Today we’d like to introduce you to Michele Genzano.
Hi Michele, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
I was working as a School Counselor when I suffered a grand mal seizure at home in the middle of the night. Believed to be triggered by chronic Lyme Disease, the seizure erased a lot of my short term memory. It also isolated me from the world I knew. I spent a year at home, primarily in bed, healing. That year at home, letting my brain recover, was necessary. But it was also incredibly lonely.
With an aching need to find connection outside of the 4 walls of my bedroom, I decided to create The Beauty Snitch. At the time, my intention was to build a blog; I’m a big lover of words – a logophile, if you will. Writing about things I enjoyed like makeup, skincare, haircare, and fashion – but couldn’t access or enjoy as easily anymore – seemed like a great place to start. My Instagram account was going to be how likeminded women could find my blog.
Frustratingly, words and forming full thoughts were still significant post-seizure challenges for me. As I was building my account and community, and awaiting the day my brain would catch up, some prominent beauty brands found me. I decided to bet on myself, and gave content creation my all. If I couldn’t find the words I needed, I would show people what I loved instead.
Over time, what began as a way to feel connected became a platform where I could bring together my love of beauty and my background in counseling. I still share the makeup, skincare, haircare, and fashion I love, but I also talk about the experiences that affect how we see ourselves. I started The Beauty Snitch because I needed connection. Today, creating that connection for other women is one of the most meaningful parts of my work.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
There have been beautiful moments along the way, but no, I would not describe it as a smooth road.
One of the ongoing challenges has been having ideas and ambitions that my health has not always allowed me to carry out the way I wanted. The seizure was part of how The Beauty Snitch began, but it was not the last time I had to navigate illness while trying to build something. Living with endometriosis and going through a hysterectomy have also meant dealing with pain, recovery, and changes in how I feel in my own body.
That can be a complicated experience when your work involves being visible. Loving beauty doesn’t make you immune to feeling disconnected from your reflection. There are times when getting dressed up is something I look forward to, and times when feeling comfortable in my body takes considerably more effort.
There is also the business side of creating content: learning to advocate for the value of my work, set boundaries, and recognize that an opportunity can sound exciting without necessarily being right for me. Enjoying what I do doesn’t mean it takes less time, effort, or skill. Learning to communicate that is part of the work, too.
I am still figuring out how to balance what I want to accomplish with what I can reasonably ask of myself. I get frustrated. I have things I want to create and places I want to go, and accepting a limitation doesn’t always come gracefully.
I don’t believe every painful experience needs to become a lesson. Some things have simply been hard, and I would have preferred not to go through them. But they have given me things I want to talk about honestly, especially with women who may be trying to enjoy their lives while managing difficulties other people can’t see.
I can share a beautiful evening and still be having a difficult week. Both are true, and I want there to be room for both in my work.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
The Beauty Snitch is where I share my love of beauty, style, and discovering things worth telling other women about. That might be a product, a treatment, a local business, or an experience. I love getting dressed up, and I am equally interested in telling you what went into looking that way.
Having worked in aesthetics marketing for several years, I know how much information can be missing from a beautiful result. I want women to understand their options, feel comfortable asking questions, and have realistic expectations about what something involves. The “snitch” part is sharing what I know. Information should not feel like an exclusive club you weren’t invited to join.
My counseling background also comes through in how I talk about beauty. Words matter, especially when we are using them to describe ourselves. I don’t want to introduce a woman to an insecurity she didn’t have before she came across my content. I want to help her explore what she enjoys and make choices for herself.
I believe you can appreciate your age and still get Botox. You can love makeup without apologizing for wearing it, and you can go without it without making a statement. Enjoying beauty does not require a defense.
Being named Philadelphia Magazine’s Beauty Influencer of the Year in 2025 and Philly Current’s 2026 Glow Up Guru have been wonderful recognitions. But I am particularly proud of the conversations my work has made possible. After I recently spoke at a women’s wellness event with Networked Up in Bucks County, women told me they felt seen and beautiful. Knowing that something I shared helped someone feel that way stays with me.
That’s what I want women to understand about The Beauty Snitch: You are beautiful already. Show me what you love, and I’ll show you what makes you beautiful.
Can you talk to us about how you think about risk?
As I mentioned earlier, when I started The Beauty Snitch, I was recovering from a seizure and still waiting for my brain to catch up with my ideas. I loved words, wanted to write, and was having trouble forming complete thoughts. It wasn’t exactly the ideal business plan.
But I needed connection, and I needed something in my life that I was excited to build. When beauty brands began finding my account, I decided to take those opportunities seriously, even though what I was creating looked different from what I had originally imagined.
For me, that was a significant risk: putting my work in front of people while I was still struggling with abilities I had previously taken for granted. I couldn’t know how it would turn out. I could only work with what I had available to me and give myself permission to try.
That experience still influences how I approach opportunities. I think preparation matters, but I also know that waiting until I feel completely ready can become a very convincing reason to keep waiting.
More recently, speaking publicly about my experiences has asked me to take a different kind of risk. There is a vulnerability in sharing something personal without a photo to edit or a caption to reconsider before anyone sees it. But hearing from women who connected with what I said reminded me why I wanted to do it.
I would not call myself fearless. I think carefully, and sometimes excessively. But I am willing to be a beginner, change direction, and let people see me trying. A lot of what I am proud of has required that.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thebeautysnitch
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/michele.thebeautysnitch
