Megan O'Neill

Goop's Senior Beauty Editor on at-home rituals, weed as wellness, and the importance of good grammar.

AS TOLD TO GOSSAMER

I grew up in Manhattan—the Upper West Side. My mom still lives there. The whole area has changed quite a bit. When I was growing up, it was like the “bad” neighborhood started across the street, but now it's the “good” neighborhood. There's a Whole Foods on my street now; before it was like a shady deli.

I went to Nightingale, which is an all-girls school. It's tiny. There's like 30 people in a grade, so you know everyone. And those people are still my best friends.

My mom wanted me to go there. I don't think she needed it to be all girls, but she wanted me to get a rigorous, awesome education, and I really did. Eight hours of homework a night. They bombard you with great messaging, like, “You can do anything.” They really build you up. It's a bubble for sure, but it was a good bubble for me. I was on financial aid, but I didn't even think of it as “I have to do well or I'll get kicked out,” you know? Somehow my mom warped me in such a way that it was like, you have to do well because you want to do well.

High school was so intense that you feel prepared for anything by comparison. It certainly wasn’t easy when I got to college—I went to Amherst–but I was prepared. That was also just being from New York. You’ve been to a bar. You don’t necessarily go off the rails with drinking and partying because you’ve done that in high school. We hung out at clubs. Not totally bad, but we did some stuff.

 

I'm really into the connection between beauty and wellness. Just the simple connection that if you want your skin to look great, eat well so you don't break out.