Inside the Influencer: An Interview with Ana Van Elswyk
In my interview with Ana Van Elswyk–blogger, traveler, fashionista, and guru of all things skin-care related–I got a deeper look into her life. From early travel days that kick-started her blogging lifestyle, to her preferred makeup and skin care regime.

Originally from Ukraine Ana moved from her homeland at the age of 16, which became the start of her extensive traveling. She had endless photos and information from her travels, but did not know what to do with these experiences or where to share them.
In Amsterdam she landed an internship with an influencer marketing platform. Through this internship she had learned that, “Everything in our life is on Instagram and Facebook.” She was also learned that social media really does play a huge role in our everyday lives.
During her internship, she had been approached by a few businessmen telling her that she should be an influencer. Which she had thought was a total joke at the time. (Foreshadowing much?)
After she completed her internship she found a nine-to-five marketing job. After two years of working 40-hour work weeks, she quit.
“I was happiest when I worked with influencers,” she reflected. She thought if not now, then when? Ana knew that she was unhappy with her current lifestyle and was ready for a drastic change. And wanted to continue traveling.
She then started moving around with her husband and began blogging. Ana wanted to encourage other people to make a change in their own life. She wanted people to know that you can travel while still living a healthy lifestyle while not becoming the stereotypical ‘backpacker’. She wanted to prove that you can stay fit and also look fabulous while traveling the globe.
This became her motivation and main source of inspiration for blogging and traveling.
After getting a look into why Ana started blogging I got some insight on her favorite places, products, and some pointers for makeup and traveling. Out of all her travels, her favorite so far as been Indonesia.
“They offered everything,” she said. From the historical places, hiking, beaches, partying, there is something for everyone. For her long-term living goals, she wants to settle down in Paris. Previously, she had spent half a year in Paris working an internship for Alexander Wang. “I didn’t sleep for a week, but I was the happiest person.”
She loved the inspiring people and the beautiful city. Plus, living in one the Fashion Capitals of the world was a dream in itself.
I decided to build a bit off one of Ana’s blog posts, “Skincare Products You’ll Always Find in My Suitcase,” and find out a few more of her go-to’s. As for Ana’s favorite eye products, I asked her secret for those beautiful long lashes (I mean, aren’t these every girls dream?).
She said she uses oils on her lashes at night to keep them moisturized. She shared that we treat our hair with such care, but tend to forget that our lashes need that same love and support.
As for her mascara, she uses Mac False Lash Extreme in extreme black. She also shared she never uses water-proof mascara. Why? She hates it, she cannot deal with it. She had tried it once as a teenager, and almost had to rip out her lashes to remove it. Ouch!
I asked Ana what her favorite product overall is– a product she absolutely cannot live without while traveling. She actually has three. One being a moisturizer by Clinique for her face. She also brings a body milk, because she does not trust hotel lotions to get the job done. Face and body lotions help her tremendously:
“After the flight, you didn’t drink enough water, you didn’t have a proper sleep, especially for example, you’re traveling from United States to Europe, your skin will be messed up. Because of jet lag, not having the same routine, not having the same weather. So I always make sure my face and body always have some help to adjust,” she points out.
Her last go-to is a leave in treatment for her hair by Leonor Greyl. She loves their shampoo and conditioner as well, but for traveling she at least has the leave in treatment on her.
Ana always has Everything Balm by Triology in her bag at all times. She uses it because it is a great oily balm for being in bad weather, and it can also be used as a cream. It gives her the longest effect.
Lastly, I asked Ana for a few tips on skincare and traveling.
When I asked her for some skincare tips, she said that moisturizing and diet are the most important when it comes to our skin. “You have to drink a lot of water, it’s not only from the outside, you have to take care of your skin from the inside,” she explained.
This amazing advice is incredibly accurate and really makes you think– we often think our skin needs to be taken care of on the surface, but changing our diet by adding more water (especially when traveling) can make all the difference.
As for the surface, Ana uses moisturizers to help her skin adjust while traveling. Not only does she have some amazing stories about her travels and how she became who she is today, she was able to share some crucial tips for traveling and taking care of ourselves while doing so.

