Photos by Ary Russell.
What’s a New York City girl gotta do to get some sunshine? I spent the past 2 weeks in the miserably cold city asking myself that question. So when an invite to the 9th annual Revolve Festival crept into my inbox, it felt like my prayers had been answered. Every year during weekend one of Coachella, Revolve constructs their own exclusive festival oasis for fashion aficionados to get their hands on goodies from the best brands soundtracked by live performances from A-list musicians. Below, I chronicled my journey through the desert’s hottest weekend event (pun intended), jam-packed with selfies, celebrity sightings, and self-indulgent shopping excursions.
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FRIDAY, APRIL 10, 2026
12:02 AM
When my Uber drops me off at my hotel, the driver barely has time to come to a full stop before I jump out. I’m late for a party and kicking myself for not getting ready on the plane. I spend the next 30 minutes doing my hair and makeup. I keep the embellished Inhaler band tee I wore to the airport, but traded my flare leggings for leather shorts and knee-high boots. When I make it back to the lobby, Google Maps tells me the party, which ends at 1 AM, is 40 minutes away. Hmmm. I text our social editor Julian Ribeiro for a vibe check, but he’s already made plans to return to his Airbnb. I decide it’s best to go back upstairs to bed instead, FOMO be damned.
1:30 AM
I hang up my outfits in the closet, organize my makeup on the vanity, and cut and prep my wigs. I packed four: black, red, pink, and blue. In the bathroom, I set out my skincare products which, to my dismay, exploded in my Ziplock bag. I still haven’t decided whether I should be making my hotel rooms feel like home or if that defeats the purpose of the luxury.
6:00 AM
I wake up with the sunrise this morning, which is not something I do back home. Despite only squeezing 4 hours of shut-eye, I’m buzzing. We’ll chalk it up to festival jitters. After answering emails and publishing a few stories, I catch a glimpse of a yoga mat poking out of the closet. Without thinking, I pull up a 5-minute meditation video on YouTube, sit down in front of the window and try to find inner peace. That’s also not something I do back home. But Palm Springs is for slow mornings and escapism. Well… Why am I lying? By minute three of the meditation video, I switch to an episode of The OC, the one where Luke finds out his dad is gay. Now I’ve reached shanti.
11:10 AM
When I arrive at the Parker Palm Springs resort, I see young women and men standing in the lobby with bulging white Revolve bags at their feet that seem to be overflowing with sneakers, setting sprays, and curling wands. The gifting suite has only been open for an hour at this point, yet I’m fearful that I may have missed out on the goods. I’m given my own bag and am told to fill it up with as much as I want. Heaven on Earth and I don’t care how tacky that makes me sound. I know I should’ve eaten before arriving, but I truly feel that this will satiate me. My initial fears are immediately squashed as I see the shelves of products are still relatively full of Everist hair brushes, Stanley tumblers, Diesel sunglasses, and more.
11:43 AM
Once my shopping thirst is quenched, I walk down a corridor where they hold beauty services. Given the fact that I’m a loyal wig wearer, I don’t partake in the hairstyling portion, but I admire the women in hair rollers from afar. In a pinkly lit room next door, attendees lay on massage tables wrapped in body sculpting machines. I’m initially skeptical, but after one person tells me it’ll snatch my waist, I put my body on the slab. Vanity will always be my Achilles heel, unfortunately.
11:54 PM
After Sabrinachella, Julian and I rush to hop in an Uber to attend the Revolve x Katseye welcome party. I make a mental note to research why it takes 25 minutes to get an Uber in Indio. As we drive through endless curves and bends, we enter stages of delirious chatter and he gives me advice about a stressful situation. He’s my barometer of cool so I treat his words of wisdom as sacred text. I won’t tell him in the moment, but I do hope this trip brings us closer.
SATURDAY, APRIL 11, 2026
12:13 AM
When we arrive at the party, I make a beeline to the pizza stand. I know it’s gauche to gorge yourself at these kinds of things, but the only thing I had the entire day was an $8 dollar can of Coke and a Magnum almond ice cream bar. Turns out shopping satiety doesn’t last as long as I think. On the dance floor, I see a TikToker I used to have a crush on in high school. He used to date [REDACTED] and the last time I saw them together I was a 20-year-old NYU student who snuck into Machine Gun Kelly’s drummer’s 30th birthday at Zouk L.A.
1:21 AM
Before I leave the party, I take a shot at the claw machine. There’s a zebra plush I’ve been eyeing the whole night. After a few (16) tries, I manage to get the zebra in the chute, but alas, it gets stuck. Perhaps it was the 4 hours of sleep, but that nearly breaks me. Luckily, Julian’s friend Ashley, who regards herself as somewhat of a claw machine savant (rightfully so) manages to get me my zebra and a pair of plush Katseye dice. All is right in the world.
1:59 PM
I’m in the car with Kevin Ponce from V Mag on the way to Revolve Festival. I used to be her intern in college, so this truly feels like a full-circle moment. We jokingly conjure up #successstory as the hashtag for my Instagram post. I’m vulnerable enough to admit to her that industry events intimidate me. My experience usually goes as follows: gorgeous, glamorous, influential women rush to reunite with their gorgeous, glamorous, influential friends while I stand sequestered in the corner opening and closing apps on my phone. Being only 22 and so early in my career, I haven’t acquired a long list or really any list of industry acquaintances. But Kevin eases my worries by telling me that if I speak with conviction, everything will work out.
2:56 PM
Revolve Festival is at the same location as the party last night, so I’m hoping familiar ground will be a calming force. First order of business: get a drink. As I sip on the yummy lemony concoction the bartender made me, I try to live out my NBA fantasy and shoot some hoops to win a water bottle. It’s a miserable attempt. Perhaps I’m more cut out to be a WAG.
3:15 PM
I gaze up at the iconic Helm and Sons wave swinger in all her rococo glory. For the sake of my weak stomach, I don’t get on.
4:54 PM
Time for some people watching. There have to be at least 400 people here and they’re all dressed to the festival nines. I catch glimpses of athletes like Dwayne Wade and Cameron Brink, as well as Interview friends like Dylan Efron and members of Katseye. They’re more stunning in person. Kehlani sings her hits onstage and it takes everything in me not to break out in song. I like being here for the same reason other people criticize these events: Everyone is taking pictures and videos of each other, looking the most beautiful they’ve ever looked. I watch girls stay in the exact same pose for ten minutes until they get “the shot.” While others judge them for prioritizing content instead of “living in the moment,” I feel connected to them. We both know the value of a good photo, honey.
Dwayne Wade.
Cameron Brink.
Dylan Efron.
Members of Katseye, Megan Skiendiel, Lara Raj, and Daniela Avanzini.
