessions, fun extracurriculars, yummy food truck treats, and swag-filled pink backpacks. Some inspiring keynotes featured Cara Delevignge (I got in a selfie with her - photo below!) and Serena Williams, and Terry Crews (White Chicks), Lana Condor (To All The Boys I've Loved Before), Vanessa Morgan (Riverdale), and Eva Longoria were also there! I loved that most of it was outdoors in the amazing Cali weather, with instagrammable photo ops around every corner.
The PINK Bus was also in attendance at the summit, complete with $25 gift cards for all attendants and a latte art booth! The two breakout sessions I attended were "Power Players: Female Bosses Tell All" - featuring the founder of Drybar, CBO of Bumble, and more - and "The Art of Cell Phone Photography", where I got some fun clip-on lenses for my iPhone! There were tons of fun, interactive booths outside, including a station where you could customize you backpack, and free makeup touch-ups and headshots with Bare Minerals.
After the summit, we headed to our last dinner together, followed by a walk to the Santa Monica Pier. The pier was such a fun experience with my new PINK Rep friends; we didn't get to stay for long, but we rode the ferris wheel (highly recommend) and took some artsy photos to commemorate the night! Saying goodbye at the end of the night was so hard! PINK throws us all together, with girls who are so similar to us, and we make the best of friends and then have to split up and fly back to our separate states - it's so sad!
The last item on our itinerary for Saturday night said "surprise PINK activities" - once we got back to the Huntley, PINK revealed they had planned a giant slumber party for all of the Reps, but the hotel wouldn't allow that many people in one room (dang it) and therefore couldn't host it. PINK instead surprised us by leaving goodie bags on our beds filled with PINK Christmas pj's and cozy socks!
The next morning, I flew back to Kansas and to the snow, barely fitting all of the goodies I received on the trip into my carryon. (No actually - I had to take stuff out of the bag and stuff it in my pockets for it to fit in the overhead compartment!) Here's a HUGE thank you to VS PINK for making my dreams come true and inviting me on this once in a lifetime trip! I'll never forget this incentive trip, and McKenzie and I plan to work super hard this spring so that we might get to attend the spring incentive trip! If you're interested in becoming a PINK Rep, stay tuned - I'll be writing a post this spring with all the details!
XOXO - Talia
Shop all of my looks from this post by scrolling through this lookbook!
Travel | Fall/Winter Fashion | Life • Styling: Talia • Location: Los Angeles, CA