At The New Front Row, I promised smart, stylish storytelling—which means breaking up the midlife madness and the occasional trauma dump with a little fashion, beauty, and celebrity style ‘fluff’.

Because, as you may or may not know, I’ve been covering the fashion and beauty beat for two decades. And seriously, who doesn’t need an escape from all the crazy right now?

So on that note, let’s move on for a moment from breakdowns (we’ll be back to those, I promise) to beauty.

Or rather—Sydney Sweeney.

Forgive the blatant name-dropping, but in the not-too-distant past, I wrote a regular celebrity style column for CNN, The Essentials, and interviewed some pretty cool kids—Hailey Bieber, Brooke Shields, Millie Bobby Brown, Gwen Stefani, Miranda Kerr, Ken Jeong from The Hangover (just as funny IRL), and the list goes on. But I won’t.

One of my most unforgettable interviews was with Sweeney—and not for the reasons you might assume.

If you’re a fan of The White Lotus and Euphoria (and if you’re not, guys, get on board), you’ll remember Sweeney as the cynical, acid-tongued privileged brat daughter from season one of TWL, and of course as Cassie—the sweet, people-pleasing, and low-key emotionally unhinged senior in Euphoria.

In real life, Sweeney, 28, who has 26 million followers on Instagram, is also the face—or pin-up, if you ask the guys—of a new generation. Such is her allure and star power—with her classic doe-eyed blonde-bombshell meets modern-cool-girl vibe—among Gen Z — that she’s landed lucrative brand partnerships with Miu Miu, Armani Beauty, American Eagle, and Laneige; she’s the Korean skincare brand’s first global ambassador.

Which is how I scored a one-on-one interview with her in a New York penthouse overlooking the Hudson River in Chelsea on a late fall morning in 2024. The newly appointed “skinfluencer” was in town to launch Laneige’s new Firm & Bouncy Sleep Mask.

BTW: I’m not being paid to spruik the product, but I do genuinely rate their sleeping lip balms and face masks. And I’m clearly not alone—after teaming up with Sweeney, the brand reported a 227% surge in TikTok followers and a 53% spike on Instagram.

Anyhoo, as these press junkets go, I arrived at the tightly under-wraps studio space and stepped straight into Laneige’s glossy world: cue an explosion of pink flowers, an Alice-in-Wonderland-style morning tea, a glam cam, and more sleeping masks than you could poke a stick at.

When it was my turn for our tête-à-tête, I was ushered into a room to meet a smiling Sydney, dressed very on-brand in a tight lilac mock-turtleneck midi dress by Tom Ford.

I liked her immediately. She was warm and excitable, and seemed genuinely appreciative when I told her how much I enjoyed her work. I liked her even more when she clocked my accent.

“OMG, what are you doing in New York? Why would you ever leave Australia? I don’t understand anyone who leaves Australia. Go back!” Maybe she’s onto something. Especially right now. As a matter of fact, I’ve just returned from my homeland after a two-month reset, and it truly is a dreamland (more on that and how I ended up in NYC later).

Sweeney, you see, had just spent six months Down Under filming the rom-com Anyone But You—fairly forgettable, I won’t lie, but further proof that Australia is the new Hollywood. Everyone is now filming there.

“I had an amazing place right on Bondi Beach,” she told me. “We filmed in Palm Beach and on the Gold Coast, and when I was there, it was one of the hottest recorded days ever.” Thankfully, being so skin-savvy, she drenched herself in sunscreen while the rest of the crew went scorched earth.

Pleasantries done and dusted, we got down to the business of chatting through her beauty and style picks (see below if you need a fix) for the allotted 15 minutes, as her agent hung on her every word (as they do). Then it was a wrap, and she graciously agreed to the selfie above.

And that’s when it hit me—I’d forgotten to bring a pen and paper so she could sign an autograph for my boys.

Because ask any teenage boy and he’ll tell you: Sydney Sweeney is “bad” (Gen Z for hot).

When I confessed to the failed autograph attempt, she floored me.

“Let’s FaceTime them.”

Hands trembling, press team now hovering, we tried my youngest, Javier, then a 12-year-old middle schooler. It was around 11 am, and I reasoned that if God was on our side, he might be at lunch. “This is not the call he wants to miss,” Sweeney said. No joke. But alas. No answer.

He’s never gotten over it.

Next, I frantically tried my eldest, who at the time was a freshman at Purdue University.

And so it was that on a random Monday morning, a shirtless, bed-headed, still-in-bed (probably hungover) 18-year-old Tiago answered his phone—only to be greeted by a smiling Sydney Sweeney and his equally as shell-shocked mother.

As Tbone (as we call him) casually shot the breeze with Sydney, his stunned frat brothers gathered on the sidelines, filming the exchange in a moment that will no doubt live on in Delta Sig legend forever.

Needless to say, that year I was appointed Frat House Mom.

Sydney Sweeney’s Style Picks

SYRN The Show Off Pluge Bra, $89
Sweeney has launched her own lingerie brand, SYRN (pronounced siren).

LEVI’S 501 Straight Jeans, $98
”I’m much more comfortable in jeans and tees. “

Cotton On 90s White Baby Tee, $20
”I discovered Cotton On while filming in Australia, and I was obsessed.”

Laneige Firm & Bouncy Sleeping Mask, $36
”It has these little balls of collagen in it, and I wake up looking hydrated and radiant.”

Kérastase Elixir Ultime Refillable Hydrating Hair Oil for Shine, $62
”My hair is just so dead right now; this helps to bring it back to life.”

Armani Beauty Luminous Silk Foundation, $69
Sweeney gets her lit-from-within “no makeup look” courtesy of this foundation.