On September 14, SIMPLY returned to Orange County for a chic afternoon at Fashion Island with top celebrities, influencers and experts discussing fashion, beauty, and digital marketing in celebration of StyleWeek OC. Panels were moderated by SIMPLY Founder, Sarah Boyd and Daily Pop Co-host Carissa Culiner with Keynote speakers which included singer Ashlee Simpson Ross and star of Vampire Diaries, Kat Graham.

Panel discussions kicked off with a focus on fashion with speakers that included Content Creator Cassydy Berliner, jewelry designer Gorjana Reidel, TV star Courtney Kerr, celebrity stylist Lo VonRumpf, designer Lindsay Albanese and TV personality Carly Steel where they discussed topics such advice for up and coming business entrepreneurs and tips for creating a successful brand.

The evening’s second panel centered around beauty and brought together top experts that included blogger Christine Kong, TV star Courtney Kerr, celebrity makeup artist Joyce Bonelli, Founder of O Cosmetiques Olia Majd and Founder of GlowTopia Diana Madison. What does it take to become a beauty business owner? What are some trends that experts have noticed in the past couple of years? Excited audience members were able to ask questions like these to their favorite beauty experts.

The third panel of the night was centered around branding and digital marketing. Glee Star Becca Tobin, Founder of Planoly Brandy Pham, Content Creator Quigley, model Rocky Barnes and Founder of Elevate My Brand Laurel Wintz.

The evening ended with a special interview of keynote speaker Ashlee Simpson Ross where she discussed all that is fashion, beauty and her upcoming ventures.
Ashlee discussed how her style has developed since such as young age:
“It was always about fashion. Since the time I was young, you know I grew up and like ‘Mom, I kinda wanna dress up like a boy’ and so she’d take me to the Tommy Hillfiger boy section and then I’d be like ‘I kinda wanna be girly’. However I evolve, it’s girly with a boyish twist.”

When asked “what makeup and fashion style makes you feel the most beautiful”, Ashlee was quick to respond:
“For me I love eyeliner, I love a good top wing. And to be honest, my husband is very good at art so I feel like one of my eyes is always good and the other is off but thank god my husband is an artist because I’m like ‘here’s my eyeliner can you make it even?!’”