You’re Special, But You’re Not Special w/ Susanna Merrick

In this episode, Lauren hosts fashion’s favorite spiritual stylist and the founder of AuraWear, Susanna Merrick. Susanna discusses her work as an aura reader and stylist, and how color can influence our energy and style choices. She shares her personal journey of discovering her gift of seeing auras and explains their connection to our energy and emotions, the power of color, and how it can be used as a tool for intentional dressing and self-expression. 

With an emphasis on the importance of self-care and self-validation, Susanna’s work takes on a mission: to help people feel seen and understood. Lauren and Susanna discuss the impact of leveraging style as an anchor and support when feeling disconnected or going through transitions and Susanna answers listener questions on what to wear in various scenarios - from a ‘dont fuck this up’ job interview, to seeing an ex at a wedding! With over 5000 auras read, Susanna is all about challenging societal beliefs about fashion and dressing in a way that showcases your confidence and authenticity. 

“You don't come to me because you don't know what to wear. You come to me because you're afraid of what you want to wear.” - Susanna Merrick

Follow Don’t Fuck This Up on IG: @dontfckthisup.podcast
Follow Lauren Alvarez on IG: @LaurentheAlvarez
Follow Susana on IG: @aurawearnyc

Book a reading or styling session with Susanna: https://aurawearnyc.com/

Email the show at advice@dontfckthisup.com for your questions to be answered on an upcoming episode!

Transcript

Lauren Alvarez (00:01)
Hi and welcome to this week's episode of Don't Fuck This Up. Today's guest is all about breaking chains of conformity and celebrating self -expression, having read over 5 ,000 auras and counting since 2018. Since launching her brand, she's been featured in Vogue, Allure, Marie Claire, and Elle, and has read the auras of fashionable cool girls like Gwyneth Paltrow and Stella McCartney. It's fashion's favorite spiritual stylist and the founder of AuraWare, Susanna Merrick. Susanna, welcome to Don't Fuck This Up.

Susanna merrick (00:00)
Hey Lauren, thanks so much for having me. I'm excited to be in this space and to chat with you about all things colour and all things about my brand.

Lauren Alvarez (00:08)
Well, I mean, I know that things have been busy for you. Maybe that's an understatement. I feel like we're all saying we're busy, but like I think truly like you've been doing a lot. I mean, quick lens at your bio, fashion's favorite spiritual stylist. Before we dive into all of that, how are you?

Susanna merrick (00:25)
I'm actually like, I'm so much better than I was. That's for sure. The eclipse like kicked my butt and you know, I'm like, I am a life coach and a stylist and that's like what I do. So I really have to be mindful of my own self care. Gosh, this season was hard. So anybody who's listening, who just felt that eclipse, felt those things, you didn't make it up. It's real. And you know, it was.

Lauren Alvarez (00:32)
Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Susanna merrick (00:54)
Even the best of us who do this for a living struggled in this season. So, you know, just putting that out there and normalizing it.

Lauren Alvarez (01:03)
I love that. I mean, because I think sometimes we all see the memes on Mercury retrograde. But I, for one, am somebody who does follow that. I do see a difference. And even my energy, I mean, before we started recording, even how my kids sleep, all of it, I mean, it's all very affected. And so I think to say that anyone is unable to feel that, it's maybe just not tuning in. So what would you say, I mean, of all of the Mercury retrograde, we have eclipse, we have full moons.

Susanna merrick (01:14)
Yeah.

Totally.

Lauren Alvarez (01:31)
What would you say energetically are the things that you end up kind of feeling the most or see coming through for your clients?

Susanna merrick (01:32)
Yeah.

Well, that's a great question. You know, astrology plays a big part of that, but I mean, ultimately it has everything to do with energy. And energy is matter, it is with us, it never dies off, it is always in flux, it's moving, it's shifting, and you know, your energy,

Lauren Alvarez (01:48)
Yeah.

Susanna merrick (01:59)
is shifting, moving. You are affected by things around you, people, situations, astrology. And so what I'm seeing the most with my clients is truly just this like kind of collective color shift of energy moving around, especially in like the last year. I mean, I saw this of course with like the pandemic, but I'm seeing it kind of in a different way now. And there's a lot of like.

Lauren Alvarez (02:20)
Hmm

Susanna merrick (02:24)
hesitation and things coming up, but there's also like a lot of really beautiful positive energies particularly around the colors orange and green which is why I'm wearing this now orange green and like turquoise more of a turquoise green But those colors just to be are like pretty prompt predominant right now this season

Lauren Alvarez (02:44)
I took the quiz on your site this morning because I took it before, but it had been a minute, and I had green today. So I was like, okay, we're rooting ourselves in a color that is predominant right now. I'm happy to hear.

Susanna merrick (02:44)
Ha.

Yeah.

Oh, I love that. Yeah. That's that quiz is so much fun. And one of the things about my work in particular, like I don't do a ton of like the personality diagnosis, but with that quiz, if you notice it's all about your style and like how you kind of step into your style. And so I created through my process. I have like a whole method and process to my madness, but through my process, I created these archetypes for the style and these archetypes reflect an aura. It's reflect that color. So that color is likely with you.

especially if you are getting it on that quiz. And our auras are always changing, just like your energy is always changing. It's in flux, yeah.

Lauren Alvarez (03:33)
Yeah, that's so interesting. Yeah, I saw you actually had a recent post where you talked about going from being a calm blue green and shifting to a fiery red and how some things kind of energize you. So our auras can shift in our lifetimes and they do shift, I mean, all the time every day, like what's kind of the cadence of shifting?

Susanna merrick (03:45)
Yeah.

Okay, so first up, there are 12 layers to your aura, which is this is like, it's even hard for my brain to wrap around and I like, eat, breathe and sleep this stuff. But there are 12 layers and seven of them you likely know as a chakras, right? And these layers kind of represent these different aspects of you. From your spiritual journey to your mood to your dislikes, your likes, like all of these things and your energy changes as those change and shift. And you also

protect your energy, you show up in a certain way. You don't always show, you know, you don't show your whole deck of cards, you don't show your whole self and energy just like you know yourself to go into a room with people you don't know. You know you're going to act differently when you walk in that room, right? Or in a situation like where you meet your first love or you feel that first love with someone and then that same energy that shifts is when you are.

like breaking up with that person or feeling that the disconnect from that heartbreak. And those are kind of energies we don't fully have control over, right? But how we kind of heal and move through them is important and understanding how we can have some autonomy in them is actually very important too.

Lauren Alvarez (04:50)
Hmm.

That's so fascinating. I mean, let's back up to like the beginning. I mean, I know that you talk about a little bit in your bio, like that you've really been seeing auras since childhood. I mean, talk about kind of what that journey has been like for you. Cause sometimes as children, maybe we can experience and see and feel the most, but we don't always know how to interpret those things. So can you share a little bit about that experience for you?

Susanna merrick (05:14)
Yeah.

Yeah, absolutely. So when I was a kid, I grew up in a very religious household. I actually grew up in a cult, but that is for a whole other episode. Um, yeah, I'm like, I've actually, I've been like, if you really want to learn about it, there's a couple of like couple podcasts floating around where I do talk about it, but, um, but yeah, so I grew up that way. My father was a minister and my mother was like,

Lauren Alvarez (05:37)
Wow. Episode two coming next, yeah.

Wow.

Susanna merrick (05:54)
known for her intuitive gifts and things like that in the church. And so it was like encouraged in this sense. But I remember telling my dad that like I saw colors and specifically that I felt things about people when I saw these colors. And I was probably like five or six, I was young. And my dad was like, Oh yeah, that's an aura. Yep. Well, Jesus has an aura, you know, like they painted in pictures, like he was very matter of fact about it. And so

Lauren Alvarez (06:08)
Mm.

Susanna merrick (06:23)
As a child, it kind of like allowed me to say to continue to see it. As I got older, especially like towards middle school and high school, I just kind of was like, it is something you kind of have to tune into. And as a child, we're so receptive, like children are like sponges, right? And we're so, we're so receptive to energies and the feelings around us. So I think for me then it was just like innate that it would happen. And then as I got older, I kind of like tuned it out.

Lauren Alvarez (06:36)
Mm-hmm.

Yeah.

Susanna merrick (06:50)
And now like the biggest question they've always asked me is like, do you see auras all the time? And I'm like, yes and no. You know, sometimes it's like, just like you feel like sometimes people's energy is real big and it's a real easy to see. Right. Versus, you know, just feeling like you've had a lower day and you've been through it and whatever, you're going to keep your energy down. Right. So I do experience them in that way, but like for me, there's a lot of integrity and like,

Lauren Alvarez (07:02)
Yeah.

Susanna merrick (07:18)
dipping into someone's energy. So I just kind of like, I stay in the lane when I'm not reading people.

Lauren Alvarez (07:25)
Yeah, that's interesting because I could see how it could be very distracting. And I'm sure, you know, it's similar for people who have, you know, the ability to, you know, see, you know, in terms of psychic abilities, things like that. It's like, are you constantly walking around reading or you can constantly communicating with the other side? And it's like, no, that would be a really impossible way to live. I mean, I can only imagine. Um, but you have to sort of focus your energy and your power. Is that, is that what you're saying?

Susanna merrick (07:44)
Right.

Yeah, essentially, you just have to kind of know, like, it is kind of something that I can turn on and off. And the sense of, you know, somebody, it is, and somebody doesn't want to be read, they don't want to be read. Like, when you're actively coming to me, you're getting a reading. And, you know, when you get a reading with me, I always like light a little Palo Santos and I take a moment to just say, hey, this is like an intimate moment where I'm going to be a ball up in your energy. And I stay like, you know, do I have your permission?

Lauren Alvarez (08:01)
Mmm.

Susanna merrick (08:17)
of your permission to read. And that to me is just like, that's what keeps it sacred. That's what keeps it like respectful. Because yeah, a lot of people come to me with a lot of vulnerability and that, you know, nervousness because they're like, what's she going to see? Am I going to have a black aura? No, no one has a black aura. It's not real.

Lauren Alvarez (08:25)
Mm.

Okay, that was a question I was gonna ask you. Good thing we cleared that up. Good, good, good. Yeah, I'm like, I think I know a few people who maybe have a black aura. No, I'm just kidding. Ha ha.

Susanna merrick (08:48)
I mean, I'm not like, you know, it's funny. I'm like, there are times when we were places and I'm like, grandma, we gotta go. That's my husband. I'm like, we gotta go, we gotta go do this. I don't wanna be in this space. I don't wanna be around this energy. But then I also like, when you were talking about that it made me laugh, I was just thinking of like Teresa Caputo from like the Long Island media. If I was like, sorry, I have to talk to you. Your dead grandmother was here right now. Like, that's not what happens for me.

Lauren Alvarez (08:58)
Mmm.

Yeah.

Yeah, you're like in CVS, like stopping people. Yeah, you're like, are you aware that you are just so purple right now? They're like, I gotta go.

Susanna merrick (09:19)
They're like, who is this woman? Yeah, I've never, even if I've seen people's auras like that, I've never been like, wow, this is your color. I think that's just not my personality to be like, when you think about your typical aura reader, you think about your typical psychic intuitive, you think of that girl who's like, hey, how's it going? You know, like, and like, oh, you have purple in your aura, it's so soft.

Lauren Alvarez (09:28)
Yeah.

Oh my god.

Susanna merrick (09:49)
And nice, like for me, I'm such a, I'm like such a realist. I'm like Capricorn, like sun, I am a Scorpio mood, you know, like I am a Libra rising. I'm like, I'm like grounded energy to the core, but like I go deep with the emotions and with people. But yeah, I just feel like it's, it's a different type of experience than your regular type of four hour reading.

Lauren Alvarez (10:03)
Love that.

Susanna merrick (10:13)
so the whole reason I started my business and I started this journey is because I wanted,

to help people feel a little bit more seen and experienced and like validated. And while I know on this other side of the journey, that so much of the work is about validating yourself and being, you know, but like, so I, I'm like, I'm really careful with it. Like, it's like I validate, but also I allow you to kind of, like I hold up the mirror and allow you to kind of see yourself from this aspect and how we see ourselves and how we experience ourselves, it's always through the eyes of others.

Lauren Alvarez (10:33)
Mmm.

Sure.

Susanna merrick (10:51)
But what's cool about your aura is that it is a collective of fragments and pieces and energy of you. And there is no aura that is identical. Everybody's aura is like a fingerprint, you know? And but yeah, it is it is like it's something, though, that it can be a real gift. And I think anytime anyone's going to a reader or going, you don't have to be in a place of crisis mode to come to me. You don't have to be.

Lauren Alvarez (11:02)
Mm-hmm.

Right?

Susanna merrick (11:19)
You can be in a place of just pure curiosity, but you're always going to walk away with something that you really did need. Like that you really needed to hear, that you really did need to know or confirm. But yeah, I don't get down with that other stuff.

Lauren Alvarez (11:21)
Mmm.

That's amazing.

I appreciate that. I mean, curious, like when you were on this journey of accepting and really nurturing your gift, what were some of the steps that you took to sort of acknowledge that? And especially like if you started to experience this as a child, I mean, you're also quite literally growing up and you're growing through this gift and I'm sure it takes different shapes, but what were some of those steps that you took?

Susanna merrick (11:58)
Ooh, good question. So a lot of it, well, a lot of it was like connecting the dots, especially when it came to what I loved and what I wanted to be doing. Um, and I really just didn't buy the belief that you can't marry all these things that you love into, um, a business. And so when I started, so basically my journey with our reading is I never knew how to read an aura until like.

10 years ago, never did I ever. And I could see them, I could read them energetically, but I didn't know what I was doing. So when I started, I kind of like, with like at sometimes at parties and like college, I'd be like, oh, let me read your aura I'd tell them the colors and I'd be like, listen. And then I would start kind of like channeling and I didn't even know I was doing it. And so when I started Aura Wear, and when I started specifically like kind of getting my brand out there,

Lauren Alvarez (12:47)
Mmm.

Susanna merrick (12:55)
I did do readings, like at parties, I did readings at like events. And one of the things that I really wanted to honor in the process was the organic way that I was reading. And I didn't want it to be influenced. And so I didn't read a lot. And that's like, I have a lot of magenta in my aura, which is all about doing things your own way. And I didn't read a lot. And anyway, the whole point is that...

I started doing it and it was great. It was flowing. It was really like an alignment and things started to happen in my career because of it. And I really believe when you like honor your purpose in your inner, like that's when like the portal's open and that's when things start to shift and change. And, and I was honoring it. And anyways, I finally like started getting asked to teach classes and different things. I was like, listen, I'm going to like really buckle down and like learn these things, learn about color.

Lauren Alvarez (13:47)
Yeah.

Susanna merrick (13:49)
And I always had like ideas of what was going to be in my business. But if you like, would have asked me about my business when I first started it, I kind of like, it was just concepts. Like it was just concepts and kind of like ideas and people would always respond really well. They'd be like, Oh wow. Or they kind of be like, I don't get it. And I'd be like, and I kind of secretly in my brain be like, well, I don't fully get it yet and now full circle. Oh my gosh, it all makes sense. I mean, it was complete download.

everything is in my method and in my process and everything connects, the dots connect. But yeah, it was a journey. And then when I finally started doing it, I stumbled onto a documentary about this guy, Edgar Cayce, who was known as the sleeping psychic, because he used to go into a trance and he would tell doctors who had been to medical school how to operate on people. He would say, oh, you need to go here, here's where the energy is. And he was kind of like the

And so he could read when he was out of that trance, he read auras. And the way that he read auras and it still gives me chills is exactly the way that I was reading auras. So how I read auras is when I see and experience the color, clear sentiently, I feel it in my body and whether my senses are crossing, I don't know whether I have more cones in my eyes. I don't know. I don't care. The point is that I see the color and it comes through and it comes with a message. And so when that message comes through, it's like the cat, the color is the catalyst, right?

And it brings forth the message and then I share. And it's not like a message from the other side kind of energy. It's like a message about you or something about you. Um, and usually through the conversation, like the dots get connected. So it flows very organically and it's really, it's such a beautiful, fun thing to do, but yeah, he read like that. And then I was finding that I was reading like that and it was so affirming because I was like, I'm okay. Like this is normal.

Lauren Alvarez (15:32)
Yeah.

Totally. I mean, so there's a lot of talk, I think, in recent years, especially you hear it from a lot of musicians about synesthesia and that being a diagnosis. What would you say would be the major differences? I mean, aside from, I suppose, like aura reading isn't a medical diagnosis, but I mean, understanding kind of synesthesia and understanding what you do and what are the differences for a listener who's maybe new to aura readings and what that means?

Susanna merrick (15:56)
Mm-hmm.

Yeah, great question. So here is the deal. If you haven't been on any kind of spiritual journey yet, which I'm talking like a healing journey, like you decided to show up and heal some of your major trauma, you decided to show up and like really look at your childhood and how you operate in the world, like all of these things. If that's like not on your radar, cool, it's okay. It doesn't have to be. You might look at psychic readings. You might look at these kind of abstract,

gifts or these abstract energies of re like so when I say that I'm talking about the clairs which are the clairs are your Psychic senses so you can think of them like your physical senses right you have five physical senses six sense And then you have the clairs so clairvoyance, which is vision Right so we always remember that because of the V clairvoyance and then you have clair sentience which is like feeling like your body has a feeling or your body feels it then you know

Lauren Alvarez (16:49)
Okay.

Mm-hmm.

Okay.

Susanna merrick (17:11)
Um, then you have Claire audience, which is hearing or hearing, you know, actual audio. Um, then you have a Claire tangents, which is like touching an item and then being able to like extract information. Um, and then there is, I'm like missing one Claire audience, Claire points, um, there's Claire, Claire cognitie, which is kind of like the wisdom, uh, gift where it's like, you don't really, you'll like to start saying, you probably, and you

Lauren Alvarez (17:37)
Hmm.

Susanna merrick (17:41)
Like likely if you're listening this, you've probably experienced like one of these at like just a like once or twice or you probably like can relate like you had a story or a moment where you picked up your grandfather's pocket watch and all of a sudden you had a vision right or you like everybody has these little moments. But and so why I say that and it's like really important is because I believe that everyone can tap into these abilities and can strengthen them and they are like a muscle.

I have read thousands and thousands of people at this point. Like it's wild to think about how many people I've read over the last decade, but because of that, like it's a muscle. So I have strengthened that muscle every time. And I've learned a lot of collective information, which is why I've created my process, but it's like my just data, right? But the whole point is that if you haven't been on that healing journey yet, and once you start that healing journey,

Lauren Alvarez (18:15)
Yeah.

Susanna merrick (18:38)
And once you start to commit to changing your mindset, your thoughts, how you're showing up in your life, you start to find joy, you start to find creativity. You start to find all these things that like become kind of your happy place. And when you start to find that you started to have more capacity. So whether you're no longer in beta at that point, like, and you're more in an alpha theta brain state, doesn't matter what, what matters is that you have the ability to trust yourself more on a deeper level.

best be able to trust the weird ass shit that's coming through.

Lauren Alvarez (19:15)
Spoken like a true champ, yeah.

I love that. I mean, cause it is kind of weird, right? It is weird. And I think that that's the thing that like, I appreciate that you call out in your work is you're like, yeah, this is like totally like strange, but like let me help make it more palatable for you. And I think that kind of connection to making something, you know, whether you call it like putting it in terms that your grandmother would understand or whatever it is, I think it's like taking something really bewildering or maybe even scary and making a little bit more digestible and a little bit more.

kind of parsing it out to understand and then make it applicable, right? And I think that's the kind of follow through is getting a reading or getting information that's like, well, what do you do with that information? And I think that's where I think Aura Wear really is so interesting because you're having people action this into their day-to-day routines. And I'd love to talk a little bit about that. And I think even understanding...

when you started this line, like you said, you kind of didn't know what you were getting into in a way. You're like, what is this all? But now, I mean, you've read Gwyneth Paltrow, like no big deal, you know, Stella McCartney, like casual. But I mean, you're out here doing big work and you're making big impressions. And then you're also having folks commit this to a daily practice, which is really, really special. Talk a little bit about like how this translates, you know, into your work.

Susanna merrick (20:17)
Yeah, totally.

I'm going to go ahead and close the video.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Totally. Well, so just to like, I don't like, I love that you said that. And it's so funny because I still like even I am like, oh my God, I did, I read them. Ah, like it was so real in the moment. You know, it's like, and I, when I'm channeling, I'm just like in the zone. And I just like get in to my thing. But you know, the biggest thing and why even bring that up is because like the biggest thing with a lot of intuitives and a lot of like.

the psychic space, there's a lot of like, especially, and I think we're breaking this, I really hope we are and like part of my purpose is to break this. But I think we're kind of breaking this whole like putting people on a pedestal kind of energy. There was like a lot of white healers coming out for a while and all that like, and everybody had like a little bit of this like holier than thou kind of self righteous energy and I was like, that is not my vibe. That is not what I want to

Lauren Alvarez (21:26)
Yes.

Susanna merrick (21:35)
And so like even when I train my girls, I always say you are really special for having these gifts. And at the same time, you're not more special than anybody else around you. Like, you're special, you're special, but you're not special. And I think that's important because part of what I want to create is like real connection.

Lauren Alvarez (21:48)
You're not special, yeah.

Yeah.

Susanna merrick (22:03)
How do we heal the sisterhood wound? Real connection. How do we heal our mother wounds? Real connection with other women. How do we heal the collective that's been pushed up against us as women? Real connection. And so often there's such, we walk around in these heightened energetic states where we're like trying to kind of like protect and of course, reasonably so, like what's been pushed on us. We've been told to take the burden as women. Like.

There's a reason we do that, but ultimately, nobody is better than anybody in this space. If you're paying someone for a service, you might not know how to do that service yourself, but it doesn't mean they're better. If someone's coming over to clean your carpet at your house, you're not like, wow, you're so much better than me because you know how to do this. You just...

Lauren Alvarez (22:53)
I mean, true, although whenever I get my color done, I'm like, there's no way I could do my hair color myself. Absolutely not.

Susanna merrick (23:00)
I mean, listen, there are skills, there are skills, okay?

Yeah, so my whole thing is like I can, I use your ability to be able to like understand yourself in that moment. Then I use color, like the energetics of color. From color psychology to the spiritual stance of color to then go, okay, let's get really intentional. Let's like, let's like focusing on that and why color is such a powerful tool. It's because

it's always influencing us, it's always affecting us, and we all have a relationship with it. And so I'm just asking you to zone in or zoom in on what it is that you wanna focus on. And then I'll point you to that color. And then of course, there's a whole other process where it's like, you wear that color, you work with that color, you meditate around that color, you shift your energy into that color. But color is its own language.

And like we all sort of speak it, but like I always just ask you to learn it like a little bit. Like I'm like go deeper with it because it's such an underused tool in the spiritual space and in and just in our human experience.

Lauren Alvarez (24:14)
so interesting. And I think we probably all experience that when we're subconsciously pulled toward a color and maybe it's like we see something short on the runway and we're like, oh, I love that there's like pops of red popping up everywhere, right? That's like a big thing over the last six months or so in the fashion world. And if you don't want to wear a full red outfit, maybe you buy a little red sock. Maybe you have a little red bag. But there's something about it. Like when I have worn that little red sock, I'm like...

Susanna merrick (24:31)
Yeah.

Right?

Lauren Alvarez (24:42)
There's something about the color that I come back to, but I've never taken it to what you're saying further and saying, what does this mean? Or do I feel more powerful? Do I feel this? And I think it's really interesting. As you were saying that, I was like, oh yeah, whenever I wear my red socks, I have a different little vibe happening. And I don't know that I've ever thought about it more than just that.

Susanna merrick (24:52)
Yeah.

Totally. Well, and it's like, so there's, there's like wearing that color, right? But then like, what else are you wearing with that color? And that's where I always get really curious because your embodiment or your interpretation of that color and the feelings that it's giving you is going to direct what else you're going to wear that day. So whether you do just wear those red socks with the pop of color,

Lauren Alvarez (25:09)
Mm-hmm.

Susanna merrick (25:27)
You know, you might pick out a pair of tighter jeans than you normally do, right? Or a top that's a little lower, or like maybe you do your hair a little different than you normally do, that makes you feel a little bit more sensual. Like there are like ways to kind of look at colors that you're attracted to, right? And then to kind of extract the information that they're giving you about what you want, especially if you're attracted to them.

Lauren Alvarez (25:30)
Oh, yeah.

So interesting. Wait, so red is essential color? Is that what you're saying? That's what red means?

Susanna merrick (25:56)
Yeah, red is like very vital. It's very, you know, represents like the color of blood. It is very earthy. It's very grounded. When it's in your aura, you're like usually very like, you're like in your power, you're in your zone. You're ready to kind of like take action and to step up. And in the color psychology sense, it's the same thing. Like red is used in a stop sign, right? But red is all about being seen. And it's in, when you are allowing yourself to be seen, you're like, all right, I'm ready. You're not.

putting yourself out there where you're like, I don't know, I guess I'll just be seen. You're actively deciding because something in you feels confident, feels good, feels safe to be seen in that moment and whether you're consciously or likely subconsciously in those moments healing some stuff and the red is kind of a byproduct, right? Where you're just like, it just happens to be what you're attracted to.

Lauren Alvarez (26:25)
Oh.

Yeah.

Susanna merrick (26:55)
I'm asking you to kind of go backwards. I'm like, be intentional with these things, then draw, like, let's like call the color in. And so let's, but this is why we're attracted or repulsed by certain colors.

Lauren Alvarez (27:02)
Hmm.

Yeah, it's interesting because I definitely have heard people say like, oh, I can't wear X color. It looks horrible on my skin. And then I look at them and I'm like, I don't see that. I could see you wearing that color, but it's probably that they're having some visceral reaction. Otherwise it's not actually what their skin looks like with that, you know, color, but it's more so how they feel about that color. Is that, is that kind of what you're describing?

Susanna merrick (27:16)
Mm-hmm.

Right.

Yeah. I mean that totally, well, what, yes. And you're talking, you're talking a little bit about color analysis, right? When color analysis is kind of like my whole reason I started this business. I based it off of a business called, um, color mean beautiful, which was a business where, you know, you would learn about your colors, you either are winter, summer, fall, or spring. Some of you might be listening and remember it. Yeah. And so this has been really big on TikTok again, but.

Lauren Alvarez (27:35)
I

I've heard this, yeah.

Susanna merrick (27:59)
Color analysis is kind of interesting. And one of the reasons I was like, ah, I don't actually think this is how it works. And then that's kind of what opened up the portal for me to go learn about color energetics and color magic. But what I was learning from it was like, A, yes, some people, we basically all have undertones. Either they're warm or they're cool, or you're a mix of both. There is no in between. And the reality is most people are actually a mix of both.

Lauren Alvarez (28:27)
TOR.

Susanna merrick (28:28)
And so when you're a mix of both, you can wear any, you can wear color with any other tone, but the, when you see pictures from color analysis, it's so freaking subtle that it's like, eh, okay. I can kind of see the point there, but like, so that, that is real. Right. And then there are times where like, yes, maybe your under eye circles are a little bit brighter if you wear this particular grade or whatever.

Lauren Alvarez (28:46)
Yeah.

Sure.

Susanna merrick (28:57)
Sure, but like, hi, we have makeup, who cares? Like. Ha ha ha.

Lauren Alvarez (29:00)
Yeah. And also, I'll never forget, I was once reading an interview with the French makeup artist Violette. And she said, oh, I don't mind a little under eye circle. It makes it look like I was up late doing something. And I was like, oh, that's such a fun, interesting, and kind of sexy way to think about having an under eye circle. Great. Of two. She's a mom of two. Yeah. Yeah, the French philosophy.

Susanna merrick (29:09)
Oh yeah.

Hehehe!

I'm like, she's clearly not a mom.

Oh, well, there you go. She's, I mean, well, she's French.

Lauren Alvarez (29:30)
Yeah, totally. I was like, wow, that's really like iconic way to look at it. I'm a fan. I mean, so speaking about color analysis, I mean, what other trends, you know, in that space, you know, do you, are there any that you do ascribe to or that you do believe in? Like, I personally, I love Alison Bornstein, you know, her three word, like finding your three words. I find that to be like actually like a really interesting way to sort of

Susanna merrick (29:37)
Definitely. That makes sense.

Oh, yes.

Lauren Alvarez (29:54)
assess if when I'm buying something if I actually need it, like it's pretty good. Like if I can listen to my full body, yes. And then I kind of know what my three words are. And when I have an outfit on, I'm like, what's missing? I'm like, oh, I don't have this, this element, you know, I love that. But what about you? Are there any that you're like, this is amazing. This is such a great way of thinking

Susanna merrick (30:11)
So much. Well, so first up, I love Alison. She's awesome. And I love her. She's created a method in the sense to help people feel more understood when making clothing choices in their closet. I have also created a method that helps you feel more understood when making clothing choices in your wardrobe. And she and I like, I love her book and I read it and I actually gifted it to a bunch of clients. It's such a great book.

Lauren Alvarez (30:29)
Yes.

Oh cool, yeah.

Susanna merrick (30:41)
And she's got like a kind of like a section in it. And like I've talked to her before, like we're not like friends. We like chatted back and forth on the gram. And anyway, she was like, oh, she said something like loving my work. And then I was like, she put a section in there about color, like almost kind of about magic. And I was like, she barely touched on the surface of it, but it is such a helpful tool. And so just to kind of segue.

that is what I do. So I help you get really, really intentional and making choices based off what you desire, what you want, what you're manifesting, what you want to be embodying and feeling, you know? I think the most limiting thing in the fashion space and especially since fast fashion became so prevalent in the last few years, but the most limiting thing is that you need to be this one.

Like you need to know your personal style and it needs to and so then like, oh, I don't wear that Oh, well, and then you throw in like tick-tock culture and like aesthetic culture and things are changing every five minutes And if you're trying to keep up, it's just it's exhausting and you end up with a bunch of clothes They likely didn't really want you just wanted because they were giving you a particular Feeling or making you feel like that it girl or that whatever and so I'm asking you to become

Lauren Alvarez (31:34)
Yes.

Susanna merrick (32:03)
that it girl for yourself, become that person for yourself so that it doesn't matter what trends come and go. You can go to your closet and go, I love this, I love this, I love this. And as women, I think that's like the most empowering thing we can do is know that we can change, know that we can change our minds, right? Know that we can shift, know that there are different elements of style that are going to serve us in particular seasons, like as a new mom, right?

versus retirement. Like there's just different times and different things that are going to serve your personal style. And so yeah, just being able to look at it from a different lens is always, always a helpful tool.

Lauren Alvarez (32:33)
Yeah.

That's really interesting. So I mean, for you and your own experiences, let's say like you're on vacation, you're at the beach, you're waking up, and how are you assessing how you get dressed? Because sure, in your city life, in New York, or when you're in an urban environment, you have access to all your clothes. So how do you dress intuitively when you're on a trip, you personally, and what advice might you give to a listener who's trying to figure this out?

Susanna merrick (32:49)
Yeah.

Yeah.

Such a great question. And I'm laughing because like, as a stylist, like I'm like, oh girl, I've got like a whole mood board planned out for my vacation. I got one for my... Right, that's a great question. I mean, for the most part, I think it's really the intentionality. Like you're gonna, just like we kind of talked about before, your energy doesn't like, it doesn't always, it shifts in cycles, right? It shifts in...

Lauren Alvarez (33:22)
Sure, but what if you wake up and the mood isn't there?

Susanna merrick (33:39)
So like if you wake up in a totally different mood, you might need something that's gonna like, you probably don't wanna wear that big bright outfit, but maybe you brought like a nice white set that just makes you feel calm and you wanna put that on. Like you just don't really, maybe something happened, maybe you got some news, right? I think this is really interesting because everything can feel, especially like everything with like healing or making choices or what being expressive with yourself can feel so easy when you're in the groove with it.

when life is like, life is easy, things are happening. And then you end up getting blindsided by something and all of a sudden you kind of feel disconnected from yourself, you kind of feel a little bit jolted. So style can kind of act like an anchor sometimes for you for like just to like, okay, I want to dress like this because this is how I feel. Like this is me normally, right? Even if you don't feel that way in that moment, it can be this kind of anchor and support.

Right. Or sometimes you want to wear like I wear a lot of black when I'm in transition. My clients for a lot of black women are in transition. And so black is all about protection. And yeah, you might desire that. Right. But I do think like, I don't think that I've never had an incident happen where like I didn't want to wear when I packed on my trip. But I do think planning out and like having an energy for what you're wearing is important.

then things kind of having a theme. Yeah.

Lauren Alvarez (35:04)
I love that. Yeah. Well, I mean, that's a good segue into something you didn't know I was gonna ask you, but I did poll a few of our listeners around where they feel most stuck. And so when it comes to getting dressed, and so I have a couple of scenarios, and I'd love just top of mind pointers that you might have. So the first one is speaking on a panel at a conference where there's more men than women.

Susanna merrick (35:14)
Yeah.

Yeah.

EEEEAAA

yeah, well I have so many questions for that question.

Lauren Alvarez (35:36)
I know that's all they gave me. I was like, I want to know everything.

Susanna merrick (35:40)
Yeah, yeah,

Lauren Alvarez (36:05)
Mm-hmm.

Susanna merrick (36:09)
Like start there too, because like if you're working with like all these men and you're feeling, well, I should dress this way, like first, no, work backwards. Like, what am I, what am I like definitely not going to wear? Like, what am I not gonna, if I wear this, I'm gonna feel really uncomfortable. If I were, you know, so starting there. And then I think just my personal opinion as women, as women, like, I think we're always.

Lauren Alvarez (36:09)
Ooh.

I love us.

Susanna merrick (36:37)
we're believing that fashion is frivolous. We're believing, you know, especially when we're around men in these corporaty kind of settings, it's like, oh, that's so, that's so like, you know, you can't be taken seriously if you're wearing something like that. And I say, challenge that, right? Challenge, wear, be, like, wear the jewelry, wear, do your hair, do your makeup, like, you know, put on a bright pop of color on your lips, like.

Play up, if you're wearing something that's like corporatey or you feel like it's a little like quote bland or whatever, like I encourage you to wear maybe a bold print, like or put on that bold lip or have some colorful accessories, like allow yourself to kind of stand out. You're gonna be standing out no matter what because you're only a woman there, but like might as well do it in your style.

Lauren Alvarez (37:25)
I love that, you know, as you were saying that, you gave me like a very visual thought of my best friend Jessica, who is like an amazing, like badass chief revenue officer. She's often in environments like this and she's wearing like a full Barbie pink suit tailored to the nines, killer heels, going up on stage. Yeah, probably the only woman, you know, on a panel or giving a talk. But that is, you just gave me a visual of her and she didn't submit that question. She knows what to wear in those scenarios, but I love that advice.

Susanna merrick (37:32)
Yeah.

Yeah, hiya.

Yeah.

Lauren Alvarez (37:55)
Okay, the next scenario we have is a bridal shower where people will be wearing florals and I'm not floral nor am I pastel.

Susanna merrick (38:03)
Mm, yes, yes. So I think what I'm hearing in this person who asked this question, I think what I'm hearing is that you likely don't, like you probably wear more black,

Yeah, well, here's where I like you get to really play around. Like there is nothing I love more than like a leather jacket with like a soft dress of some sort. So you don't have to necessarily wear pastel or color. You can stick with wearing more creams and beiges and things like that. You probably should avoid cream and be a cream and white, but you could wear like a beige. You could wear like something more in that kind of like that tone if that felt good to you, you could wear.

there's like a lot you could like play with a lot of greens and things like that because then you're playing off of the colors and the florals that are there, right. But like, bottom line is, like, how can you incorporate you into that outfit while still keeping balance in the room? And not like, you know, I think what I'm kind of hearing is like, they're afraid to like, they don't want to draw away the attention.

Lauren Alvarez (38:54)
Yeah.

Yeah.

Susanna merrick (39:13)
but they also don't want to wear the things like I get it, I get it, I get it. So drawing yourself in and then kind of figuring out how, how can I kind of like create a look that then we'll just kind of like complement the surroundings, you know, and that's kind of how it is that showers and things like that. Like we, you know, we get instructions on what to wear, what colors to wear, you know, so I, it's all about the environment. The bride's just trying to create the environment, but you don't have to.

Lauren Alvarez (39:32)
Totally.

Yeah.

Susanna merrick (39:42)
to change yourself in the process.

Lauren Alvarez (39:44)
Totally. And I think like to what you said before, like there's nothing worse than feeling uncomfortable in what you're wearing. Like if something is too tight or feels like costuming to you, like everyone's gonna see that. It's not gonna feel authentic. So finding a way to bring your own personal style into something that maybe is like meeting in the middle, but doesn't feel like you're totally conceding. Or if it's like you don't do dresses and wear like a killer pantsuit or like a jumpsuit or something that makes you feel good, you know, in your power. I like that thought a lot.

Susanna merrick (39:50)
Nothing worse.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Lauren Alvarez (40:13)
Okay, two more scenarios. So one of them is a wedding where I'm going to see my ex.

Susanna merrick (40:18)
Yeah. Okay, wedding you're gonna see your ex at. Well, what do you wanna communicate? Like, what do you want him, what do you want to be feeling? Not him, what do you wanna be feeling when you're around him? If it was not a great relationship and there aren't a lot of, it didn't end amically and like there are things that...

Lauren Alvarez (40:32)
Mmm.

Susanna merrick (40:42)
you're still very hurt by or this or that. I would wear something that just makes you feel pretty neutral in your style and like this don't go too crazy. Wear something that's going to make you just feel like okay. Or you can wear something that makes you feel obviously feel very confident. But I think it's wearing something that just like it's you're not bringing you don't want to like bring your ex's eye on you the whole time right? If you know

Lauren Alvarez (41:08)
Yeah.

Susanna merrick (41:09)
Maybe it's they were, I mean, I'm like taking it to, I'm taking it down a dark path. But if your ex is like abusive and a jerk, I mean, I have one of my clients saying she had a very similar situation where she was going to a wedding where her ex was going to be with his new girlfriend and he was not a great guy. He was like going on a sobriety journey at that time. And she was kind of the same question. Like what should I wear? And we talked about her wearing kind of like a more

Um, I told her to wear something that had like a lot of like geometric shapes on it versus florals or patterns, things that kind of would feel stern and powerful, but like also kind of like neutral. So you're not like constantly bringing their eye. You're not like, you don't feel like they're looking at you. Um, yeah, that would be kind of my answer. And then if you, unless you want to just really show them up then sis.

Lauren Alvarez (41:50)
Yeah.

Ha ha ha.

Susanna merrick (42:00)
Like, just dress to the nines, wear something body calm, that feels good, like do up your hair, your makeup, like go to the nines. Like, just make sure you're spending that time, like, on you, and make sure you're really planning ahead to really get in that ritual and the practice of getting dressed and like taking care of yourself and like getting kind of like in your affirmations and you're like, I got this, I can do this, it doesn't matter if they see me, I'm going to be there and this is not about them, you know.

Whatever you need to say and then create that aura for yourself.

Lauren Alvarez (42:33)
I really like that because it's also just about kind of affirming yourself with what you want from the situation and not assuming that you want them to notice you at all. Like, I think it might just be about how do I feel good? Or you could have like a really hot date and then have them dress, you know, coordinate with you. That's just an extra power move.

Susanna merrick (42:39)
Yeah.

Yeah. Totally.

That's the best. I mean, that is, that's a good one. Yeah. Gotta love a little coordination.

Lauren Alvarez (42:55)
Yeah, no, yeah, you know, it's funny, my husband and I end up dressing similarly. We'll come out and be like, oh, and we'll like have a very similar vibe on color palette. it is funny when you see like the full coordination or even like style over time. We share clothes like, yeah, it's great. It's great. I'll take it. Double, double the wardrobe.

Susanna merrick (43:02)
Mm-hmm.

I know it is it just it totally just innately happens. It's kind of funny.

Lauren Alvarez (43:16)
Yeah, it is really funny. Okay, last question. I think super topical to the podcast too is, what do I wear when I want to ace the interview?

Susanna merrick (43:24)
Oh yeah. So specifically are two colors you want to wear in an interview green or you want to wear blue. I always say blue and shades of blue are like the kind of the best route to go. Cause blue is always a blue and red are like the most contrast, like the most separate on the color spectrum versus wavelengths, but they're actually the most to using like commonly used colors and marketing.

Lauren Alvarez (43:29)
Love this.

Mm-hmm.

Susanna merrick (43:54)
And they're kind of believed to have the biggest impact on our psyches, right? So red, we know why. Blue is because blue represents like trust and loyalty, wisdom, knowledge. Like there's things that people like, it's calm, like you feel really serene, grounded when you're seeing it. It's like water, right? So when you were in an interview, right? You're.

boss subconsciously, or see your boss, I'm already, I'm already like, I'm already walking you in that, that job. You already got the job. Um, they're already kind of like, they were kind of like, uh, being influenced subconsciously just by you wearing that color. Then green is, you know, green is about growth and expansion. So green just kind of naturally communicates that you're, you're willing to learn that you're like.

Lauren Alvarez (44:28)
You already got the job. Yeah.

Susanna merrick (44:50)
So like a color that represents like almost like type a ask energy Nature balance like all of these things and when they're looking at it They're already kind of subconsciously going through the things that they associate with green having a good feeling in their body Versus wearing really bright colors now I do think this is like subjective to where you're working like but um Yeah, I also kind of think like

Lauren Alvarez (45:13)
Sure.

Susanna merrick (45:19)
just as you were talking about matching the energy or like how you innately match the energy with your husband, I would kind of like look at the company. I would look like it as an actor, right? And a performer, I used to always kind of like suggest the role, like with my outfit. Like I wouldn't like go and dress as Dorothy, but like I might go in, you know, like wearing a pair of red, like a cute pair of red tennis shoes, like with my jeans and then like have my hair kind of wavy in a different way. Like

So I think it's not, it's not like catering yourself to them, but it's like, it's suggestively saying like, Hey, I fit in, this is my place. This is where I want to be. And you don't have to compromise yourself in that process. Please don't compromise yourself in that process. Let it be your version. But there's a way to kind of like, you know, if I was going to go work at Google right now, I wouldn't probably wear what I wear.

Lauren Alvarez (46:00)
Yeah.

Yeah.

Susanna merrick (46:15)
day, but I would definitely be thinking about people that work at Google. And I would probably want to wear something a little bit more casual yet elevated, you know, which is not a way I normally dress all the time, but I wouldn't not feel like me, you know.

Lauren Alvarez (46:26)
Yeah.

Totally. I also think there's something like, I always give the advice as like someone who has a background in like HR and recruiting and coaching is, you know, for interviews, it's like, what are people wearing at the company and go one step up? So if it's like a super casual agency, a creative agency, and people are wearing jeans and, you know, or chambray or like whatever blue, you know, but maybe you go blue Oxford and you wear, you know, like a dark, like a black jean and then you're fitting in but you're elevating or you do a little bit of a dress your shoe.

Susanna merrick (46:41)
Yeah.

Yeah.

Lauren Alvarez (46:59)
And I think in that way, you're still presenting of like, I can fit in, but also I care about this interview. But I think sometimes people miss the mark and they go three steps ahead. So it's like a really casual creative agency and they come in like a suit. And then you're kind of given this signal of like, I didn't read the room, I didn't do my research. And I already am kind of starting off not fitting in. And then there's always like the nuance of like, I remember working at a company where Adidas was a really large client of ours,

Susanna merrick (47:00)
Right.

Yeah.

Totally.

Yep.

Yeah.

I'll do that, yeah.

Lauren Alvarez (47:27)
And somebody came in to interview for a role as a creative and they'd be working on this account, which they knew, and they were wearing a Nike baseball cap. And I just thought it was like two second consideration of like, yeah. And I feel like it's speaking in terms of energy, it's like that was kind of an energetic block for the super senior person going into meet with them. They came out and they're like, yeah, they were great, but they wore the...

Susanna merrick (47:37)
Ooh, that is so.

Right?

Yeah.

Lauren Alvarez (47:56)
kind of number one opposing brand for what they're going to be working on is a little like a little off. And so I also think it's like messaging that. Yeah. And it's like being super branded. I mean, like, you know, Logomania was such a thing. And like, I feel like sometimes that can kind of mix the message when you're wanting to like convey what you're describing of like power or, you know, using shapes and patterns versus logos can be a little bit probably more subtle.

Susanna merrick (48:03)
little off.

Totally.

Totally.

I don't know what it is, but like, when my kid was born, I was like, if anybody bought him clothes, I was like, nothing with logos. I was like, no, it's not cohesive. It's not,

Lauren Alvarez (48:29)
Yeah.

And I think like knowing kind of where you're influencing other people with their decisions, I would be remiss not to ask you like, who's making the most influence in your life these days.

Susanna merrick (48:47)
Yeah, this is a good question. I actually recently got asked this for an interview. And I think a lot of like, when I look for influence, I'm looking for inspiration now these days. They have to be like so strategic about it, like especially in this day and age. But as a mom, it's like, I'm like, motherhood is like this, they call it matressence. And I don't know if you've heard this term, but.

Lauren Alvarez (48:59)
Yes.

I haven't heard this time, no.

Susanna merrick (49:14)
So, matressence is basically the psychology term for from maiden to motherhood. And the journey, which I related the journey from like before I became a mom and then being a mom, I related that journey is kind of like the same journey right before middle school, where it's like, you kind of like, you don't know how to like wear a bra, but you figure it out. Like, it's like, you don't, yeah, yeah. Yeah, girl.

Lauren Alvarez (49:38)
Some people still haven't figured it out. Okay. Yeah.

Susanna merrick (49:44)
It is like you're learning like all over again, or like you're learning a brand new, like brand new. I used to be like as a coach and like, I'd be like, listen.

Lauren Alvarez (49:46)
Yeah.

Susanna merrick (49:54)
Like that is an excuse, like saying no, but like actually it is an actual thing that happens in our brain. Like I feel it's like a gas bubble. It's like, and it never used to happen to me before, but I swear since becoming a mom, like mom brain is like a real thing. And I think why it's real is because we have such a heavy mental load. So we're all like constantly running that.

Lauren Alvarez (50:17)
I mean, yeah, I remember like immediately in like the weeks following giving birth, I was actually like interviewing and which was really crazy. And I had like remote interviews and I got asked to do this like pretty heavy lift of like a case study. And my brain was like completely, it was like fudge. It just like I couldn't do anything. And I was like, I remember like looking at my husband, I was like, I'm broken. Like I don't think I can do this ever again. And he's like, it'll come back, I believe. But like

Susanna merrick (50:26)
Oh my gosh.

Yeah!

Mm-hmm.

It comes back.

Lauren Alvarez (50:44)
Be patient with yourself, but that feeling of like, I know I could do this thing in like my sleep before, and now I just have nothing to give was really frightening for me, because I am very type A in that way. I'm like, I know my shit, so yeah.

Susanna merrick (50:51)
Yeah.

Yeah.

Oh, you bring up such a great point because I think that's anytime, it doesn't matter if it's motherhood. It doesn't matter if it's, you know, you breaking up with a boyfriend or you moving to your, you know, moving out of a city and moving to a new city. Like anytime you go through a transition, you know, there's going to be like this learning curve. And your brain is gonna try to tell you.

Lauren Alvarez (51:15)
Mm-hmm.

Susanna merrick (51:26)
because your brain's trying to keep you safe. The brain's gonna try to tell you that like, you don't know what you're doing, you don't know how to do this, why are you even trying, you know, all these things. And those are the moments where, like even in these moments where we like lose the thought bubbles, and they're like, oh, we're thought. Even in these moments where we gain them back and we say, no, we take the reins and we say, no, I'm gonna challenge that thought. I'm gonna challenge that thought about myself. And in fact, I'm gonna shift that thought. And so instead that thought becomes...

my yes and, and that thought becomes, what do I need to do? What do I need to be thinking in order to have this? What do I need to be thinking in order to make steps forward? What do I need to be thinking to not let this take a hold of me? So I do that with the whole, I lose my thought thing. Cause I'm like, it doesn't mean anything about me. It's a real thing. And it just happens.

Lauren Alvarez (52:07)
Yeah.

Well, totally. But I can bring you back to the original question, which was around, you know, who has the most influence on you and who's influencing you. Yeah, during those, especially the big transitions, you speak to something really important during really big transitions.

Susanna merrick (52:17)
Yeah.

Oh yes!

okay. So I actually met this mom friend at the park a few weeks back and she was wearing like this floppy, Thindy hat. She was wearing, uh, like these Hermes sandals and she had these like cutoff jeans on and like, and then like a ratty t-shirt and I was like, oh, this is my kind of girl, um,

I love, like I never save my special items. Like I don't save my special items. I wear them all the time. Like I often times wear them to death, but like it's like having a nice candle and not burning it kind of energy. And so I like literally, this is the question I guess. And the woman was so cool. And I asked her what she did and she was like, oh, I draw things. And I was like, cool, cool. And then we like didn't talk about it later. And later I figured out that she was CJ.

Lauren Alvarez (52:54)
Yeah.

Totally.

Susanna merrick (53:17)
Hendry, which was an artist that I was like obsessed with. I am obsessed. I was like really into, and I just never, I mean, I knew her artwork, but I didn't like ever Google her or like, you know, she says she's known for doing these hyper realism photos. And one of the famous photos she's known for doing is a Chanel bag that's like dips in paint. You probably, maybe you've seen it, but, and it's, yeah, and it's a pencil drawing, but.

Lauren Alvarez (53:22)
That's so random.

Right.

Oh, I have seen this, yeah.

Susanna merrick (53:44)
Um, yeah, and she'd done this with like a lot of luxury bags. It's just why I like her art. But yeah, I had to laugh because I was like, Oh my God, you're my inspiration. And I like, I just happened to bump into you at the park. I love moments like that. I also love like Portuguese girls, TikTok fashion right now, like so much chaos happening in it. So much like, just like wackadoo, like energetically, like fun, expressive.

Lauren Alvarez (54:07)
I love that.

Susanna merrick (54:14)
energy and I'm so intrigued by it because like as a mom right now, I maybe dress my kid like that, but I don't like really dress myself like that. And while I do like to wear color and have fun, that I think it like reminds me of a time in my life. And I think it also like really inspires the creativity in me. So when I'm creating things, but I don't like dress like them. I'm not like, oh, I want to wear this. Like I'm just watching like with like popcorn. I'm like, oh my god, like

Lauren Alvarez (54:37)
Yeah.

Susanna merrick (54:42)
You're wearing lobster pants right now?

Lauren Alvarez (54:42)
That is so cool. Wait, are there any accounts we should be telling our listeners to follow for this? Or do you have any favorites?

Susanna merrick (54:49)
I'm so bad. No, you can just go. Basically just type in like Portuguese fashion vlogs on TikTok or whatever.

I would just look at Copenhagen leg style on TikTok and Portuguese, Italian. Oh yeah, that's all I searched because I like found a Pinterest picture and I was like, I think she's, oh, that's Portugal. Like, I like figured out where she was and then I like went and found her on TikTok.

Lauren Alvarez (54:59)
Totally.

Oh my god, that was super sleuth. I love that. I mean, so let's talk a little bit about, you know, your ideal client, you know, who should be coming to you, who would you like to have come to you? What would be kind of an ideal scenario? What should they have done before they come to you? Let's talk about it.

Susanna merrick (55:20)
Yeah.

Yeah, okay. Well, my ideal gal is someone who a like, I'm not your typical stylist in the sense of like, you don't come to me because you're like, I don't know what to wear. You come to me because you're like, you're afraid of what you want to wear. Like you're afraid you like want it or you like it but you're like afraid and then you come to me when you like

Lauren Alvarez (55:46)
Ooh, I like that.

Susanna merrick (55:53)
are in a place where you're like, I'm not fashionable, but I want to be, right? And when you're coming, like usually that's when you're hiring a stylist or you're going, but the point is that like, the people that do this, this work is about learning to use style and color as a tool for healing, manifesting. And like, I used to joke all the time that like, this work is my yoga, like styling is my yoga. It's a practice. Like we, and like even today I'm posting.

all about what my girls, what colors they're working with right now and why, and what they're trying to shift and what they're moving through. They all have dressing rituals. They all get up in the morning. They have certain non-negotiables they do in their style practices. Then these are the foundation of telling yourself you're worthy every single day. I teach you some of these things. I also create in my closet Kickstarter service, which is about to get a name change. So it might be changed. It's about to be called.

Lauren Alvarez (56:40)
Yeah.

Susanna merrick (56:49)
style startup, which I'm so excited about. Thank you. And it is like, it's what it is. It's a kickstart. It's like to kickstart you to get excited about your closet again. So I take pieces from your closet that you already have, and then I take a few pieces that are like, I think you might be nice to integrate into your closet, and then I create this deck for you with outfits. And what's fun about it is that it's all pieces that you already have in your closet. So you just get to like kind of go, oh, and then what?

Lauren Alvarez (56:52)
I love that. Congratulations.

love.

Susanna merrick (57:18)
So you don't need to go buy an entire new wardrobe. And I think that's like what happens is we think we need to go buy a new wardrobe. And then I tell you your aura colors and then those are the archetypes and like the style you get to like work with. And then I like usually bring you at least like eight pages of just inspiration. And the idea is that you can like put that up in your closet and that you can like, you know, I always, I'm a generator to the Mac. So I always need to be inspired and influenced in that sense of like,

Lauren Alvarez (57:24)
Yeah.

Perfect.

Yeah.

Susanna merrick (57:48)
creativity, like I need something that's gonna like spark my juices. So that is like a big part of it for me. So yeah, that's the Skylastic Kickstart. The aura reading is for someone who's really just like a crossroads or really just trying to figure out some stuff or feelings that's like disconnected from yourself. Um, the services are kind of for everyone in that sense, like, um,

Lauren Alvarez (58:06)
Yeah.

That's cool.

Susanna merrick (58:11)
I love, yeah, I love working. I personally just love working with like people that are entrepreneurs or creatives and who are like looking to really do something that's outside the box for themselves. I'm looking to have kind of a bigger lens on their life, but usually that's like creatives and entrepreneurs. So yeah.

Lauren Alvarez (58:31)
I love that. I mean, where can people go to book these sessions? Let's point them to your socials. Let's point them to the places.

Susanna merrick (58:36)
Yeah.

Yes. Okay. So it's Aura Wear, like a shirt, W-E-A-R, nyc.com. That's my website. And then you can go to my website, you can learn about my services. There's lots of other fun goodies on there. You can take my quiz. I highly recommend taking the quiz. It's just a fun way. And you can find me on TikTok. You can find me on Instagram. Same name, Aura Wear NYC. That's it.

Lauren Alvarez (58:54)
Loved the quiz. It's very fun.

I love that. And we have that style startup coming up. So style startup, is that right?

Susanna merrick (59:12)
Yeah, so well, it's the closet Kickstarter right now. So if you go to the website, it'll say closet Kickstarter, but I'm changing the name. So it might be changed before that. We just need to get some graphics back from the designer.

Lauren Alvarez (59:23)
You know, it's always a little tweak and a little button press and boom, there it is. I mean, this has been amazing. I feel like we got so much wisdom for our listeners. What is one final thought you want to leave our listeners with today before we...

Susanna merrick (59:27)
Exactly.

Yeah, um, know that no matter what, you know, if you have ideas and they seem so outside of you, but you feel so you feel that pain, you feel that strong energy around them, know that even though you haven't done them yet, that it is possible. Like I knew I wanted to combine all of these things. I knew I wanted to combine color and style with self-development work with or as in spiritual work.

And from the outside, it didn't look like it went together. It really didn't. I mean, now it does cause it's my brand, but at that time, nothing like that existed and, and it was scary because I didn't even fully know, right. And then, and then it came to fruition. So I guess the thing I want to leave you with is like, no ideas to out there. No, like if you're willing to commit to it and you feel that intuitive pull to it. Like.

you can have that crazy amazing business that you didn't think was possible. That's what I wanna leave your listeners with.

Lauren Alvarez (1:00:42)
I love that so much. It's also like another reason people should be working with you is like, and then we can dress you to get you in to think about that every day. I love it. Oh my gosh. We will dress you for your brand. I love that so much. Susanna, thank you. This has been so special to have you here. It's been amazing. I feel like I learned so much from you. So just thank you for sharing your gifts.

Susanna merrick (1:00:52)
Done. That's your brand. We will dress you for your brand.

Yeah. Lauren, thanks so much for having me. And from one mom to another, like, you're killing it. So I see you.

Lauren Alvarez (1:01:12)
I mean, you too, like I see you and we finally did it. We got together, we made it happen.

Susanna merrick (1:01:17)
I know you guys, this is like our fourth attempt, I think, but we were, and it was like all, all circumstances that was just like out of our control. So yeah, it's so glad to be on, Lauren. Thank you. And thanks to all your loyal listeners for tuning into this episode because I had so much fun doing it.

Lauren Alvarez (1:01:35)
Yay, thank you. Well, this has been another episode of Don't Fuck This Up, the podcast answering the ultimate question, how the fuck did you land that cool job? I'm your host, Lauren Alvarez, and I will talk to you next week.