Austin

In the increasingly vast oasis of home-design and entertaining blogs, there is something that stands out about Camille Styles’ eponymous online portal. Sure, there’s the gorgeous photography, the impressive Web design, and the seamless way Styles manages to jump from bread recipes and fashion essays, to beauty tutorials and tips for throwing the perfect awards season bash. But more than that is the umbrella lens through which every piece of the 30-year-old’s well-thought-out content is written. “There was this huge need for advice and inspiration around stress-free entertaining that reflects each individual’s own personality,” says Styles, who set out to demystify the pre-conceived notion of having to “impress your guest” when she launched her own events company in 2009 following a short-lived career in corporate event planning. The blog, she says, was just supposed to be a creative outlet. What it has become, however, is an interactive destination for learning how to “express yourself while inviting the people you care about to celebrate everyday moments”—a subject on which Styles literally wrote the book: her debut authorial effort, Camille Styles Entertaining: Inspired Gatherings and Effortless Style (William Morrow; 2014) bowed in October.

It’s a lot easier said than done, she admits, although having a good strategy can take the guesswork out of playing host. “I like to focus on making one really great item and then let myself be OK with picking up other things from the store. Then it’s important to plan ahead,” she advises—like making time for a 3-minute-makeup moment that’s heavy on the Estée Lauder Automatic Brow Pencil Duo before guests arrive (“If I were trapped on a desert island and I could take one beauty product with me that would be it,” Styles laughs).

Her most important tip, however, is to “maintain an unpretentious approach towards lifestyle,” which is as much a testament to Styles’ own attitude as the unofficial motto of the city she currently calls home. “There is a huge focus on health and wellness in Austin,” the entrepreneur explains of the balmy, central-Texas bastion for liberal-minded thinking and great entertainment; as the venue for internationally renowned gatherings like this month’s South By Southwest (SXSW), Austin has become a hub for independent films and great music. With a two-and-a-half year old at home and a new baby due in May, Styles won’t be hitting the festival circuit too hard this year. But she did find the time to create an exclusive guide for Estée Stories to the city’s best beauty haunts.

Photos by Jessica Pages.