On Friday, the food blogger and New York Times’ best-selling author held a special book signing at the Soho Crate & Barrel.
Lauren Steinberg rebranded the term “feminine hygiene”and bestowed the “coochie,” “twat” and/or “vajay-jay,” as Queen of all kingdoms. The USC alum earned her spot on the Forbes 30 Under 30 list with the creation of her intimate wellness brand, Queen V. Steinberg launched Queen V in 2018 to educate women on their vaginas and vaginal areas after having a tough time with her own.
On March 16, The Stand NYC turned into the Queen V head quarters for an evening of “Vagina Trivia” and girl talk with comedian Mary Beth Barons who hosted the event celebrating the company’s new line of products; including wipes, lubricant, probiotic supplements and more.In the midst of tasty cocktails, light bites and Vagina tunnel photo ops, The Knockturnal had the opportunity to chat with the CEO. 
The Knockturnal: Tell me about the products and how you got your business started.
Lauren S: I’ve been around vaginas my entire life! Not only because I’m a female, my dad’s a gynecologist as well. So for me, growing up vaginas were just something that was always talked about and as I got older, I started to get infections down there. Long story short, I basically went to the drug store to go buy products that would cure me of my infections. Got there and the entire aisle was so confusing and embarrassing. I ended up buying a bunch of products, went home, nothing worked for me. That’s when the idea of Her Queen V was born. Queen V just takes a really fun, easy approach to a topic that I think a lot of people with vaginas just seem to find really confusing and embarrassing. So what we’ve done is broken intimate wellness down into three steps. Step one is maintaining your “V.” Maintaining your “V” is all about keeping everything fresh and your microbiome balanced. Step two is helping your “V” so when something goes wrong and your microbiome balance is out of wack, how do you fix it? And then step three is enjoying your “V” and that’s all about self care, self love without worrying about getting an infection. Everything’s color coded according to the category it’s in. So it’s super easy to understand what everything does.
The Knockturnal: I think it’s safe to say you’re a feminine hygiene pro by now. What’s the main misconception you often hear from women that you have to correct?
Lauren S: I think the term “feminine hygiene” in general is kind of outdated now, at this point. I’m trying to broaden it to “intimate wellness” because I feel that’s meeting where we’re at. It’s very sad. A lot of people will DM me and they’re really nervous to go see a gynecologist for the first time. I think that they think the gynecologist is going to judge the way their vagina looks and that there’s a certain way a vagina is supposed to look and smell, like what’s normal? When in reality, we’re all different. All of our faces are different so all of our vaginas are different as well. There really is no such thing as a “normal” vagina. Obviously, if you think something is off go to the gynecologist, but I think that’s the number one thing. I don’t want people to not go to the gynecologist because they’re afraid of what their vagina looks like, so that’s why we have these mirrors here. The thing is, Queen V is all about befriending your body. How do you befriend your body if you’ve never even seen your vagina?
The Knockturnal: Well you’ve been doing such a good job educating. Congratulations are definitely in order. What was your favorite part of the journey?
Lauren S: You’re making me emotional. I mean, I think as a founder there are just so many highs and lows and for me, I’m growing as a human being and as a person. I love using my platform for education, it’s really important to me. About two years ago now, I found out I have the BRCA gene, which puts me at super high risk for breast and ovarian cancer. So for me, if people are not feeling comfortable going to the gynecologist, it’s a big problem. So I try to just use my platform to make everything a little bit less scary and more lighthearted. I think I’ve been able to do that over the years and not take myself too seriously as a founder.
As of March 21, Queen V products are available in select Walmart stores and on the company website.
In this light-hearted animated short film from Aflac, The Park Bench, showcases the power in vulnerability and caring for others in times of unforeseen events.
Ah, the holidays, a time for eating, drinking, and being merry.
Of course, with all that merriment comes a very serious question: What does one wear to be warm, stylish, and most of all, comfy? Thankfully, Australian workout wear brand Cleo Harper makes it easy to run errands, squeeze in a workout, and celebrate the holidays to our hearts’ content (hello, stretchy pants!). The fashion-forward styles feature asymmetrical details, luxe embellishments, and barely-there seams to make for a jaw-dropping outfit.
Take the Forte Leggings in a stunning emerald green shade, for example. Sure, we could easily run a few miles in them (OK, so not so easily) and at the same time look like we’ve just left a glam squad. The leggings have a convenient side pocket and a flattering high-waisted fit, made from Cleo Harper’s signature Body Base fabric. The durable leggings have a compression feel and a stay-dry nature that stops sweat. No wonder the Forte Leggings are a signature Cleo Harper bestseller.
The latest Electric Field exclusive limited collection also includes the form-fitting Vashti Bralet in a new neon pink. Made from a breathable fabric, the sports bra gets an upgrade thanks to flashy gold buckle details. The small mesh cutout also has a wink to every woman’s inherent sexiness.
The Cleo Edit also makes for the perfect starter kit at just $119 to sample three pieces.
The Knockturnal sat down with Cleo Harper brand manager Courtney Hogan-Catley to discuss how the brand came to be.
The Knockturnal: What differentiates Cleo Harper, in your eyes, from other workout and athleisure apparel brands?
Courtney Hogan-Catley: First and foremost, Cleo Harper was created to make women feel beautiful in their activewear – something that matches the style they bring in their daily wardrobes. Our fabrics are custom made for our brand and as soon as women receive their first Cleo Harper order they just get it at the first touch of our pieces. Each collection is limited edition so once it’s sold out it’s gone forever and all those who made their purchase can rest assured they have something exclusive from Cleo Harper.
The Knockturnal: Where do you find inspiration as a brand manager, and how do you craft new campaigns and styles?
Courtney Hogan-Catley: It’s all very much a team effort. Our Head Designer comes up with the concept for a new collection, drawing inspiration from everywhere! Places around the world are especially inspirational to the design team. The collection is then created based around key colours and signature styles, and is built out from there. Once the collection is complete, we make sure that we have something for everyone, and it goes from there.
The Knockturnal: Cleo Harper is on the cutting edge of price point and quality, as well as style. What are the long-term goals for the brand?
Courtney Hogan-Catley: We love that our customers come from all over the globe and how personal and close-by in proximity we feel to everyone, with our lightning-fast shipping & customer service. We are always focused on creating each collection more unique and diverse from the last and delivering products that our customer enjoys wearing to and from the gym daily. We get excited when ladies wear Cleo Harper with pride and tell all their friends about our brand.
The Knockturnal: How do you describe your customer?
Courtney Hogan-Catley: She is stylish, social and appreciates the finer things in life (without the designer price tag). She lives an active life that allows her to feel her best and give the best of herself to those around her. Once she finds Cleo Harper, she is a part of the #CleoFam and gets a thrill out of every collection we release.
The Knockturnal: This holiday season, what are some of your top picks from the collection?
Courtney Hogan-Catley: Our latest collection, Electric Field is one of my favorite collections to date. I love the bright colors, perfect coming into our Australian summer but also perfect to add a bit of brightness to our international customers #CleoWardrobes who are heading into winter. My current favourite outfit is either our Vista set which is a brand new colour for us – the set is the Zeppelin Bralet & Soul 3.0 Legging – the most comfortable set I own and feels amazing on. Another favourite for the whole #CleoTeam is the District Oversized Sweater in Oatmeal with the Spin Shorts in Pink. It’s an outfit that has been on repeat and is one that I would definitely gift – a classic & chic look to take you from a workout to a coffee date without missing a beat.
What’s next for Cleo Harper?
Courtney Hogan-Catley: We have a very exciting 2022 planned. As you will see in collections to come, there is no limit to our colour palette, designs, and extravagant campaigns. Please come along for the ride with us and make sure you try your first Cleo Harper pieces before the year is out!
In this week’s episode of Create + Conversate, a show where we take a closer look at the successes of popular social media creators, we sat down with Mai Pham, or as she’s better known online – Mai Phammy. Mai chatted with our host, Katherine Tinsley to talk all things YouTube and her huge successes and accomplishments throughout her career online.
The modern-day definition of sustainable living describes a person’s attempt to reduce the use of natural resources.
If you are looking for the ultimate outdoor eating experience in New York City look no further than a trip over the water to Collective Governors Island. Their newly revamped outdoor restaurant Three Peaks gets top ratings across the board.
This past Saturday, The Knockturnal had the opportunity to attend the High-Performance Lifestyle Training Retreat (HPLT) in Los Angeles. The HPLT Retreat brings together driven individuals who aim to improve their lifestyle. The HPLT Retreat is a 3-day event, including keynote speakers, yoga, and an intense HIIT workout day. HPLT’s mission is to “empower your inner savage” to come out.
Just a little over three years ago a bit of a miracle was born that changed the health industry. Over America there are several different venues that most Americans refer to as ‘fat camps.’ The name alone brings forth such horrible negative images it is hard to get a positive image in ones head. But when Fit Farm came to existence things changed.
Cocktails and a series of masterclasses were the perfect celebration for the 111SKIN Launch in Bergdorf Goodman. 111SKIN owner Eva Alexandridis joined with make-up artists and models on the beauty level of the luxury department store to demonstrate how to achieve and maintain good skin and natural makeup as a means to confidence and self love.
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